#Alternative proteins

With a showstopping flowerhead worthy of a wedding bouquet, sweet lupin cuts a fine figure across Western Australia’s wheatbelt. Despite its enviable protein content, lupin is still mostly consigned to stockfeed. Now, with the help of both CSIRO and Curtin University, WA-based regen food and ag company, Wide Open Agriculture, is on a mission to unlock the food potential of Australia’s biggest plant protein crop.

Australian diners will soon have the option to tuck into a piece of meat grown from animal cells in a laboratory rather than a paddock. Synthetic biology, or SynBio, is also helping to engineer ingredients for plant-based proteins, design crops for fuel production, and the development of insecticides with the help of bespoke microbes.

Canberra-based food tech company, Nourish Ingredients is pushing the needle on how alternative proteins are made, using synthetic biology to create tailored, animal-free fats and oils. With seed funding from industry heavyweights, Main Sequence Ventures and Horizon Ventures, Nourish believe their specialty fats will have a massive impact on taste in the next generation of alternative proteins.

Sydney-based cultured proteins startup, Vow is pioneering a new food category with global production plans in sight – and COVID-19 is helping to accelerate biotech innovation.

Replay of a panel discussion from evokeAG 2020 in Melbourne.

This episode we delve into the advantages of new protein markets and the rise of plant based meats.

Incremental to exponential, the “ag-itating” trends daring the industry to think differently to meet the opportunities and challenges head on.

New research shows there’s an estimated additional opportunity for the Australian protein market valued at $19.9 billion by 2030. With $3.1 billion of this opportunity for alternative protein categories. Here John Harvey, Managing Director, AgriFutures Australia explores why there is more than enough room for both animal-based and alternative proteins on Australian consumers’ plates.