Plant-based, animal protein demand shows no sign of letting up

Farmers, ranchers, fisherman and the rest of agribusiness will try to satisfy dietary protein demands as the global population soars in number toward the nine billion the United Nations projects by 2040. With that steady increase comes rising incomes and, especially in developing countries, demand for more and more protein-laden foods. How to meet the demand? Boundless possibilities emerge, butting up against the array of challenges of bringing protein foods to market — the shrinking bases of arable land base and fresh water, for example, plus climate change, concern about animal agriculture’s environment impacts, animal rights issues, and more. Meat and dairy substitutes are already landing on our dietary shores with a thump.Rabobank estimated retail sales of plant-based meat alternatives had risen by almost one-quarter to an estimated $770 million in the twelve months up to August 2018,” and “the wider range of plant-based alternatives to conventional animal foods (including milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) ... up 17 percent in the past twelve months. Equally impressive are the number of new entrants and players in the “new protein landscape.”