Plant Proteins: a Key Lever to Accelerate Food System Transformation
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Planta key lever proteins: to accelerate food system transformation 2 : a key lever to accelerate food system transformation Plant proteins Contents 1 Introduction | 5 A key lever to reduce environmental impacts is a dietary shift to more plant-based foods 7 What is protein? 8 2 State of the world and outlook for plant protein production and consumption | 9 3 Hurdles and levers to scaling up plant proteins globally | 13 1. Supporting a healthy and sustainable transition to plant protein production 13 2. Increasing global demand for diverse plant proteins 13 3. Reorienting policies and regulations 14 4. Reflecting the true value of food with a long-term perspective 14 4 Mapping of existing initiatives | 16 5 Solution spaces | 24 ENABLE: Engage investors, businesses and policy-makers to support dietary shifts 24 PULL: Create the market conditions to increase plant protein demand 24 INSPIRE: Develop and promote a global narrative to positively position plant proteins 25 CULTIVATE: Build a thriving, sustainable supply of plant proteins from the ground up using sustainable agriculture 25 6 Conclusion | 26 : a key lever to accelerate food system transformation 3 Plant proteins FoodAbout Reform for FReSH• Healthy and sustainable, from This report is a call for action Sustainability and Health fork to farm; for the business community and beyond to understand that (FReSH) is a project of the • Food loss and waste; Food & Nature Program business as usual is no longer of the World Business • True value of food; an option and to find ways to scale up plant proteins to deliver Council for Sustainable • Policy and advocacy. Development (WBCSD). healthy, enjoyable diets for all. The healthy and sustainable We will complement these We take a ’fork to farm’ from fork to farm workstream documents with a FReSH approach, starting with what accelerates the development roadmap to be launched at the people consume and focusing of business-led solutions with Global Nutrition Summit in Tokyo on the dietary and production the biggest positive health and containing a concrete action plan shifts that are required, to environmental impacts – as for positive nutrition, protein and develop, implement and scale outlined in FReSH’s sustainable plants. transformative business solutions and healthy diets report that are aligned with science- published in 2018, as well as based targets. FReSH emerged international publications issued from the WBCSD and EAT the following year. We do this by Partnership. focusing on the following topics: FReSH facilitates the pre- • Accelerating the delivery of competitive collaboration of positive nutrition by the food over 30 member companies industry; to accelerate transformational change in the food system • Scaling-up healthy and in order to reach healthy, sustainable protein enjoyable diets for all, produced production and consumption; responsibly within planetary • Stimulating the healthy and boundaries. We focus on areas sustainable production and where business can have consumption of a diversity of the most impact, along four nutrient-rich plants. transformational goals: Defining key terms: • A plant-based diet is a diet comprised of foods mainly sourced from plants. • A plant-based food is a food coming from any part of a plant; an animal-based food is a food sourced from animals, including meat, fish and dairy products. • A plant-based product is a processed product derived from plant ingredients. • A plant protein is a protein found within a plant-based food or product. • A plant-based protein is a protein derived from plants that can be isolated and added to another product. 4 : a key lever to accelerate food system transformation Plant proteins 1 Introduction : a key lever to accelerate food system transformation 5 Plant proteins 1 Introduction A KEY LEVER TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS IS A DIETARY SHIFT TO MORE PLANT-BASED FOODS The global food system provides agriculture (see figure captions Thus, rebalancing diets with billions of people with energy, for more details). more plant-based foods protein and other nutrients to – especially in countries support daily life. Yet it is also a Animal-based foods tend to have dominated by Western diets major source of greenhouse gas higher environmental impacts where animal proteins are 12,13,14 emissions, it is depleting natural than plant-based foods. overconsumed – provides resources and fails to secure Regardless of the production an opportunity to reduce healthy diets for all communities system, livestock are major greenhouse GHG emissions, around the world.1,2,3,4 We have emitters of greenhouse gases. the amount of land required for an urgent need to transform They represent about 