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Gap resolutIon in sAfety, NuTritional, alLergenicity and Environmental assessments to promote Alternative Protein utilization and the dietary Shift

Project description

Accelerating the dietary shift

The footprint of our food system can shrink as consumers turn to alternative dietary proteins from animal-based proteins — what experts call the dietary shift. This would lead to, among others, fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less use of energy, water and land. The EU-funded GIANT LEAPS project seeks to accelerate this dietary shift, which is in line with the farm-to-fork strategy and contributes to the EU Green Deal target that aims to improve the well-being and health of citizens, by providing strategic innovations, methodologies, and open-access datasets. The work will support policymaking towards the dietary shift, value chain actors in their decision-making, and the public for their healthier and more sustainable dietary choices.

Objective

Accelerating the transition from animal-based to alternative dietary proteins – the dietary shift – is key to reducing the footprint of our food system in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), energy, water and land use, and other relevant environmental impacts, and for improving the health and well-being of people, animals and the planet. GIANT LEAPS delivers the strategic innovations, methodologies, and open-access datasets to speed up this dietary shift, in line with the Farm-to-Fork strategy and contributing to the Green Deal target of reaching climate neutrality by 2050.
Achieving the dietary shift in practice is inherently complex due to the diverse set of actors involved and further hindered by major knowledge gaps, scattered across the various alternative protein sources and the domains of health (safety, allergenicity and digestibility), environment (GHGs and other environmental and climate impacts, biodiversity, circularity), and/or barriers to adoption (technological, sensory, and consumer acceptance). The GIANT LEAPS consortium consists of the key actors and spans all expertise to address relevant knowledge gaps and proactively engages to arrive at optimized future diets based on alternative proteins that are broadly accepted across stakeholder groups. In order to deliver required insights for short-, mid- and long-term decision making and impact, GIANT LEAPS protein sources have been selected for either targeted or full assessment based on their current level of specification. The innovations and improved methods combined with accessible and comprehensive information, generated for a wide collection of alternative proteins, will enable policymakers to prioritise changes in the food system towards the dietary shift based on desired impact, value chain actors to make strategic scientific, business and investment choices, and the general public to make more sustainable and healthy dietary choices.

Coordinator

STICHTING WAGENINGEN RESEARCH
Net EU contribution
€ 1 724 397,50
Address
DROEVENDAALSESTEEG 4
6708 PB Wageningen
Netherlands

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Region
Oost-Nederland Gelderland Veluwe
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 1 724 397,50

Participants (29)

Partners (5)