The UK government’s new food strategy recognises how its R&D and manufacturing prowess can help develop alternative protein products and plug a £14B productivity gap.
The UK has just unveiled its new food strategy to create a “healthier, more affordable, sustainable, resilient food system”, and alternative proteins are in the spotlight.
As climate change hikes food prices and leaves 80% of British farmers worried about their livelihoods, it’s imperative that the UK’s food system has a “smaller environmental footprint, supports our net zero commitments, and is more resilient to short-term shocks and better adapted to the long-term challenges”, the new strategy reads.
Launched by food security and rural affairs minister Daniel Zeichner, the idea is to create a ‘good food cycle’ where businesses can invest in healthier and more sustainable supply chains to make food more accessible and affordable to the public.
This will drive economic gains too. A 2024 report found a £14B productivity gap in the UK’s food and drink manufacturing space, which could be plugged via digitalisation, tech adoption, and innovation.
“Our strong research and development and advanced manufacturing base mean the UK is well placed to develop new products and markets, including for healthier products and in alternative proteins,” the strategy states.
Alternative proteins offer multi-pronged benefits
Including imports, the UK’s food system accounts for 38% of its emissions, with agriculture alone making up nearly 12%. By 2040, the government expects agriculture and aviation to be the dominant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, farming takes up 69% of the UK’s land use, and is among the leading drivers of nature and biodiversity loss.
When it comes to health, 64% of English adults are overweight or obese, and 10% of children aged four and five are living with obesity. The diet-related risks of death and disability – from eating too little fruit, vegetables and fibre, and too much food high in fat, sugar and salt – have increased by 46% in the last decade.
It’s why the strategy is calling for a food industry that “supports more affordable, healthier and more balanced diets for all, higher in fruit, vegetables and wholegrains and lower in calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt”. Speaking of which, the UK’s self-sufficiency is low for fresh vegetables (53%) and fresh fruit (15%), foods that are critical for healthy diets.
All this has driven the government to focus on a good food cycle, which it describes as “a transparent, stable and predictable policy environment” that supports investment in the development, production and marketing of food that’s better for public and planetary health.
It has identified 10 priority outcomes from its plan, the first two being “an improved food environment that supports healthier and more environmentally sustainable food sales” and “access for all to safe, affordable, healthy, convenient and appealing food options”.
This is where alternative proteins – which include plant-based, fermentation-derived and cultivated foods – come in. They allow companies to produce food with a significantly lower impact on the environment, and provide an alternative to the health risks presented by certain animal proteins like red meat. They’re also much more resilient to climate shocks, and can ensure supply chain consistency and boost food security.
A prominent example relates to the National Health Service (NHS). Research has shown that a ‘plant-based by default’ approach could save the service £74M annually, a move that has support from health experts and the public alike.
UK government urged to set up £30M plant-based fund
In an annex to the newly published strategy, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) noted that eco-friendly food production will bring economic opportunities and underpin long-term affordability.
“Adopting farming practices that are more environmentally sustainable has the potential to offer greater efficiencies and productivity, though this will vary at individual farm level and significant investment is needed for this transition,” it said. “There will also be sector-specific opportunities for economic growth that supports sustainability, such as agri-technology, alternative proteins and precision breeding.”
Alternative protein think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) Europe welcomed the strategy, but called for “specific measures” that outline how innovative food can deliver growth. This includes a focus on precision fermentation, which is being used to develop recombinant dairy and egg proteins, and plant-based foods.
“Increasing the take-up of options like plant-based meat, which can provide people with a simple switch to reduce our current overconsumption of processed meat, is an excellent way of making the sustainable and healthy choice the default option for consumers,” said Linus Pardoe, the think tank’s senior UK policy manager.
GFI Europe is urging the government to establish a £30M innovation fund to develop more affordable, tastier and nutritious plant-based foods, funded by UK Research and Innovation and Defra. Its analysis has found that the UK has invested £75M towards the development of sustainable proteins since Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy in 2021.
And since 2023, four major research centres have popped up. The Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub, the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre, the Microbial Food Hub, and Bezos Earth Fund‘s Centre for Sustainable Protein have collectively been backed by over £60M in public and philanthropic funding.
GFI Europe is also among over 200 organisations asking supermarkets to disclose their plant and animal protein sales and climate emissions as part of their mandatory healthy food reporting initiative with the government.
Its new food strategy has committed to ensuring that regulatory frameworks promote innovation and economic growth, calling “proportionate and predictable regulation” essential. The government has already made strides here, with the Food Standards Agency breaking away from EU-era regulation and working with cultivated meat companies in a regulatory sandbox, as part of an effort to fast-track their market entry.
“The food strategy represents a unique opportunity to capitalise on the expertise that has been developed in the UK over the last decade, and develop ambitious plans to unlock alternative proteins’ potential to deliver food security, drive green growth and create new opportunities for food producers,” said Pardoe.
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