Are hybrids the future of food? Will hybrid plantbased/”non-animal, animal products” be common on our future supermarket shelves? With precision fermentation products being considered vegan the sky’s the limit. The Every Company’s egg proteins are a great example, and very timely given the current egg crisis. Besides being able to improve plantbased products these ingredients can potentially remove the uncertainty of supply for large CPG companies. No more worrying about the next round of avian influenza decimating egg laying flocks and driving up prices! And once major companies develop a new source of supply they very rarely go back to the old one.
But what do we call these products? They’re animal free, but identical to animal products, and could this cause some issues for those with allergies? Are they still plant “based”?
Does it matter? When a new mainstream product is launched it simply lists the ingredients and allergens. As long as the labelling is clear then maybe this should be enough.
In the end this is a solvable issue. More importantly, we need to concentrate on making great tasting products within planetary boundaries. Reimagining our global food system has never been more important.
