Plant-based meets cellular agriculture:
two complementary approaches towards a more resilient food system
We are on the cusp of one of the fastest and most consequential transformations of the food system since humans first started domesticating plants and animals. Sales of plant-based products are skyrocketing, while cellular agriculture and precision fermentation hold the potential to change the way we grow our food forever.
COVID-19 has exposed the flaws and fragility of the global food-supply chains and offers a unique opportunity to reflect on the current food system. Plant-based alternatives continue to penetrate global markets at lightning speed, and novel food sources are increasingly sought out by consumers, the food industry, and politicians alike, in order to reduce the negative impacts of animal agriculture.
By sourcing animal-based products without the need to breed, raise, and slaughter animals, cellular agriculture represents a unique complementary solution to plant-based products in terms of creating a sustainable food system, while at the same time offering enormous economic opportunities. This emerging field will allow for the development of tasty, safe, affordable, and sustainable animal-based products, while also enabling the emergence of a new generation of products that blend plant-based and cultured ingredients to provide the best of both worlds.
A sector that has long appealed almost exclusively to future-conscious investors is moving closer to the mainstream, and is set to complement the thriving plant-based market over the course of the next few years. The New Food Conference in Cologne, held in partnership with Anuga, the largest trade fair in the world, invites food professionals from around the globe to get an understanding of how far these technologies have progressed, how they can complement the existing plant-based market, and where they will take us in the future.
