BOSTON (SHNS) – Pledging his support for the alternative protein industry, Sen. Barry Finegold told a crowd of plant-based meat researchers and marketers Monday that he enjoyed an Impossible Burger over the weekend while grilling chicken , hamburgers and hot dogs.
“I thought it was fantastic. And the good thing about it is that I don’t think I missed much by eating an Impossible Burger,” Finegold said during “Protein Innovation Day” in the Great Hall. “I think investing in alternative proteins is what we need to do, not only to make sure we can feed our population, but also to make sure we fight climate change.”
Finegold, chair of the Senate Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, sponsored the event with co-chair Rep. Jerry Parisella and Food Solutions Action, which focuses on “accelerating solutions at the intersection of agriculture and biotechnology.”
The committee added major new investments for the industry to Gov. Maura Healey’s sweeping economic development bill, which also seeks to make billions of dollars in long-term commitments to both the life sciences and climate technology sectors.
This month, the panel added two $5 million bond authorizations for alternative protein investments to the restated bill (H 4722), including authorizations for an equipment grant program for alternative protein companies and bond support for early-stage businesses. initial.
Global demand for protein is expected to more than double by 2050, according to Food Solutions Action. Investing in alternative proteins can help maintain a secure food supply while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including the methane released when cows belch, Finegold and her advocates said.
“We have the workforce, the technology and the appetite to lead the country in this emerging field,” Finegold said. “And I am confident that the investments we have made in the economic development bill and through the work of Food Solutions Action, Massachusetts companies will be able to ensure leadership in this field.”
The Joint Committee on Bonds, Capital Expenditures and State Assets reported favorably on the bill last Wednesday, and it is now before the House Ways and Means Committee, the last stop before the bill reaches the floor of the camera.
Noa Dalzell, state policy director at Food Solutions Action, said government officials typically have not championed the alternative protein industry compared to other environmental priorities, such as reducing plastics or investing in offshore wind, because of the absence of education. Dalzell described alternative proteins as “climate technology,” particularly in contrast to “industrial agriculture” which she says is responsible for 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
State investment in the industry could help executives overcome the “valley of death,” Dalzell said, as they struggle to scale their startups and turn a profit amid high costs tied to new facilities and equipment.
“It sends a signal to the industry at large that Massachusetts sees the sector and Massachusetts cares,” Dalzell said. “Not many states have done what Massachusetts is about to do, if these authorizations are approved, so there is a market signal that is also very important, in addition to just the dollars.”
Megan Reece, foodservice sales manager at Seattle-based Rebellyous Foods, was handing out samples of General Tso’s plant-based chicken nuggets. The company’s products are offered in school districts as well as health care facilities, including Massachusetts General Hospital, she said.
Rebellyous is working to increase the affordability of plant-based products, which can be expensive compared to their meat counterparts, and to “save as many chickens as possible,” Reece said.
“In fact, our CEO has created a new machine, a novel technology that will allow us to make these products much cheaper. Right now, a lot of the alternatives are made using very labor-intensive processes that require refrigeration, and this machine we’ve built will allow us to automate it, which will make it cheaper,” Reece said. “We hope to achieve profitability next year, something that not many companies in the sector have been able to do.”
Across the room were samples of animal-free dairy milk, a product made through a collaboration between the companies TurtleTree and Strive. After taking a sip, Finegold said the milk tasted good.
Aletta Schnitzler, chief scientific officer at Singapore-based TurtleTree, said the company uses a “precision fermentation” process to produce animal proteins that support people’s immune system, gut health and iron regulation, without needing to use real cows. Other alternative dairy products, such as almond milk and oat milk, lack proteins with health benefits, she said.
Schnitzler said policymakers can support pilot plants and product development efforts that are a combination of food science and biotechnology.
“Obviously, we need a lot of support to develop the infrastructure for these products because it uses more advanced technology, and a state like Massachusetts already has a biotech pharmaceutical infrastructure,” Schnitzler said. “We have the talent here, we have the universities, the training programs, the biotechnology, the bioengineering programs, that can support the arrival, especially in the manufacturing of these types of products made with precision fermentation, here in Massachusetts.”
Glenn Gaudette, chair of the Department of Engineering at Boston College, showed off a device called a bioreactor, which he uses in research to make “cultured meat,” sometimes produced by removing plant cells from broccoli florets and mixing them with muscle cells isolated from animals. , like cows, among other ingredients. The end result is real meat, unlike plant-based Impossible Burgers, he said.
Ultimately, the process could allow farmers to reduce their herds or stop growing them, and researchers are also interested in paying farmers for animal muscle biopsies, Gaudette said.
“Something like this here could work in a city, it could work in a factory, it doesn’t need as much water, it doesn’t need as many land resources, so we could produce food with fewer natural resources,” Gaudette said. . “We could significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and we could reduce our dependence on the number of animals we need.”
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.