Dear EU President Ursula von der Leyen
Fund the Future of Food!
We're calling for a moonshot investment into a rapid protein transition to make Europe a world leader in sustainable proteins, like plant-based, precision fermented and cultured meat and dairy.
OPEN LETTER
Dear Commission President von der Leyen
CC: Executive Vice President Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioners Virginijus Sinkevičius, Janusz Wojciechowski, Paolo Gentiloni
We call on you to make a €25 billion ‘moonshot’ investment between now and 2030 to fuel a rapid protein transition and make Europe a world leader in the crucial technology of sustainable proteins.
We are standing on the cusp of a technological revolution, a food revolution unprecedented since the dawn of farming thousands of years ago. This revolution, led by the rapidly evolving sector of animal-free protein production, leaves Europe with a choice: to invest now and reap the benefits, or to dither and delay whilst the rest of the world takes the lead.
Agriculture today is the largest single cause of biodiversity loss and emits up to a third of all greenhouse gases - more than all our cars, planes and ships put together. Most of the damage is caused by livestock farming, which covers 26% of the Earth’s land surface, more than all the world’s forests combined. Meanwhile war, climate shocks and supply chain vulnerabilities are driving food shortages that imperil our food security.
The crises caused by our diets seem insurmountable. But are they really? Just as clean energy sources are quickly coming to replace fossil fuels, sustainable protein production shows the potential to displace the most harmful forms of animal agriculture at a speed and scale previously unimaginable.
Sustainable protein production includes three crucial areas of innovation: precision fermentation (an advanced form of brewing in which microflora are used to produce the individual proteins and fats found in animal products), cultivated meat (a method in which animal cells are scaled up in a bioreactor to produce real animal tissues) and plant-based foods (which includes everything from whole-food beans and pulses to plant milks and plant-based burgers, sausages and steaks).
Of these, precision fermentation shows particular promise but has received the least attention. In this field, food innovators have now perfected the ancient process of brewing to do something remarkable: produce proteins that are biologically identical to those we find in traditional meat and dairy. By partnering with the microscopic world, precision fermentation companies here in Europe now have the technical ability to make animal-free cheese that melts, smells and tastes just like the cheese we eat today. Meanwhile beyond these shores precision fermentation ice cream, egg whites, ‘bleeding’ burgers and more are already reaching the market. Most importantly, precision fermentation is already proven at a global scale, producing 99% of global insulin, over 80% of global rennet and the vast majority of the world’s citric acid.
If done equitably and as part of a wider systemic transformation of our food system (including correcting market signals, supporting other sustainability efforts and addressing demand side interventions) the environmental and socioeconomic benefits of the protein transition are enormous. Moving to sustainable proteins could reduce the climate impacts of meat by up to 92% and investments in the sector offer the greatest decarbonisation potential of any industry per dollar of capital invested - greater even than direct investments in clean power. Ecologically, by freeing up vast areas of land from livestock farming the transition will allow for an unprecedented scale of nature restoration that can help bring back vital habitats and draw down further carbon.
Economically, a fully deployed sustainable protein sector could bring $1.1trillion in gross value added and create up to 9.8million green jobs worldwide by 2050. These green jobs will also importantly include opportunities for farmers, not only in the production of plant-based ingredients and feed stocks but also in Ecosystem Services Payments for carbon sequestered on rewilded land.
But of all these benefits, the greatest is sustainable proteins' unrivalled resilience to the shocks and instability of our current food system’s fragile supply chains. It is surely for this reason alone that the rest of the world is rapidly moving ahead. Pioneering nations such as Singapore, Canada, the USA, Israel, Japan and China are now leading the world in supporting the R&D and commercialisation of sustainable proteins while urgently improving their regulatory, tax and labelling landscapes to help them enter the market. In the USA precision fermentation ice cream and milk are now available to consumers, while in Singapore cultivated meat is already on the market.
