The largest food tech conference in the US is set to discuss the importance of a growing plant-based meat market.
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Conference will put the issue of plant-based meat centre stage at next week’s convention.
The ground-breaking move will see plant-based meat on the agenda at the conference for the first time, showing the influence of the growing plant-based market. There are increasing numbers of companies producing plant-based meats and growing numbers of products on the market, with new companies tapping into the huge plant-based sector all the time.
According to the IFT website, the conference brings together a “community committed to driving innovation and global sustainability, where serious science of food professionals come to recharge, engage, and be blown away by the latest research, insights, and innovations.”
“Winds are changing”
Emily Byrd, Senior Communications Specialist at The Good Food Institute (GFI), said: “For the first time, IFT is putting plant-based meat and clean meat on the agenda. The winds are shifting, and food tech conversations are no longer completely dominated by talk about flavours and preservatives. Now, it’s about saving the world.
“Good Food Institute senior scientist Dr Liz Specht is convening IFT’s first-ever panel on clean meat, which will give the audience an insider’s perspective on the development of an entirely new food sector.
“Additionally, GFI senior scientist Christie Lagally is giving an interactive talk on the IFT ‘NEXT’ stage about scaling up plant-based meat production to address the dramatic increase in protein consumption expected by 2050.”
The plant-based sector is growing rapidly across the globe, according to a report from Research and Markets released last year.
The conference will take place in Las Vegas from June 25th-28th and will feature 1000+ exhibiting companies, 100+ scientific sessions, product competitions and presentations on a range of food-related topics.