Sustainable Plant Protein Ingredients

By Henk Hoogenkamp - Author & Protein Technology Expert

All protein starts with plants. Protein is the only macronutrient that has not been demonized. On the contrary, people living in developed and affluent countries can’t seem to get enough of it. Yet, society should not close its eyes to climate change, especially extreme weather and rapid population growth, which is intensifying pressure on traditional protein sources, making the search for innovative alternative proteins imperative for global protein security and resilience. An ideal dietary intake will require diversified animal- and plant-based sources, providing high-quality nutritive values and sensory experiences.

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Taste and Price are Key in Plant Meat Sales

By Henk Hoogenkamp - Author & Protein Technology Expert

Even though plant meat companies have struggled to universally prove that their products are more nutritionally sound than conventional meat, the explosive sales growth of the early 2020s has come to a halt, with a significant decline seen in 2022 and continuing into 2025. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why plant-based meat sales first began to decelerate in the U.S. in 2022. One possible explanation could be the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, or simply unmet consumer expectations. There are clear indications that the alternative meat category did not achieve the expected levels of consumer habituation, as evidenced by low repeat purchases.

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Plants: Questions for the Future

By Henk Hoogenkamp - Author & Protein Technology Expert

The global population mainly relies on animals to convert plants into dairy milk, eggs, and meat. In the future, a smarter approach will prevail, with meat made from plants, or milk and egg albumen protein produced via precision fermentation. These emerging technologies are expected to ultimately transform the global food system, offering significant environmental, ecological, and health advantages: no hormones, no steroids, fewer pathogens and antibiotics, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, preserved water resources, and decreased land use.

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Cultured Meat: Mission Impossible?

By Henk Hoogenkamp - Author & Protein Technology Expert

Despite the many optimistic stories about cell-cultivated meat production, the reality in 2024 is that only a small fraction of the grand visions articulated in 2013 - when the first $300,000 Mosa Meat burger was unveiled - have been realized. Even with a massive $1.6 billion in venture capital investments in 2021 and 2022, the anticipated market breakthroughs have not materialized. Instead, many of the more than 200 global cultured meat startups are facing contraction or even going out of business, casting doubt on the initial dreams of growing meat and fish from cells instead of slaughtering animals. In 2024, and likely in the years to come, venture capital is not something cultured meat companies can take for granted.

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The Pulse of Protein Solutions

By Henk Hoogenkamp - Protein Applications & Author

The word “pulse” is a general reference to the dried seed of plants from the legume family like yellow peas, green peas, chickpeas, lupin, kidney beans, fava beans, fenugreek, mung bean and lentils. Pulses are often chosen for their healthy properties and ecological benefits. Pulses offer great nutritional inputs to the human diet and are devoid of the eight common allergens. Pulses are naturally high in protein and allow simple separation processing into the main fractions for protein concentration or isolation while maintaining good sensory properties.

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Veganizing Animal Foods

By Henk Hoogenkamp - Protein Applications & Author

There is no question that the projected growth of meat production is intimately associated with many ecological issues. It is safe to predict that meat sustainability and ecology are on a collision course. The huge requirements of fresh water, particularly for meat-producing animals, could eventually have a catastrophic impact on the environment. The world needs to make hard choices and will, at some point, be forced to accept a diet with less traditionally harvested animal protein, and instead move to precision fermentation technologies in which gene expression is used to produce cultured meat and milk proteins, as well as embrace molecular agriculture for food security.

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