But here in Europe, we seem stuck in the past. With Italy moving to ban cultivated meat and major member states starving the sector of public investment we are once again falling behind. Europeans watched with dismay as this happened with internet and information services, AI and a host of other high-tech industries, but we cannot sit by and watch it happen with our food. The protein revolution will happen with or without Europe. The only question now is whether we will proudly help steer this transformation or be passive bystanders. With others already leading the race, this is now a pressing matter of fundamental food security for the continent.
This is why we the undersigned are calling on you to commit to an immediate investment of €25 billion by 2030 to turbocharge the development and commercialisation of a European sustainable protein industry. This figure, though ambitious, represents just 5% of the €500 billion committed under the Green Deal Investment Plan to be spent on Green Industries by the same date and pales in comparison to the €420 billion of public funds projected to be spent through the Common Agriculture Policy by the decade's end. Furthermore, this investment reflects the fact that sustainable proteins must be taken just as seriously as other vital green tech such as wind, solar and hydrogen: sectors that are also benefiting from the €210 billion REPowerEU plan. With such a public-led investment we can also fully research and mitigate any unintended consequences of the sustainable protein transition and ensure that the benefits are widely shared in an open-source manner and not captured entirely by private sector corporations.
We believe that this measure, alongside much needed regulatory, tax and labelling refinements, will make the food revolution unstoppable, and make nutritious and affordable diets accessible to all, while unlocking profound ecological, climate and economic benefits. It’s time to rediscover our European spirit of innovation and enterprise. It’s time for Europe to lead the food revolution.
Yours sincerely,
The Undersigned
Supporting our open letter
We are proud to have garnered support from leading organizations, academics and thought leaders who share our vision of a sustainable protein future. Their dedication and expertise validate the importance of this cause. Join us and add your voice to the growing movement.
Neelie Kroes
Former Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of the Digital Agenda for Europe (2010-2014) and Commissioner for Competition (2004 -2010)
Europe
Tonio Borg
Former European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety
Europe
Connie Hedegaard
Former European Commissioner for Climate Action
Europe
Christiana Figueres
Former Executive Secretary UNFCCC
Costa Rica
Janez Potočnik
Former European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries
Europe
Sheldon Glashow
Nobel Laureate, Physics
USA
George Monbiot
Author & Columnist
United Kingdom
Sir Richard Roberts
Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine
United Kingdom
Sir Roger Penrose
Nobel Laureate, Physics
United Kingdom
Brice Lalonde
Former French Minister for Environment
France
Lord Martin Rees, OM FRS FREng FMedSci FRAS HonFInstP
Astronomer Royal and Co-founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
University of Cambridge
United Kingdom
Rutger Bregman
Journalist & Author (Humankind)
De Correspondent
Netherlands
The Jane Goodall Foundation
Europe
Rafael Wolhgensinger
Founder and CEO
FORMO
Germany
Brian Eno
Musician and Environmental Campaigner
United Kingdom
Sir Partha Dasgupta, GBE FBA FRS
Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus
University of Cambridge
United Kingdom
José González
Singer
Sweden
Gregory Bernstein
General Partner, Executive-In-Residence
Acequia Capital Management, EQT Ventures
Germany
Kate Raworth
Senior Associate, Environmental Change Institute
University of Oxford
United Kingdom
Dale Vince OBE
Founder
Ecotricity, Skydiamond & Green Britain Foundation, Chairman of Forest Green Rovers FC and UNFCCC Ambassador for Sport
United Kingdom
Sir Tim Smit KBE
Co-founder of Eden Project and Executive Vice Chair of EPL
Eden Project, EPL
United Kingdom
Chris Packham
Naturalist and Broadcaster
United Kingdom
Prof. Dr. Jan Rotmans
Member Club of Rome, Founder Urgenda, Professor Sustainable Transitions
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Netherlands
Godo Röben
Aufsichtsrat, Beirat, Investor
Former Rügenwalder Mühle
Germany
Paweł Golik
Director of the Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology
University of Warsaw
Poland
Alexander Schrode
Geschäftsführender Vorstand
NAHhaft e.V
Germany
Prof. Dr. Cornelius Courts
Professur für Forensische Molekulargenetik
Institut für Rechtsmedizin der Uniklinik Köln
Germany
Jens-André P. Herbener
Author
Denmark
Szymon Malinowski
Atmospheric Physicist, Professor of Earth Sciences, Correspondent Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences
University of Warsaw
Poland
Margrete Auken
Member of the European Parliament
Socialistisk Folkeparti
Denmark
Dr. Viola Bronsema
Secretary General / CEO
BIO Deutschland e. V.
