The rise of meat that is not meat, that is, vegetable burgers and other types of products that imitate chicken, beef, or fish but contain only vegetable proteins, can represent a real revolution for the international raw materials market. The fact that soy, for example, is imported in large quantities from America also makes these types of products unsustainable, as they must travel thousands of kilometers, which forces manufacturers to consider the need for local sourcing.
To solve this problem, an alliance of companies has just been forged in Catalonia that want to promote the cultivation of local vegetable protein and thus be able to structure a value chain that allows closing the circle. The project, baptized as From Crop to Table, is led by Zyrcular Foods in alliance with the University of Lleida and the companies Semillas Batlle, Metalquimia, and Elian. The idea is to get farmers in Catalonia and the Ebro Valley to opt for planting varieties of soybeans and legumes (such as chickpeas and lentils) that serve as raw material for companies that produce these vegetable products that imitate meat.
The initiative has just been presented to the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda and is part of the Generalitat's Next Generation EU European funds strategy, which foresees, among many other projects, creating an alternative protein hub in Catalonia.
According to the promoters, this project will allow diversifying the economy of rural areas of Catalonia, reducing the CO2 footprint, reducing dependence on raw materials from other areas of the world such as South America, the United States, Ukraine, or China; innovating in local legume varieties that adapt to the elaboration of meat and fish analog products and to the Mediterranean diet. In addition, structuring this hub can be a competitive advantage for export and for international markets that value aspects such as traceability, productive quality, and gastronomy.
"Catalonia is a global benchmark in the technology and processing of animal protein; now we have the opportunity to also be global leaders in the technology and treatment of vegetable protein, we cannot lose a minute", indicates Josep Lagares, CEO of Metalquimia.
For his part, Santi Aliaga, director of Zyrcular Foods, believes that "the primary sector, the food industry and Catalan gastronomy are world references" and that "in the innovation and production of new foods we have the obligation to generate local products that adapt as much as possible to our palate, otherwise we will lose share against increasingly homogeneous and global products."
Zyrcular Foods, owned by the owners of the Vall Companys group, has launched a factory for products that imitate meat and fish in Seva (Osona). Semillas Batlle and a research team from the University of Lleida will select the crops that best adapt, while Metalquimia will provide the technology for their processing.
Add The New Barcelona Post as your preferred Google source for free
Stay informed with the latest news.
