Synthetic food a big risk to NZ economy

Now I think the risk is real, PM’s chief science adviser Peter Gluckman says

Synthetic food a big risk to NZ economy
Synthetic foods could be one of the "big existential risks to New Zealand" and "now I think the risk is real”, the Prime Minister’s chief science adviser Peter Gluckman warns.

But Fonterra says it’s confident the complexity of cow milk will always trump plant-based alternatives.

Gluckman threw down the gauntlet in a keynote speech to the annual NZBIO conference in Wellington yesterday, saying there was a growing consumer appetite around the world for synthetic alternatives to meat and milk.

He added this included the Asian market, with plant-based foods now crossing the taste and texture threshold and offering a much smaller environmental impact than food derived from pastoral farming.

"Fundamentally there’s an environmental concern for the population as a whole, not only in US, but in countries like China there’s an environmental consciousness," he said. "The question is for New Zealand is it a fad? Or is it a real threat for our commodities?"

When Gluckman was appointed to the position eight years ago, he viewed synthetic foods as one of the "big existential risks to New Zealand" and "now I think the risk is real".

Dairy products account for about 27% of New Zealand's annual $50.84 billion of exported goods and New Zealand households spend 10% of their food budget on dairy products.

Fonterra is keeping tabs on what's going on with synthetic foods and is currently investigating consumer attitudes to alternative proteins and the role technology plays alongside dairy, a spokeswoman said.

Fonterra noted the growth in consumer interest in "social and environmental factors when making purchase decisions" in its 2017 annual report, and predicted "shifts towards diets with lower environmental footprints".

Gluckman said the shift raised a number of "really hard questions" that will need a wide public debate because plant-based synthetic foods rely on genetically modified ingredients to enhance the taste and texture.

He sees New Zealand as having three options: stick with ruminant-based farming but adopt new practices including the use of GM foragers; switch to GM-free plant-based ingredients; invest in the full supply chain and produce meat and milk alternative foods.


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