Germany
Dierderik Jekel
Popular Science Communicator
NTR
Netherlands
Baroness Bryony Worthington
United Kingdom
Ignace Schops
Director BBL, Goldman Environmental Prize winner
BBL
Belgium
Ryszard Laskowski
Professor, Ecotoxicologist & Ecologist at Institute of Environmental Sciences
Jagiellonian University
Poland
Stanisław Łoboziak
Scientist, Vice-President in LabFarm
LabFarm
Poland
Rosie Wardle
Co-Founder and Partner
Synthesis Capital
United Kingdom
Franciska Rosenkilde
Member of the Danish parliament
Alternativet-
Denmark
Tim Lenton
Professor of Climate Change & Earth System Science
University of Exeter
United Kingdom
Ian Boyd
President
Royal Society of Biology
United Kingdom
Prof. Piotr Węgleński
Director of the Center for New Technologies, Member of the Warsaw Scientific Society and the Polish Academy of Sciences
University of Warsaw
Poland
Franciska de Vries
Professor Earth System Sciences UvA Amsterdam
Uva Amsterdam
Netherlands
David Osrin
Professor of Global Health and Sustainable Development
UCL
United Kingdom
Emma Mawdsley
Professor of Geography
University of Cambridge
United Kingdom
Ioan Fazey
Professor of Social Dimensions of Environment and Change
University of York
United Kingdom
Prof. Dr. Thomas Brück
Werner Siemens Chair for Synthetic Biotechnology
Technical University of Munich
Germany
Keijo Niinimaa
Artist
Rotten Sound, Goatburner, Morbid Evils
Finland
Philip Lymbery
CEO
Compassion in World Farming
United Kingdom
Marjolein Brasz
CEO Foodvalley NL
CEO
Netherlands
Andrew Swift
CEO
FERA Ltd
United Kingdom
Nik Balthazar
Documentary Filmmaker
Klimaatzaak
Belgium
Dustin Benton
Policy Director
Green Alliance
United Kingdom
Koert van Mensvoort
Founder
Next Nature
Netherlands
Antonio Valero
Plenary Member of the Club of Rome, Emeritus Prof. University of Zaragoza, Instituto CIRCE
Club of Rome
Spain
Michel Vandenbosch
President of GAIA
GAIA
Belgium
Pete Smith, FRS, FRSE
Professor of Soils & Global Change
University of Aberdeen
United Kingdom
Matt Watson
Professor of Geography
University of Sheffield
United Kingdom
German Association for Synthetic Biology
Germany
Wiktor Kotowski
Associate Professor, Wetland Ecologist
University of Warsaw
Poland
María Abajo
EU Climate Pact Ambassador and Co-Founder and CEO of Less and Conscious
European Climate Pact
Spain
Anthony Costello
Professor of Global Health and Sustainable Development
University College London
United Kingdom
Jens Tuider
Chief Strategy Officer
ProVeg International
Germany
Carice van Houten
Actress (Game of Thrones) and Climate Activist
Netherlands
GAIA
Animal Rights Organisation
Belgium
Jack Bobo
Director Food Systems Institute
University of Nottingham
United Kingdom
Joel Broekaert
NRC Restaurant Critic
NRC
Netherlands
Heikki Silvennoinen
Musician, Actor
Finland
Andy Morse
Professor of Climate Impacts
University of Liverpool
United Kingdom
Peter Horton FRS
Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry
University of Sheffield
United Kingdom
Auke Hoekstra
Director NEONresearch
TU Eindhoven
Netherlands
Nilufer Gundogan
House of Representatives
Netherlands
Food Fermentation Europe
Industry Alliance for the Food Fermentation Sector
Europe
Jesse Frederiks
Journalist De Correspondent
De Correspondent
Netherlands
Atte Harjanne
Head of the Parliamentary Group
The Greens
Finland
Jonathan Petrides
Founder & CEO
AllPlants
United Kingdom
Alec Rauschenbusch
