A new report calls for U.S. government funding to support the alternative protein industry, pointing to the “significant economic and environmental benefits” of continued R&D and production in the industry.
As COVID-19 presents supply chain and logistics disruptions across the food sector and the risk of VC funding drying up during the economic downturn, the growth of alternative protein start-ups is at risk, the report outlines.
However, alternative proteins represent an important industry for the U.S., as continued innovation and price reductions across the industry “could substantially cut US greenhouse gas emissions related to livestock production — at least 20%— while mitigating or eliminating issues related to animal welfare, zoonotic disease risk, tropical deforestation, and microbial contamination.”
The report was developed by The Breakthrough Institute, a U.S.-based environmental research centre that “focuses on identifying and promoting technological solutions to environmental and human development challenges in three areas: energy, conservation, and food and farming.”
READ MORE: Federal Support for Alternative Protein for Economic Recovery and Climate Mitigation [Breakthrough Institute]