Australia is to serve up a wider range of high-quality protein products to feed the world’s growing population under a roadmap from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
Releasing the Protein: A roadmap for unlocking technology-led growth opportunities for Australia Report, Chief Executive of CSIRO, Larry Marshall said with an expected two billion extra people on the planet by 2050, changing tastes and dietary preferences, the world would need to produce more protein, more sustainably and from more sources.
“Growth opportunities include new plant-based products, turning lesser cuts of red meat into value-added protein powders and nutraceuticals, developing higher-protein and better tasting legume crops, creating a new sustainable industry in Australian white-flesh fish, and exploring non-traditional forms of protein like cultivated meat and edible insects,” Dr Marshall said.
“As protein demand grows and new consumer trends emerge, solutions from science can help create new markets and complement our existing, globally competitive traditional markets,” he said.
“This will help shift Australia’s reputation from being the world’s food bowl of commodities to becoming a global delicatessen of unique higher value exports.”
The Chief Executive said CSIRO’s Future Protein Mission recognised the scale of this challenge and brought together a wide network of partners with the latest innovative technology to seize this opportunity for a resilient and sustainable food system.
“We can supercharge growth in our traditional protein industries by harnessing technologies like digital traceability and integrity systems that enhance the premium status of Australian red meat, and grow new complementary protein markets through techniques like precision fermentation to generate a suite of new Australian products,” he said.
Dr Marshall said the Roadmap highlighted how protein demand could only be met by bringing together animal, plant and non-traditional protein production systems.
CSIRO’s 109-page Roadmap can be downloaded at this PS News link.
