rethink sustainability
Insects, meat substitutes and plant-based alternatives: what foods will provide our proteins in 2050?
Article published on Le déCLIC® responsable in partnership with Le Figaro on 9 November 2023
Never before has humankind consumed as much meat as it does today: 329 million tonnes were produced worldwide in 2020, and this stratospheric figure is expected to rise by 13.6% to 374 million tonnes in 2030 because of the combined effect of rising incomes and a growing population1. This increase is having serious consequences for our environment; the production of farmed meat accounts for 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities. That's more than the transportation sector.
To meet this ever-increasing demand, industrial agriculture has had to find ways to produce more meat while keeping prices affordable. This has led to a deterioration in animal rearing conditions, the destruction of biodiversity and the pollution of waterways. It has also helped spread animal epidemics such as BSE, swine flu and bird flu, prompting heightened awareness of the need to change our eating habits.
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This urgent need to reduce our consumption of animal products means there’s also a need to diversify our sources of protein. A number of solutions are already available, such as plant-based meat alternatives. Others are in development, such as the industrial production of insects for human consumption. These foods are sometimes referred to as the “proteins of the future”, and in a fast-growing market they are increasingly making their way onto our plates.
Meat alternatives making their way to the table
One of the most promising food markets is plant-based alternatives that attempt to imitate the texture and taste of animal meat. In France, the description of these meat substitutes has been the subject of a dispute between the meat industry and the plant protein sector for several years. But looking beyond this controversy, Tristan Maurel, co-founder of Umiami, insists that “the climate emergency requires a rapid change in what we eat. Consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental issues involved: such as the fact that the production of one kilogramme of ‘plant-based meat’ saves three kilogrammes of CO2 compared to one kilogramme of chicken meat.”
This is why his business started by producing a substitute for a chicken fillet, one of the most popular meats among western consumers. The company now plans to diversify and produce beef, pork and cod substitutes in the next few years. Umiami, which sells its white-label creations into the food processing and catering industries, closed a new EUR 32.5 million fund-raising round on 3 October, bringing the total financing it has secured since its establishment in 2020 to EUR 100 million. This is a record sum for a French start-up specialising in plant-based products. But what is the nutritional value of these substitutes? Those developed by Umiami have a protein content of 23%, which is equivalent to that of a piece of cooked chicken (22.2%).
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But there is a problem: to improve the texture of their creations, producers are turning to salt, fat, sugar and additives2. Each of 20 products studied for the survey has a long list of ingredients, the magazine says, including a number of undesirable additives. Some recipes include methylcellulose (E461), a stabiliser derived from wood cellulose. Processed products should be picked with care: it is advisable to choose those with the least processed ingredients and a short list of additives.
Insects on our plates?
Another long-term solution to the growing demand for protein is to eat insects, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). “Edible insects contain high-quality proteins, vitamins and amino acids for human consumption,” a study published in 2014 explains3. The FAO says insects also emit five times fewer greenhouse gases and much less ammonia than conventional livestock farming.
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But the prospects for human consumption of insects do not seem bright in the short and medium term given the regulatory and, above all, psychological obstacles. Take as an example the European Commission’s decision to authorise the market launch of defatted domestic cricket powder at the beginning of January 2023. It led to uproar on social media, and even on the benches of the French Senate. Some French start-ups such as Jimini's, FoodChéri (Sodexo) and Micronutris (Veolia) had come up with the idea of turning crickets into shortbread biscuits, burgers or even energy bars, but it remains a niche market.
Farm animals feeding on insect flour
For now, insects are served in other kinds of meals: they are found in the feed for chickens, cows and fish. Production of these proteins requires very little in terms of water and feed resources, considerably reducing the environmental footprint of livestock rearing, in terms of both greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation.
Compare this with our current food system, where almost 80% of farmland produces only 20% of the calories we need. And around 30 calories of feed are required to produce a single calorie of beef. Insect flour is rich in high-quality protein as well as being easily digestible. It also has the advantage of guaranteeing more respectful use of natural resources.
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Ynsect and Innovafeed have specialised in this area of production, and Innovafeed has become the global market leader. The company is based on a virtuous circular model (see the video above). “Our factories are located next to agro-industrial sites, allowing us to collect their waste products to feed our insects, but also to use their energy by-products to generate heat for our processes,” explains Aude Guo, the company's co-founder.
Investor appetite for the sector continues unabated; Innovafeed raised EUR 250 million in September 2022, bringing the total raised since its establishment in 2016 to EUR 450 million. “This money will allow us to increase our production capacity with the opening of a site in the United States, which will become operational in 2024,” adds Guo, whose aim is to offer insect-based products for human consumption by 2025. All that’s needed now is to overcome the cultural and psychological barriers amongst consumers, who mostly do not see insects as edible.
Last of all, there is cultured meat. This also faces a large number of regulatory and psychological obstacles, especially given that the environmental impact of its large-scale production remains mostly unknown. Sales of cultured meat are currently only permitted in the United States and Singapore, and consumers wishing to try it “mainly do so out of curiosity, and this does not in any way indicate a wish to consume it on a regular basis”, emphasises Jean-François Hocquette, Head of Research at INRAE and co-author of the review "The myth of cultured meat".
However, global population growth combined with a food production system that is no longer viable is pushing us towards profound changes in our behaviour. The good news is that new players are proposing a wide range of solutions; time will tell which will best meet the challenges of sustainability at a global level.
Read also: Paul Polman: the “stand-out CEO” transforming the world’s food systems
The end of “vegetarian” sausages and steaks in France?
The French government is back on the offensive against the “vegetarian steak”. It published a decree on 27 February 2024 banning the use of the terms “steak”, “sausage” and “bacon” to designate products made from plant proteins. This follows the release of an initial decree in June 2022 that was suspended by the Council of State. The text “is an issue of transparency and fairness that meets a legitimate expectation of consumers and producers”, according to the French Minister for Agriculture, Marc Fesneau.
1 Perspectives agricoles de l'OCDE et de la FAO 2021-2030
2 According to a survey published by the magazine 60 Millions de Consommateurs in 2022
3 Insectes comestibles – Perspectives pour la sécurité alimentaire et l'alimentation animale (fao.org)
Important information
This document is issued by Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd or an entity of the Group (hereinafter “Lombard Odier”). It is not intended for distribution, publication, or use in any jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, or use would be unlawful, nor is it aimed at any person or entity to whom it would be unlawful to address such a document. This document was not prepared by the Financial Research Department of Lombard Odier.
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