US-based alternative protein startup Eat Just is planning to build a large-scale cultured meat plant in Qatar, with the support of the Qatar Free Zones Authority and investment from a state-backed venture capital firm. Eat Just plans to export to neighbouring regions as well as western Europe. If Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health grants approval for Eat Just’s cell-based chicken (produced by its subsidiary Good Meat), the country will become the second to permit the sale of cultured meat, following Singapore (see our summary Cultured meat approved for sale for the first time).

This paper compares detailed nutritional properties of burgers made from a plant-based meat replacement (based on soy) and from grass-fed ground beef. It concludes that, although the macronutrient contents (e.g. protein, fat) of both options are similar enough that consumers reading nutrition labels may view them as nutritionally interchangeable, there are significant differences between the two in the levels of 171 out of 190 metabolites studied. 

The Wageningen Alternative Protein Project, a student-led initiative, has launched a new podcast series on alternative protein and the technologies used to produce it.

These three reports from the think-tank the Good Food Institute set out the global market landscape for three forms of alternative protein: cultivated, plant-based and fermented. The reports discuss retail trends, investments, science and technology developments, and government regulations.

This report from the US think tank The Breakthrough Institute argues that the US government should invest heavily in the development of alternative proteins, because of the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and negative health impacts associated with animal agriculture as well as drive economic growth.

This report from the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment explores the rapid growth of corporate involvement in the alternative proteins sector, and argues that corporate-led innovation can be a major contributor to emissions reductions.

Ask The Author recording: Considering plant-based meat substitutes and cell-based meats On 12 March 2021, TABLE hosted an “Ask The Author” session with Raychel Santo, Brent Kim and Jan Dutkiewicz, co-authors of the paper Considering Plant-Based Meat Substitutes and Cell-Based Meats: A Public Health and Food Systems Perspective.

In this article for the Institute of Food Technologists, Liz Specht of the Good Food Institute explores the role that microbial fermentation can play in the alternative protein sector. Specht groups microbial fermentation techniques into three classes: traditional fermentation such as cheese and yoghurt; biomass fermentation such as Quorn and tempeh; and precision fermentation for producing specific molecules, e.g. the heme protein used by Impossible Foods.

This briefing paper from UK food waste NGO Feedback argues that supermarkets’ strong influence on the food system means they must act urgently if the UK is to significantly reduce meat and dairy consumption - and associated greenhouse gas emissions - over the next decade.