Global investors are showing greater interest in alternative proteins, such as plant-based substitutes and lab-grown meat, as the climate impact of agriculture and food production comes under the spotlight.
Environmental experts have started to highlight the impact of agriculture, especially the intensive livestock sector, on rising greenhouse gas emissions as well as land and water use and deforestation. The world’s food system, including agriculture and land use, accounted for 25 to 30 per cent of emissions from 2007 to 2016.
The good news is that new food technologies are emerging and becoming profitable. These disruptive technologies are starting to have an impact on the world and on portfolios, from meaty meat-free burgers to sustainable livestock management and organic growing.
The successful flotation of plant-based meat substitute group Beyond Meat earlier this year has also highlighted investment opportunities in alternative proteins as a way for food companies to be part of the solution. Plant-based proteins, including meat and dairy, are also seeing high demand from consumers, partly for health but also because many environmental specialists believe a change in diets can mitigate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Analysts forecast that alternative proteins are not just a fad.
Quote Of The Day
“To win without risk is to triumph without glory”
Pierre Corneille
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“I took the wife’s family out for tea and biscuits.They weren’t too happy about having to give blood though.”
Les Dawson
Aquaculture, precision farming, and food-testing technologies are all areas to watch. Urban circular farms are sprouting up everywhere. The fresh-produce outputs of these industrial farms are expensive, but the technology used to produce them is hugely efficient, and valuable. Food flavouring — products mimicking the taste of harmful foodstuffs — is booming. Sustainable packaging is also touted as a growth sector.
Various exchange traded funds invest in these areas, but angel investing in potentially lucrative start-ups in the sector could also mean big profits.
While investors have long included global agribusinesses or food manufacturers in their portfolios, their interest in the mucky business of farming is increasingly focused on assets that advance two critical global goals: increasing food security and tackling climate change. Last year, for example, the agri-food technology sector — whose innovations often contribute to more efficient and sustainable forms of food production — attracted almost $20bn in venture capital.
Venture capitalists and private equity firms see an opportunity to take a stake in enterprises that are not only increasing food security or tackling climate change but may also become highly profitable — benefitting from green government schemes. Investing in small and medium enterprises, not just big global companies, could mean big bucks in the long term.
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