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PlantEurope

European Network for a Plant-Based Diet

Panel discussion

The Path to Sustainable Protein

The third PlantEurope panel discussion will give insights into the reasons to include alternative proteins in the path to a sustainable food system. Speakers will highlight the research on benefits and possibilities of plant-based and cultivated protein as well as give an insight into the challenges ahead. 

 

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Download the panelists' presentations

David Hunt   Julia Martin   María Cermeño  

  Anne Bordier  Marco Springmann

Background and aim

The panel discussion takes place against the background of plant-based nutrition being considered to be one of the most important levers for mitigating the climate crisis, in addition to its health benefits. The goal of this panel discussion is to give an overview on why it is important to reduce meat production and consumption. The organizers and speakers want to show possibilities in switching to plant-based proteins for health, economy and climate protection. Alternative proteins are a valuable resource on the path to creating a future of food that is ensuring our individual health as well as the planet’s. A secondary goal is to show the concrete path of pioneer company Poseidona, as well as the knowledge they gained during the implementation of their sustainable proteins from algal waste and invasive biomass. Through this solution-oriented focus on approaches, ideas for starting points and contacts to actors in Europe should be passed on to similar actors elsewhere in Europe.

 

Attendees will learn from the speakers how their respective research and projects came to be and what their conclusions can tell us about the future of food in relation to our consumption of plant-based and cellular protein. Dr. Marco Springmann, who currently works as a Professor in Climate Change, Food Systems and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine was part of the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health and contributed to their report on the Planetary Health Diet. He will present the commission’s findings and explain why plant-based proteins offer a chance to switch from a food system reliant on animal agriculture to one that is sustainable and will keep not only the planet healthy, but also its population. ProVeg International’s Julia Martin is set to highlight key insights from this year's New Food Conference and give an exciting outlook on the future of cell-based protein. Anne Bordier from the World Resources Institute will share practical examples of what food providers can do to shift diets to lower carbon and healthier food, and discuss the role alternative proteins can play within this transition. David Hunt will share the work that the Good Food Institute Europe is doing to further research in plant-based and cellular protein. 

 

PlantEurope network

The PlantEurope project connects actors from the field of plant-based nutrition across Europe in order to support and accelerate the transformation of the food system. In order to initiate a fruitful exchange of experience between the pioneers, initiatives, lighthouse projects, organizations, associations, start-ups, scientists, community caterers, restaurateurs etc. the PlantEurope team is conducting virtual panel discussions on various topics as part of the project. By connecting the actors and their success stories with a broad audience in different European countries, knowledge transfer and the exchange of experiences should be made possible within the framework of the panel discussions.