Founder and CEO
Grazia Equity
Germany
Jesper Theilgaard
Meteorologist, Climate Expert, Speaker on Climate, Author and Founder of climatecommunication.eu
Denmark
Professor Mike Lepledge FRS
Chief Scientific Advisor
The Eden Project
United Kingdom
Frank W. Geels
Eddie Davies Professor of Sustainability Transitions
University of Manchester
United Kingdom
Jussi Saramo
Head of the Parliamentary Group
The Left Alliance
Finland
Mai Kivelä
Member of Parliament
Left Alliance Parliamentary Group
Finland
Dr. Anne Monika Spallek
Abgeordneterin, Leiterin eines Pferdebetriebes
Die Grünen/Bündnis 90
Germany
Lorenzo Fioramonti
Founding Director, Institute for Sustainability
University of Surrey
United Kingdom
Klaas Dijkhoff
Entrepeneur, Former Politician
Sue and the Alchemist/VVD
Netherlands
Dave Goulson
Professor of Biology
University of Sussex
United Kingdom
Jonathan van het Reve
Author & Columnist Volkskrant
Volkskrant
Netherlands
Andrew Balmford
Professor in Conservation Science, Centre for Global Food Security
University of Cambridge
United Kingdom
Paulina Matysiak
Polish Local Government Official and Political Activist
Lewica Razem
Poland
Cesare Gargioli
Tor Vergata University Professor
Tor Vergata University Professor
Italy
David Humphreys
Professor Emeritus in Environmental Policy
Open University
United Kingdom
Affif Grazette
Cellulair Biologist
Upstream Foods
Netherlands
Marius Henkel
Professor for Cellular Agriculture,
Technical University of Munich
Netherlands
Manouchehr Shamsrizi, M.P.P
Co-Founder and former CEO
RetroBrain
Germany
Owen Ensor
CEO
Good Dog Food
United Kingdom
Luca Lo Sapio
University of Torino, Assistant Professor
University of Torino
Italy
Hanna L. Tuomisto
Professor of Sustainable Food Systems
University of Helsinki
Finland
Jeroen Willemsen
Green Protein Alliance
Netherlands
Ed Brunet
COO
Le Bab Restaurant Group
United Kingdom
David Burslem
Director, Interdisciplinary Centre for Environment and Biodiversity
University of Aberdeen
United Kingdom
Robert Maślak
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
University of Warsaw
Poland
Bill McGuire
Professor Emeritus of Geophysical & Climate Hzaards
UCL
United Kingdom
Mike Berners-Lee
Professor
Lancaster University
United Kingdom
James Bullock
Professor of Ecology
University of Bournemouth
United Kingdom
Adrian Tadeusz Zandberg
Politician, Co-Chairman of Lewica Razem Party
Lewica Razem
Poland
Hugh Montgomery
Professor of Intensive Care Medicine
University College London
United Kingdom
Pepijn Vloemans
Farmless.com
Farmless
Netherlands
Stephen Tozer
CEO
Le Bab Restaurant Group
United Kingdom
Alie de Boer
Assistent Professor Nutrition
University Maastricht
Netherlands
Corjan van den Berg
CEO
FUMI Ingredients
Netherlands
Boaz van Driel
Head of Strategy Consulting
Catalyze group
Netherlands
Luciano Conti
University of Trento, Professor
University of Trento
Italy
Frank Deboosere
Former National TV Weather Anchor
Science Communicator
Belgium
Richard Grenyer
Associate Professor in Biogeography and Biodiversity
University of Oxford
United Kingdom
Irina Gerry
CMO/COO
Change Foods
USA
Marcelina Zawisza
Polish Social and Political Activist, Member of the National Board of Lewica Razem Party
Lewica Razem
Poland
James Dyke, FRSA
Associate Professor in Earth Systems Science
University of Exeter
United Kingdom
Cindy Gerhardt
Director Global Development organisation.
