German Government to boost alternative proteins with €38m investment

Alternative proteins are a key area of investment in a number of European countries. In August, the UK​ announced the launch of an innovation hub to boost research into alternative proteins. Catalonia, Spain​ followed in October, announcing it would invest €7m into alternative protein research. Now, it’s Germany’s turn. The announcement was made last week by Dr Zoe Mayer, a member of the German Parliament and of the Alliance90/Green Party who serves on the Committee on Food and Agriculture. Germany’s Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) announced a breakdown of the funding. Eight million euros of the funding will focus on promoting protein directly for human consumption, rather than animal feed. The investment will be used to establish a ‘competence centre’ (centres staffed with experts who are there to provide consultation in a given field) on future proteins, as well as a stakeholder forum on protein sources for human nutrition. The competence centre will be a ...