Report: Clean Food Addresses a Multitude of Problems, from Climate Change to Human Health
The global food system is at a climate turning point, and animal agriculture is the biggest emitter. Concerns about health, animal welfare, and the environment have driven explosive growth in alternative proteins, making “clean food” one of the biggest cleantech markets today. A new report from Boulder-based venture capital and research firm Saoradh Enterprise Partners (SEP) analyzes the best alternative proteins and identifies the most investable clean food companies.
The global food system accounts for a third of all human-generated GHG emissions, and agriculture uses 38% of the land on Earth. Animal agriculture uses the most resources and creates the most emissions. The UN forecasts that global meat production and consumption could double by 2050, pushing available land and natural resources to the limit. Replacing meat consumption with alternative proteins is one of the most impactful climate solutions we can undertake – and it has a multitude of benefits for global health.
Technology
Alternative proteins are the key to lessening the food system’s environmental impact. The main alternative proteins are plant-based, cultivated, and fermented (including mycoprotein and algae protein). Plant-based protein dominates the market, but fermentation is gaining traction. Cultivated protein requires the most technological and regulatory development, and only Singapore has approved it for consumption.
SEP found that all plant-based meat alternatives produce fewer emissions than animal products. There is a positive correlation between a food’s impact on mortality and its environmental impact. Plant-based alternatives also face less contamination, antibiotics, and pathogens, and plant-based diets lower mortality rates, agricultural nutrient losses, and health problems.
The benefits of cultivated meat depend on innovation, clean energy, and efficient scaling. Cultivated (or cell-based) meat is considerably more expensive to produce than plant-based or fermented meat because of the complicated infrastructure it requires. If it can be scaled effectively, cultivated meat can have incredible benefits – it can reduce land use by up to 97% percent and water use by up to 96% (depending on the type of meat) while using only a few cells from a living animal.
“Our health and environmental crises in no small part stem from humanity’s reliance on animal agriculture. SEP’s Clean Food report expertly makes the case for making the ‘alternative’ proteins of today the mainstream proteins of tomorrow, and it serves as a guide to the companies doing just that.”
Market & Companies
Clean food is a very large and well-developed cleantech market. It encompasses multiple product types (meat, seafood, and dairy) and multiple production pathways (plant-based, cultivated, and fermented). Plant-based meat alone had a market size of $5 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow to almost $25 billion by 2030. Depending on consumer acceptance and other factors, the cultivated meat market could also reach $25 billion by 2030. The markets for alternative seafood and dairy are also growing rapidly.
Investment in clean food is booming. The Good Food Institute found that a record $5 billion was invested in alternative proteins in 2021 (up 60% from the previous year).
$1.4 billion was invested in cultivated meat and seafood (more than three times the amount invested in 2020).
$1.7 billion was invested in companies using fermentation (nearly three times the 2020 amount).
$1.9 billion was invested in plant-based meat, seafood, egg, and dairy (on par with the 2020 amount).
SEP identified over 1400 companies operating in the clean food space – 415 based in the US. Most are focused on plant-based products. SEP found 24 companies to be most interesting to investors. The complete database of companies is available upon purchase of the full report.
Purchase the Report
The Clean Food report is 101 pages and includes:
A global database of notable companies (with a US focus).
A global database of clean food research centers.
One hour of individualized support from the SEP team.
Find more details, including a full table of contents, and purchase the report on the SEP Marketplace.
About Topic Reports
Topic reports explore cleantech investment spaces with the aim to calibrate investors, uncover opportunities, and identify possible solutions to Solving Climate+ by 2050. SEP produces topic reports twice per quarter to gather data and insights important to evaluating key cleantech investment spaces as part of our Innovation Flow Reporting (IFR) service. Recent and upcoming reports include BattRe (lithium-ion battery recycling), Biochar, Bioplastics, Clean Food, Concrete and Cement, Desalination, and Refrigerants.
About Innovation Flow Reporting
SEP’s Innovation Flow Reporting (IFR) service is designed to illuminate innovation hubs and identify and capture the best cleantech commercialization opportunities for SEP and our corporate clients. More than just market research, Innovation Flow Reporting delivers actionable information. IFR uncovers new cleantech opportunities for corporate venture capital offices, innovation programs, product development teams, and R&D departments. We know it works because we use it to drive our investing.
About Saoradh Enterprise Partners
Saoradh Enterprise Partners (SEP) is a cleantech venture capital and research firm based in Boulder, Colorado. SEP partners with innovators, entrepreneurs, and corporations to find solutions at the magical intersection of science (what’s possible), finance (what’s bankable), industry (what’s needed), and planet (what matters). Learn more at www.saoradh.com.