Will we soon be eating vegetable steaks?

The four-year public-private partnership (PPP) Plant Meat Matters will start this spring. The PPP will conduct extensive research into plant-based alternatives to meat. 

The innovative shear cell technology, developed by Wageningen University & Research, plays a major role in this. The energy-efficient technology should make the production of meat substitute products accessible to a wide audience. 

In this project, the shear-cell technology is being realized at an industrial level for the first time. 'The aim is to present the first version of the production line in four years' time. Companies should be able to make meat substitutes in large volumes with this.' Atze Jan van der Groot, coordinator of the PPP, reports this.

The research has to do with, among other things, the growth of the world population. The growing world population is accompanied by a growing need for proteins. We currently mainly get these proteins from meat, but the production of meat is expensive.

The PPP is therefore conducting research into the proteins in wheat and soy, but vegetable products such as peas and maize are also being investigated. Van der Groot: 'This allows us to produce larger pieces of meat with fewer raw materials.' The plant-based meat substitutes must form a sustainable alternative for food security and quality of life. 

In addition to Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, companies from the entire chain participate in the PPP. These include: De Vegetarian Butcher, Unilever and flavor and fragrance developer Givaudan.

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