2025-01-23 04:57:28
Notes from SINGAPORE
Karsten Schellhas is a meat and alt-protein product consultant with 30+ years of experience in meat processing and operations and alt-protein product development in North America and Europe.
As I sit peacefully in my home, looking out at snowcapped mountains, everything is quiet. It’s a stark contrast to where I was just three days ago: Singapore International Agri- Food Week.
SITUATION IN SINGAPORE
The buzzing international city-state has limited land to grow conventional meat or ingredients for alternative proteins. As a result, they import a vast majority of their food, leaving the city-state vulnerable. For that reason, the government developed the 30by30 law. The goal is to produce 30% of the country’s food within the city-state by 2030.
Government and private companies are working hard, but many realize it is a lofty goal. Developing new foods and building factories take time, and the food industry is not known for being fast-moving.
Even though the city-state offers government support, has an excellent regulatory framework and is home to universities and technical colleges, the challenges for future food companies remain. For example, Singapore suffers from high real estate, energy and labor costs, which has led some food startups to move away from operations in the country.
Still, Singapore is the “gateway to Asia,” and many companies and organizations from around the world set up offices there.
ADVANCING ALT-PROTEIN
During the conference, many were talking about collaborating on a plan to move alternative proteins forward.
I believe that alt-protein companies, the agriculture industry and the meat industry should begin working together. To go even a step further, the industries should come together in conference to discuss the challenges and set a plan for advancing the new food economy.
On that point, I’ve noted over the past 12 months that meat companies are beginning to send representation to alternative protein conferences.
While cultivated meat technology and precision fermentation are moving ahead slowly, the plantbased sector is struggling. I believe it was a mistake to concentrate on sustainability and saving animals as key selling points from the beginning. These are important, sure, but companies neglected to work on price, taste and texture. And they overlooked consumers’ deep-rooted preferences for and emotional connections with meat.
Plant-based companies need to realize that they can’t escape the fundamentals. If you cannot produce a product that adds significant value to the customer and society, then your company will cease to exist.
BODY OF RESEARCH
During the conference, I also attended an interesting panel discussion on gut health and the microbiome — the ecosystem of bacteria that play a role in human health.
A panel of three Singaporean doctors discussed how bad food with low nutritional value has a negative impact on the microbiome and overall health. For example, diabetes and kidney disease are rampant in Singapore.
Since 2018, I’ve been saying that we need to gain a better understanding of how — or even if — our bodies can extract nutrients from the new foods we’ re creating. Chalmers University released a study in 2022 saying that meat substitutes are often nutrient-deficient due to the quality of the raw materials, processing conditions and how many phytates (anti-nutrients) are in the end product. We desperately need more research in that area.
On another panel, an investor was asked what he wishes for in 2025. He said, “I’d like to see some of my portfolio companies sell more products and make a small profit. It all comes down to one thing: Show me the money!”
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