A few places I think charities / advocates can play a major role: (a) lobbying for govt funding for alt protein R&D, (b) lobbying for a clear regulatory pathway for cultivated meat and novel plant-based meat ingredients (e.g. Impossible’s heme), (c) educating investors and food companies on the business opportunity, especially around higher impact opportunities (e.g. plant-based fish) and unusual investment setups (e.g. long-term patient funding for deeper R&D).
I’m not sure how much labeling laws matter, and think it probably depends on the specific (e.g. laws merely requiring the product note it is plant-based are less insidious than ones requiring a big “imitation” label). On the pro labeling matters side I’d point to the history of margarine. On the con side I’d point to plant-based milks, which mostly don’t use “milk” on their labels.
Given the industry funding and incentives in the alt protein space, where do charities and advocates have the biggest role to play?
How much do labelling laws actually matter?
A few places I think charities / advocates can play a major role: (a) lobbying for govt funding for alt protein R&D, (b) lobbying for a clear regulatory pathway for cultivated meat and novel plant-based meat ingredients (e.g. Impossible’s heme), (c) educating investors and food companies on the business opportunity, especially around higher impact opportunities (e.g. plant-based fish) and unusual investment setups (e.g. long-term patient funding for deeper R&D).
I’m not sure how much labeling laws matter, and think it probably depends on the specific (e.g. laws merely requiring the product note it is plant-based are less insidious than ones requiring a big “imitation” label). On the pro labeling matters side I’d point to the history of margarine. On the con side I’d point to plant-based milks, which mostly don’t use “milk” on their labels.