Forum for the Future wants us to stop arguing about plant-based versus animal-based diets, and take a more balanced approach to sustainably produced protein
Protein is fundamental to life, but the way we currently produce and consume it is damaging land, the oceans and human health. Forum for the Future's Protein Challenge 2040 wants to make us change the way we think about this basic element in our diet.
The key to its approach is collaboration -- between producers in sectors that have historically been unconnected or at odds, as well as among policy makers and consumers.
Initial work has found an appetite for more collaborative work, and has produced a map of the global 'protein system', showing up its interdependencies and contradictions.
From this more holistic perspective, Forum has identified some key challenges and opportunities which, if tackled, could have a transformative effect on the sustainability of the food we eat. It is now calling for more collaborative partners to act on the six areas for innovation it has identified:
1.Increasing the proportion of plant-based protein consumption with consumers;
2.Scaling up a sustainable feed innovation to meet the demand for animal protein;
3.Closing the protein nutrient loop (for example, reducing waste rich in protein by finding new ways to feed it back into the production cycle);
4.Developing indigenous plants as protein sources for local communities;
5.Scaling up sustainable aquaculture for food and animal feed;
6.Restoring soil health.
The findings and proposals are set out in full in the report The Future of Protein.
Read more about Sustain's policy on sustainable food and farming here.
Published Friday 29 April 2016
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