Planet-B.io
Netherlands
Joris Hessels
Actor, Radio and TV show host
Belgium
Antonie Fountain
Director Global Development Organisation
VOICE
Netherlands
Peter Belton
Emeritus Professor
University of East Anglia
United Kingdom
Tomasz Kijewski
Doctor at Institute of Oceanology
Polish Academy of Sciecince
Poland
Jesús Iglesias Saugar
EU Climate Pact ambassador at NBSCLIMATE, Nature-Based Solutions Practitioner
European Climate Pact
Spain
Francesca Vanthielen
Actress, Co-Founder of Klimaatzaak'
Klimaatzaak
Belgium
Helder Cruz
Scientist
Good Dog Food Limited
Netherlands
Nike Schiavo
Agricoltura Cellulare Italia APS
Agricoltura Cellulare Italia APS
Netherlands
Piotr Tyszko-Chmielowiec
Doctor at Tree Institute
Tree Institute
Poland
Rosemary Green
Professor in Sustainability, Nutrition and Health
LSHTM
United Kingdom
Cees Haringa
Assistant Professor Bioprocess Engineering
TU Delft
Netherlands
Maike Rochon
Head of Strategy & Innovation Management
Biosaxony
Germany
Karolina Lisslö Gylfe
Secretary-General
RePlanet
Sweden
Lars Langhout
NoPalm Ingredients
Netherlands
Milla Paloniemi
Comic Artist
Finland
Alessandro Bertero
University of Torino, Associate Professor
University of Torino
Italy
Minna Kanerva
Dr./Senior Researcher
Sustainability Research Center (artec), University of Bremen, Germany
Finland
Rich Dillon
CEO
Ivy Farm Technologies
United Kingdom
Tuomas Enbuske
Journalist, Entrepreneur
Finland
Dwayne Holmes
New Harvest - Netherlands
Netherlands
Manu Canales
Executive Chef
Le Bab Restaurant Group
United Kingdom
Magdalena Biejat
Social and Political activist, co-chair of Lewica Razem Party
Lewica Razem
Poland
Floor Buitelaar
Bright Green Partners
Netherlands
Diana Massai
Politecnico di Torino, Associate Professor
Politecnico di Torino, Associate Professor
Netherlands
Annemiek Verkamman
Director
HollandBIO
Netherlands
Joey Cramer
ProVeg Netherlands
Proveg
Netherlands
Tasvi Shah
Head of Strategic Projects
Ivy Farm Technologies
United Kingdom
Joanna Fotschki
Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology and Food Microbiology
Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences
Poland
Nettie Buitelaar
CEO
Biotech Booster
Netherlands
wim de laat
CEO
Protein Brewery
Netherlands
Stefano Biressi
University of Trento, Professor
University of Trento
Italy
Dr Emily Grossman
Science Author, Broadcaster and Educator
United Kingdom
Joy Carter CBE
Former Vice Chancellor
Winchester University
United Kingdom
Jonathon Porritt
Sustainability Campaigner and Author
United Kingdom
Jim Lynch OBE, KHS, FRSC, FRSB, FRSA, FRGS
Distinguished Professor of Life Sciences Emeritus, Centre for Environment and Sustainability
University of Surrey
United Kingdom
Anna Handschuh
Head of Public Affairs and Impact
Onego Bio / ESG
Germany
Tobias Leenaert
Founder of ProVeg
ProVeg
Belgium
Leo Van Broeck
Former Vlaams Bouwmeester
Belgium
Hermes Sanctorum
CEO Paleo
Belgium
Olivier Honnay
