IPSUS - Climate smart food innovation using plant and seaweed proteins from upcycled sources

Food choices impact human and planetary health. The negative environmental impacts of the food system, increasing food insecurity and the prevalence of unhealthy diets are driving policymakers, scientists, companies, and consumers to demand sustainable solutions. Globally, livestock emits 14.5% of GHGs, causes 30% of biodiversity loss, and meat demand is projected to double by 2050. Transitioning diets to more sustainable sources of protein is therefore crucial. Plant-based food is currently one of the fastest growing food trends but are rather unsustainably dependent on soy (>60% of the segment). A trans-national and inter-disciplinary consortium consists of ~20 natural/social scientists and engineers from seven universities and two industrial partners across six countries in the three continents (Europe, Africa & Asia) has co-designed the project IPSUS to address Net Zero opportunity by connecting sustainable protein shift and food waste valorisation. This will exploit opportunities for extracting upcycled plant and seaweed proteins from raw materials otherwise destined to join the ~1.6 billion tonnes of annual global food loss and waste (FLW).

Plant-based meat and cheese alternatives using livestock-free protein sources such as legumes, oilseeds and cereals are gaining importance for addressing the need for a sustainable protein transition. Increasing the use of underutilised protein-rich by-products for such applications would be a transformative breakthrough. The IPSUS project will facilitate future-fit food system transformation in a resource efficient way by connecting sustainable protein shift (i.e. plant and seaweed protein-based food) to FLW valorisation. In the UK, the IPSUS project's focus will be on FLW upcycling opportunities from two of the following sources, potato, brewer's spent grain, and seaweed.