Teagasc brings EU-level stakeholders together to chart Europe’s protein future

Pictured at the VALPRO Path roundtable in Brussels were: Amy O’Leary, Research Officer, Teagasc, Francisco Castro Alves DG Agri, Maeve Henchion Principal Research Officer, Teagasc and Ewen Mullins Head of Crops Department, Teagasc and VALPROPath coordinator.

The event forms part of VALPRO Path, a 4-year EU-funded project that is conducting research and undertaking pilot initiatives to build knowledge and evidence that support the exploitation of added value opportunities by farmers via innovative approaches.

Ireland’s agrifood sector is globally recognised for its dairy and meat production, but Teagasc says that the protein transition is about diversification, not replacement. The VALPRO Path project co-ordinator, Dr Ewen Mullins from Teagasc, says; “This is not about turning away from animal-based protein. It’s about diversification and expanding options available to farmers and processors. Climate change is opening the door to new crop opportunities, while global markets are shifting rapidly. We want Irish and European farmers to be positioned to benefit from those changes, not to be left to react to them”.

Globally, the pressures on the food system are intensifying. Twenty-five to 30% of all food produced globally is either lost, or wasted, while food systems also account for roughly one third of global greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to biodiversity loss. At the same time, around 2 billion adults are overweight or obese, while nearly one billion people remain undernourished. Professor Maeve Henchion of Teagasc adds; “The protein transition is not simply about what we grow or eat. It’s about how we govern food systems in a world facing climate change, biodiversity loss and major health inequalities. Plant-based protein has a role to play in addressing these challenges, but only if we plan for it strategically. That’s why this discussion matters”.

The roundtable used a futures-thinking approach, developed earlier in the VALPRO Path project, which explored four possible scenarios for Europe’s protein landscape. Amy O’Leary, Research Officer at Teagasc, explained “We focused on an ambitious scenario: a Europe where plant-based protein is well established, and integrated with other agrifood systems which are resilient to stresses by 2040. We asked participants to identify what would be different in this future, what milestones must be reached and what decisions must be taken now to make that future possible”.

Some highlights from the event included a recognition that several emerging policies will impact the protein transition, the inter-connectedness between food, energy and other systems and the opportunities for shared learning across value chains and regional contexts. Practical recommendations ranged from establishing public private partnerships to support breeding initiatives for locally adapted varieties for greater stress resilience, considering the role of short food supply chains in a regional context, and delivering dietary guidelines that address affordability as well as health and nutrition.

VALPRO Path has already identified critical gaps in Europe’s plant protein value chain and has carried out pilot on-farm experiments demonstrating practical ways to increase plant protein production in the context of returning added value back to the farmer. Building on this evidence, and a wide range of other results and outputs from VALPRO Path, the insights from this roundtable will inform a policy brief aimed at EU institutions and national governments.

The final VALPRO Path conference, organised in conjunction with an allied project Giant Leaps, will take place in Brussels on the 25^th  of June, where project partners will present key results and recommendations for strengthening European protein resilience.