What can we expect in terms of food innovation trends in 2023?
Numerous pressing issues require the agrifood community to be innovative in how it approaches them. Thus, there would be a lot to discuss when projecting trends in food innovation; that being said, I believe that three key themes will emerge in 2023: the use of data, regenerative agriculture, and farmed meat.
We’ve all heard about the surge in popularity of plant-based foods, but farmed meat has the potential to play a significant part in our food system going forward as consumers’ preferences change from “alternatives” to “real life” meat that is easier on the environment and animal welfare.
While it is already well known that conventional animal-based food products often have a higher carbon footprint than meat substitutes, what progress has been made in the area of cultivated meat innovation?
There is disagreement about who invented cultivated meat; some claim that Alexis Carrel, a French biologist, was the first to do so when he preserved a sample of chick heart muscle in a petri dish in the early 1900s. However, in 2023, most shopping lists still do not include farmed meat anymore. Why? Although grown meat has been approved for commercial sale in Singapore and the USA, much of the world still lacks regulatory approval.
But given the industry’s rapid innovation, it may soon alter. One of the main obstacles to the advancement of farmed meat has always been cost, in addition to concerns about food safety and innovative food testing.
According to a research group called CE Delft, by 2030, the cost of producing and innovating cultured beef might drop to just €5.73 per kilogramme. This is an amazing idea, especially considering the price of a kilogramme of beef in Spain in 2021 (€9.98). According to CE Delft, this will be accomplished by increasing funding and research for infrastructure, consumer involvement, and flavour enhancements.
This is already evident; in 2021, Future Meat Technologies—now known as Believer Meats—opened the first industrially grown meat plant in the world in Israel. After just two years, more sizable facilities are starting to open all around the world.One example of this is Aleph Farms, which is growing its ability to innovate beyond just cultured steaks to include cultivated collagen. Aleph Farms has said that this is a part of their growing innovation strategy to create workable, sustainable, and moral substitutes for all animal products, not just meat. They are able to do this because of financial and research support. Traditional collagen is made by boiling and processing cow bones and hides, and it’s utilised in many different industries. However, Aleph Farms hopes to introduce its farmed collagen soon, so this method may become obsolete.
According to a new EIT Food whitepaper, only by putting in place a long-term vision and systems approach at the EU level will protein diversification innovation’s full potential be fulfilled in Europe. In order to combat knowledge fragmentation, this involves encouraging stakeholder communication, increasing funding and investment, and making sure that all supply chain participants have possibilities for sustainable growth.
Cultivated meat is here to stay, and in 2023 and beyond, we should anticipate continued expansion and investment in new ventures, alliances, and products.
Regenerative agriculture’s comeback
Regenerative agriculture is not a new trend—it was the driving force behind the Neolithic and has been around since our hunter-gatherer ancestors began to settle and cultivate land. However, it has been interesting to observe for some time.
Regenerative agriculture, to return to the fundamentals, aims to eliminate the need for artificial farming intervention, such as lowering the usage of chemical pesticides or minimising soil disturbance. By allowing crops and cattle to organically support one another, this seeks to maximise biodiversity on farms, improving soil health and produce nutrition.
Regenerative agriculture does not, however, imply a return to prehistoric times. As we all work to achieve a net zero and healthier food system, innovation is now playing a critical part in its rebirth by helping farmers to expedite their shift to regenerative techniques. This covers the application of soil health monitoring systems, organic fertilisers, and digital farming solutions.
For instance, the French firm Toopi Organics has developed a method for gathering and processing human urine, which is a naturally occurring fertiliser high in potassium, phosphate, and nitrogen and may be utilised as a biostimulant in the farming industry. Their invention is a component of a zero-waste, circular, local paradigm, which means the procedure may be scaled and duplicated for global regenerative agriculture.
By constructing the necessary infrastructure to scale regenerative agriculture practices, Climate Farmers is also aiding with the shift. Climate Farmers is collecting best practices from their community by working directly with farmers and utilising technology to track the outcomes. Farmers and other stakeholders can evaluate the benefits of regenerative agriculture for soils, ecosystems, and the climate by using the results that Climate Farmers has made available on an open platform. These benefits can then be duplicated locally.
In 2023, we could expect to see more investment in agricultural innovation as more farmers adopt regenerative agriculture. The future of farming is a fascinating trend to observe, whether it be through nature-based solutions that sustain biodiversity or robotics, AI, and automation technology.
Managing Data
Without connectivity and openness, food innovation—including the aforementioned examples—cannot effectively catalyse positive change.
Stakeholders in the food system can adjust their systems and procedures with greater knowledge if they gather and share data, metrics, statistics, and insights along the whole supply chain, from farm to fork.
For example, data and analytics can help stakeholders in the food system use evidence-based circular solutions and use resources more sustainably. Furthermore, data can assist make environmental food labels and food traceability commonplace; however, this may require establishing data standards. Knowledge really is power, as the saying goes.
The importance of data will not decrease in 2023. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are just a year away, and businesses are under growing pressure to contribute. The optimisation of outcomes can be achieved by addressing issues like decreasing food waste and loss in a supply chain through the use of data and insights gathered from various enterprises, stakeholders, and research initiatives.
The data platform of UK-based startup Clear CO2 is an illustration of this in action. The management tool, which is based on carbon accounting, helps agrifood SMEs to benchmark their plans for reducing their carbon footprint using information and analysis from the sector. The platform helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) overcome obstacles including narrowing profit margins by giving them access to sustainable suppliers and partners for their carbon reduction efforts.
Collaboration is the foundation of all the aforementioned developments in culinary innovation. Through exchanging expertise and collaborating, especially during difficult times, we can quicken the pace of invention. As we pursue our common goal of creating a better food system for everybody, we must collaborate to plan forward and think beyond the present.