France, Austria Seek European-wide Plant-based Protein Strategy

Thursday 13 January 2022, Amsterdam

Agriculture ministers from EU member state France and Austria have called on the European Commission to focus on developing plant-based proteins as part of a strategy to promote sustainable food systems that address current environmental and climate challenges.

In a public release, two ministers from these countries said growing more plant-based proteins in Europe would help to reduce deforestation by shortening supply chains, enhancing local adaptation, and promoting diversification of protein consumption, biodiversity loss, other challenges, and ecosystem degradation.

The joint statement aims to increase the resilience of European agriculture "and thereby increase the self-sufficiency of the EU". Currently, the EU relies on importing plant protein from third countries. However, this approach limits political bloc control over deforestation measures and agriculture-related climate regulations.

“Developing the production of plant-based proteins in Europe remains one of the most efficient ways to counter both environmental and climate challenges,” the ministers wrote in the declaration.

Already both France and Austria have developed national protein strategies, and by partnering with additional members of the European Union, the hope is to further develop the commitments made in both the Green Deal and the European Union’s 2018 report that outlined the necessary course of action to build out the domestic production of plant-proteins. Similarly, the European Union made commitments to bolstering its production of plant-based protein in the objectives set out in the Fit for 55-Package and the Farm to Fork EU strategy.

Not only would a move toward cultivating additional plant-based protein in Europe allow for the bloc to begin to deliver on its commitment to enhanced sustainability, but it will also allow for member countries to operate more autonomously while also maintaining an open trade policy, the ministers said. As part of the reasoning behind bringing plant-based protein production to the EU member states, the two ministers encouraged this shift to coincide with a move toward R&D in the alternative protein segment. By researching and improving the development of soybeans, rapeseed, pea, and legumes, scientists can encourage effective plant breeding tailored to the individual needs of both farmers and consumers to promote increasing diversification of European diets.

Source: Ingredients network ( original url )

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