Get Ready To Profit From Plant-And Insect-Based Proteins

Across the world, food consumption patterns are undergoing vast changes, necessitating changes in the agricultural landscape. Lindi Botha spoke to Mark Hassenkamp, agri-tech adviser to Blue Horizon Corporation, which holds a portfolio of companies including Red Sun Hortitech, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, about the movement towards plant- and insect-based proteins, and the impact this will have on agriculture.

- Mark Hassenkamp

How do you see the agricultural landscape changing over the next few years?

It certainly won’t be business as usual. Water scarcity will drive production and efficiencies. We need to farm up, not out; in other words, increase yield per hectare rather than expand lands and orchards. This is where biotechnology will come in; we’ll see better genetics that produce more.

Genetic engineering will be an irrefutable part of agriculture, but in a more positive way. Instead of manipulating plant genes to be chemical-tolerant, researchers will develop genetic improvements in nutritional elements and shelf life. Best practices will be applied to prevent chemical use rather than have plants that allow the widespread use of chemicals. So herbicide cost is reduced and productivity improved.

Around the world, people are changing what they eat. I believe this is because we have a deeply intuitive sense that we need to eat better. Notwithstanding the hype of plant-based protein, these notions are real. They’re driven by our sense of sustainability, because we can’t keep producing animal protein the way we are. We can’t grow enough soya bean and maize to feed our animals and people, and the quantity of antibiotics and steroids used in meat production is unhealthy and unsustainable.

We have to start looking at different ways to produce protein, and this includes sources other than animals. It doesn’t mean you have to be a radical vegan. There’s more balance coming in; people are reducing the amount of meat they eat because there’s an understanding that the way in which most animals in large commercial farming operations are reared is inhumane.