14.5% agriculture, natural resource our food system to achieve the of all human-induced GHG consumption, chemical input Sustainable Development Goals emissions (which would use and biodiversity loss.19, 20 (SDGs). be roughly equivalent to To ensure the realization of this 7.8 gigatons carbon dioxide opportunity and a balanced and Consensus is increasing on the equivalent (CO2e) in 2018) and diverse market of plant-based best pathways to transform the about 50% of emissions from foods will require both farm- 15,16 global food system to ensure a agriculture. As discussed level (e.g., to improve nitrogen sustainable and healthy future. in the FReSH “People, Planet, conversion efficiency from Thought leaders from the Protein – What’s the Plan?” fertilizer to plant protein) and 17 scientific community and civil Science to Solutions Dialogue, system-level interventions. society highlight the opportunity these high GHG emissions to improve health and promote are attributable to the fact global sustainability by shifting to that it is necessary to feed plant-based diets.5,6,7,8,9 animals throughout their life and ruminants such as cows Figure 1 presents in graphic release large quantities of enteric format the respective impacts of methane, a potent greenhouse potential of business solutions to gas.18 mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from land-use and Mitigation potential of business solutions on land and agriculture GHG emissions in GtCO 10 Figure 1: 2 2010 ) IPCC/FAO e Government action 2 9 O C t G ( 8 2010 FAO Business leadership e r 2030 Zero land u t l FABLE expansion u 7 c i r g A orestation a 6 Diets d n Crop Waste Ruminant a productivity Arable land d productivity Animal 5 regenerative n a precision l practices Pastureland feeding regenerative 4 (incl. SOC “On-farm o “On-farm r sequestr.) practices f insetting” insetting” s (incl. SOC n ruminant biogas o 3 sequestr.) i enteric s and s 2030 i fermentation biofuel m 2 Target e H G 1 l a t o T 0 6 : a key lever to accelerate food system transformation Plant proteins WHY FOCUS ON PLANT PROTEINS? Central to the discussion on In developed countries, there is As such, any strategy to achieve a transforming the global food a clear need – and a tremendous transformational shift in the food system is protein. Proteins are opportunity – to reach the system provides an opportunity essential for the human body; right protein intake levels and to address social issues such therefore, consuming adequate rebalance the protein mix by as access to healthy foods and protein is vital to ensuring basic promoting the production and securing farmer income and human health. Moreover, foods consumption of plant proteins. livelihoods. In the transition to containing proteins are an Increased plant protein offerings a more diverse plant protein important part of what makes can help balance and diversify offering, it is essential to include food appealing in terms of aroma, diets, thereby fostering good farmers to ensure there is no risk taste and texture. The amount health and nutrition, decreasing of income instability. of protein an individual person environmental damage and requires depends on many improving social factors such A sustainable global food system factors (e.g., gender, weight, as food security and farmer will require work to ensure the physical activity) but generally livelihoods. accessibility and availability of falls in the range of 40-70 grams a variety of high-quality and per day for adults across the Pathways to achieving optimal nutritious plant proteins for globe.21 In Europe, North America protein intake and balance differ people across different cultures and an increasing number of according to the development and incomes. developing regions, many people level and sociocultural habits of different regions. In many In the plant protein today consume more protein workstream, we identify and than biologically necessary. This developed regions, like the Europe and United States, support the best solutions overconsumption of proteins to scale-up a variety of plant parallels a greater consumption balancing protein intake requires a reduction in animal protein proteins globally, promoting of animal proteins instead of plant a sustainable and healthy proteins. consumption. In other regions, such as Africa and India, which balance of plant and animal In Europe, the share of protein have a high plant protein intake,26 proteins. Together with from animal sources (meat, eggs, the challenge is to ensure the our members, we focus on dairy) compared to total protein population can maintain or driving the specific solutions increased from 48% in 1960 improve access to an optimal where we can achieve the to over 60% in recent years.22 mix of protein sources along with highest potential impact Rising levels are also occurring in socioeconomic