Food and Gastronomy Festival: Soon “steak in the lab” and insects on our plates?

For Anne Le Moore, chefs are a vector that pushes people to change consumption patterns. A necessary and inevitable change for François Chabrier with a more reasonable consumption of animal proteins: “We see it in our technical center. Today 90% of the projects that have come out do not use animal proteins. The same with the competition we are organizing. Of the 160 projects this year, only 10 use animal proteins.” The same observation by Anne Le More who recalls that in 2050, projections are based on the fact that two-thirds of the proteins consumed will not be of animal origin.

Synthetic proteins, algae and insects

Research is working to find alternative sources of protein. The “steak” was developed in the lab, explains the co-founder of Chefs4ThePlanet. A practice that cannot be developed industrially due to production costs but is likely to be before 2050 according to Agrotec’s Director of Innovation.

Other sources considered are algae and insects. As for seaweed, they are starting to get more into our diet, but the hardest part in Europe is getting insects into our plates. Two billion people in the world already consume insects and insect farms are multiplying. It will be incorporated as a priority in formulations in the form of a protein-rich powder because the European consumer is not yet familiar with the visible substances. “It’s a cultural problem,” explains François Chabrier. Anne Le Moore worthy challenge because “a kilo of protein from insects generates a hundred times less greenhouse gases than beef”… Are you ready for an insect steak?