Dr Sarah Nájera Espinosa, Research Fellow, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)

Sarah is a research fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). By academic training and educational background, Sarah has a Bachelor’s in environmental studies and Master’s in food security. Her PhD, at LSHTM, focused on the role of novel plant-based foods in transitioning towards more nutritious and sustainable diets in the UK—as part of a broader project (ABC-SHEADE) investigating strategies to accelerate dietary behavioural change toward plant-rich diets in Europe. Before coming to LSHTM, Sarah worked at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for ~5 years across different food-related topics.
 

Amy Williams, Senior Digital Communications Manager & Nutrition Lead, Good Food Institute

Amy is the Nutrition lead at GFI Europe, a nonprofit and think tank that works to help build a more sustainable food system through protein diversification, funded by philanthropy. Amy joined GFI Europe from a background in medical communications, with particular experience in open science advocacy, observational research and evidence generation, and public health awareness campaigns. Her nutrition work has focused on evaluating and synthesising the available evidence on plant-based, fermentation-made and cultivated meat. Most recently, she was a co-author on a guide developed in collaboration with the Physician's Association for Nutrition, unpacking the available evidence on plant-based meat in the context of the prevailing narrative around ultra-processed foods. 

Rob Percival, Head of Food Policy, Soil Association

Rob Percival is Head of Food Policy at the Soil Association, a charity promoting agroecological food and farming. He leads the charity’s advocacy on healthy and sustainable diets, and oversees campaigns on industrial livestock and ultra-processed foods. He is also the author of ‘The Meat Paradox’, a book about the cultural and psychological complexity of meat.

This is part 2 of our 3-part series: "Alternative proteins and better food futures: moving beyond the binaries".

There is a growing interest in ‘alternative proteins’, food products that claim to provide sustainable alternatives to animal-based proteins (e.g., meat, milk, and eggs). These alternative proteins range from more traditional products (e.g., plant-based burgers) to novel products (e.g., cell-cultivated meat and new-fermentation derived proteins). However, the claims surrounding these products are heavily contested. These concerns have led to a polarised climate around alternative proteins and have limited the possibility for a constructive, inclusive dialogue. Advocates for alternative proteins assert that they can facilitate a transition to healthier, more sustainable food systems without requiring a significant shift in dietary habits. Critics of alternative proteins have disputed the evidence for these claims and have raised concerns around the concentration of power and the implications for human-nature relationships.

In partnership with the United Nations Foundation and Food Standards Agency, TABLE is organising a series of three webinars exploring key themes and debates around novel alternative proteins (e.g., cell-cultivated meat and new-fermentation derived proteins). This series seeks to respond to the challenge of polarisation by bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders to discuss alternative proteins across three themes. The aim is to equip policy-makers, industry leaders, researchers and civil-society stakeholders with a clear, balanced understanding of alternative proteins (APs), the debates they provoke, and pathways toward constructive, inclusive dialogue and policy-making.

​​Each webinar will last 1.5 hours, and will feature a panel that includes expert representatives from different sectors. Short speaker presentations will be followed by a moderated discussion and opportunities for audience Q&A. A short pre-event discussion paper is available to download here. Following the conclusion of the webinar series the discussion paper will be updated to include insights gained from panelists, audience questions, and feedback received. 

Webinar 2: Health Dimensions of APs

The second webinar will explore the health dimensions of APs. Currently there is limited research surrounding the health dimensions of novel APs (e.g., cell-cultivated meat, new-fermentation derived proteins), and further research is required to understand the long-term health effects of consuming APs. Proponents have claimed that APs have the potential to address global nutrient deficiencies, offer health benefits exceeding that of animal-based protein, and reduce the threat of antibiotic resistance and zoonotic diseases. On the other hand, critics have questioned narrow nutrient-centered logic, raised concerns around food safety, and highlighted the need for inclusive and culturally-sensitive solutions to dietary challenges.

Through engagement with panelists this session will discuss the questions surrounding the health dimensions of APs and the extent to which they offer a nutritional and healthy alternative to animal-based protein. Furthermore, this session will consider the limitations of a narrow-focus on health risks deflecting attention from the social, political and economic forces that have created and shaped unhealthy food environments. 

Literature recommended by TABLE:

• TABLE’s explainer “Meat, metrics and mindsets: Exploring debates on the role of livestock and alternatives in diets and farming”
• TABLE's explainer "Nature Knows Best? Naturalness in the Ultra-Processed Foods Debate"
• TABLE Essay by Rob Percival: "The Politics of Disgust: What future for protein?"
• TABLE's podcast episode from the series Meat: The Four Futures, featuring plant-based protein adaptation work of Hakeem Jimo of Veggie Victory in Lagos, Nigeria: https://www.tabledebates.org/podcast/episode45

Literature shared by Rob Percival:

• Sievert, K., Wood, B., Gajurel, H. et al. Common Leverage Points to Address the Health, Environmental Sustainability, and Justice Challenges of Financialised Food Systems. Food Ethics 10, 9 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41055-025-00170-4 

Literature shared by Dr Sarah Nájera Espinosa: 

• Sarah Nájera Espinosa et al., 2025. Mapping the evidence of novel plant-based foods: a systematic review of nutritional, health, and environmental impacts in high-income countries: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38657969/

• Rubén Fernández-Rodríguez et al., 2025. Plant-based meat alternatives and cardiometabolic health: a systematic review and meta-analysis: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000291652401428X

Literature shared by Amy Williams: 

• UK Government, National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2019-2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-diet-and-nutrition-survey-2019-to-2023/national-diet-and-nutrition-survey-2019-to-2023-report#nutrient-intakes 

• Systematic reviews of the nutritional profile and health impacts of plant-based meat as it currently exists: https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nutrit/nuae031/7656938 

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000291652401428X 

Available research on processing approaches to improve bioavailability and nutritional composition: 

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0963996923004349 

• https://fppn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s43014-020-0020-5

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38780067/

A new land dividend: the opportunity of alternative proteins in Europe: 

• https://green-alliance.org.uk/publication/a-new-land-dividend-the-opportunity-of-alternative-proteins-in-europe/ 

• The Alternative Protein project:  https://gfi.org/the-alt-protein-project/ 

• Modelled deficiency risks associated with impacts of climate change on animal-source food production:  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ad9b3a 

• BDA guidance on differences in nutrient intake needs by demographic group:
  https://www.bda.uk.com/practice-and-education/the-nutrition-and-hydration-digest/menu-coding-therapeutic-diets-and-patient-groups/patient-groups.html?_gl=1*lhgbcz*_up*MQ..*_ga*NjAxNTQyNTQ4LjE3NTEyODMzMjk.*_ga_7W0H5VXNW9*czE3NTEyODMzMjkkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTEyODMzMjkkajYwJGwwJGgw#Older%20adults 

Research on beneficial plant-compounds in processed plant-based ingredients: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889157525006568 

Study suggesting processing category bears little correlation with composition in plant-based foods: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40128334/ 

Research on kinds of interventions that improve health indicators: 

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35963533/ 

• https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-023-01424-2