Professor Ecology
KU Leuven
Belgium
Stijn Bruers
Co-Founder The Leuven Alt. Protein Project
KU Leuven
Belgium
Tessa Avermaete
Researcher Sustainable Agriculture
KU Leuven
Belgium
Maarten Boudry
Author
Universiteit Gent
Belgium
Dr. Sebastian Rakers
Co-Founder and CEO
Bluu Seafood
Germany
Carolin Wendel
Entrepreneur, & Founder
ScobyTec
Germany
Dr. Hans-Otto Pörtner
Ecophysiologist and Climatologist
Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (AWI)
Germany
Samae Koskinen
Singer and Songwriter
Finland
Benjamin Pitkänen
Vegan Activist
Viral Vegans ry
Finland
Marius Henkel
Professor for Cellular Agriculture, Technical University of Munich
Germany
Food Valley NL
Netherlands
Dr. Grzegorz Kubik
Head of Innovation Field Industrial Biotechnology
Fraunhofer-Institut für Grenzflächen- und Bioverfahrenstechnik IGB
Germany
Dr. Julia Keppler
Associate Professor Food Process Engineering
WUR
Netherlands
Jan Dutkiewicz
Assistant Professor, School of Social Science and Cultural Studies,
Pratt Institute
USA
Elisa Aaltola
Associate Professor
University of Turku
Finland
Bernhard Schipper
Entrepreneur & Founder
ScobyTec
Germany
Dennis Favier
Founder
Studio Fava en De Nieuwe Keuken
Netherlands
Precision Fermentation Alliance
USA
Adrian Boelle
Co-Founder
@eat.click.travel/My Elephant Kitchen
Germany
Oliver Rautenberg
Journalist, Blogger, Podcaster
Anthroblogger
Germany
Frank Cordesmeyer
Founder & Managing Partner
Good Seed Ventures
Germany
Melanie Mikosch-Wersching
Geschäftsführerin des Centre for Synthetic Biology
TU Darmstadt
Germany
Sandra Malmberg
Partner
EQT Ventures
Germany
Dr David Spencer
Science Communicator, Author
Germany
Esko Valtaoja
Professor Emeritus
University of Turku
Finland
Joni Valkila
Wildlife Photographer
Finland
Antonio Aguilera Nieves
EU Climate Pact Ambassador, General Secretary of Savia Foundation and Economist
European Climate Pact
Spain
Johanna Kaipiainen
M.Sc, Registered Dietitian
Finland
Mercedes Díaz-Mendoza
Research Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, PhD
UCM (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)
Spain
Stichting DierenLot
Netherlands
Koningin Sophia-Vereeniging tot Bescherming van Dieren
Netherlands
Thomas Rotthier
Author
Belgium
Kianti Figler
Netherlands
Animal Equality Italia
Italy
Bont voor dieren
Netherlands
Max Jamilly
Co-Founder
Hoxton Farms
United Kingdom
Jan Deschoolmeester
Author
Belgium
Aleksandra Stanisławska
Science Journalist, Co-Founder
Crazy Nauka
Poland
Nederlandse Federatie Dierenopvang Organisaties
Netherlands
Maciej Otrębski
Strategic Partnership Manager in Roślinnie Jemy
Roślinnie Jemy
Poland
Otwarte Klatki
Association that aims to promote solutions to prevent animal suffering
Otwarte Klatki
Poland
Che Connon
Director of Business Development, Professor of Tissue Engineering, Biosciences Institute
Newcastle University
United Kingdom
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