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… market has even attracted companies from other industries.
<a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Companies/IBIDEN-Co.-Ltd">Ibiden</a>, a Japanese maker of printed circuit boards, has started production of a soybean-based meat substitute. The company utilizes mold technology used to shape and manufacture automobile parts, to make soybean-based Japanese hamburger steak.
The company plans to commence test sales at major retailers from July to September in the greater Tokyo area before starting full production.
In Thailand, meanwhile, local conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group has started research and development for plant-based food.
"Although plant-based food is not so popular in Thailand, we will continue to develop it as it is a [global] trend," Wisade Wisidwinyoo, president of CPRAM, a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Foods, told Nikkei.
<a href="https://kr-asia.us16.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=30d29fcc7b3f6538487126910&amp;id=3036cffb93"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-62202" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/China_Digest.png" alt="China digest" width="1160" height="232" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/China_Digest.png 1160w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/China_Digest-300x60.png 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/China_Digest-768x154.png 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/China_Digest-1024x205.png 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1160px) 100vw, 1160px" /></a>
Not only big conglomerate CPF, but also emerging Thai start-ups are trying to take advantage of the shift toward plant-based meat as they realize that several instances of animal-sourced pandemics over the past decade have raised concerns among meat lovers and encouraged them to become vegetarians or switch to plant-based meats.
Thai FoodTech, which launched plant-based food product More Meat early this year, says it has received a warm welcome from local clients.
Vorakan Tanachotevorapong, a co-creator of More Meat, said his company earned higher-than-expected sales of THB 500,000 (USD 16,189) in the first quarter of this year, well above the around THB 100,000 expected when he launched the product in January 2020.
Swiss giant Nestle will invest more than CHF 100 million (USD 94 million) to produce plant-based meat in China by the end of the year, betting consumers will embrace alternative meat as pork imports from overseas decreased due to the pandemic.
The world's largest food company will expand existing facilities in Tianjin for artificial-meat production, its first such attempt in Asia.
After major US meat plants closed due to confirmed coronavirus cases among workers, concerns arose among meat suppliers in Asia about their supply chains. Mitsubishi's Kizuki, however, said plant-based meat has a low procurement risk as it can easily adapt to the vagaries of supply and demand. For example, raising cattle from breeding to fattening takes several years. And climate change can cause large fluctuations in the harvest and price of food grains needed to feed animals.
Also, unlike animal meat, advocates say plant-based varieties produced in hygiene-controlled facilities avoid the risk of losses resulting from animal illnesses such as outbreaks of avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, and the African swine fever that decimated Chinese pork stocks in 2018.
"Alternative meat will draw more interest" in the wake of food company supply chain anxiety caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Kizuki added.
This article first appeared on <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Food-Beverage/Coronavirus-accelerates-demand-in-Asia-for-plant-based-meat" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-type="external">Nikkei Asian Review</a>. It’s republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing <a href="https://kr-asia.com/nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage/" data-type="post" data-slug="nikkei-teams-up-with-36kr-in-asia-tech-news-coverage">partnership with Nikkei</a>. 36Kr is KrASIA’s parent company.

Coronavirus accelerates demand in Asia for plant-based meat

Consumer

Coronavirus

Food Tech

Japan

Thailand

… China's price also rose by 1.36% to USD 46.97.
In April, coffee chain Starbucks introduced <a href="https://kr-asia.com/beyond-meat-enters-the-chinese-market-via-starbucks-partnership" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-href="https://kr-asia.com/beyond-meat-enters-the-chinese-market-via-starbucks-partnership">a plant-based menu</a> featuring pasta, lasagna, and wraps made by Beyond Meat's alternative beef product, KrASIA wrote.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.

CHINA BRIEF | Beyond Meat burgers to make China debut

Beyond Meat, the world’s biggest meat substitutes maker, announced on Monday that has <a href="https://www.beyondmeat.com/whats-new/beyond-meat-launches-in-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">officially entered the Chinese market</a> through a partnership with Starbucks.
The US coffee chain introduced a plant-based menu featuring pasta, lasagna, and wraps made by Beyond Meat’s alternative beef product this week, with prices ranging from RMB 59 (USD 8.33) to RMB 69 (USD 9.74). The new menu has been available in more than 3,300 Starbucks locations across China since Wednesday, according to a statement from Beyond Meat.
Starbucks’ new offerings also include dishes from plant-based pork alternative brand Omnipork, and beverages with oat milk provided by Swedish brand Oatly.
“Today we mark an important milestone as Beyond Meat launches in China, advancing our goal of increasing accessibility to plant-based meat globally,” said Beyond Meat Founder and CEO Ethan Brown.
To better connect with Chinese consumers, Beyond Meat has created a website in Chinese and launched official accounts on popular social media channels Weibo and WeChat, said the company.
The partnership with Starbucks marks Beyond Meat’s official entry in China, where the market for alternative meat products remains untapped compared to the US. The company was looking to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-beyond-meat-china-exclusive/exclusive-beyond-meat-eyes-production-in-asia-before-the-end-of-2020-idUSKBN1XH2G8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expand its production to Asia</a> by the end of 2020 as part of its strategy to sell its products in China, Reuters reported.
California-based rival Impossible Foods, the maker of Burger King’s hit plant-based Impossible Whopper, has reportedly been <a href="https://www.caixinglobal.com/2019-09-05/impossible-foods-eyes-chinese-dining-table-for-faux-meats-101458941.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in early talks with Chinese firms</a> as it also expects to enter the local market.
Some Chinese companies are eyeing the large Chinese market as well. Artificial meat startup Starfield, which provides alternative meat products to merchants in China, including pizza chain Papa Johns and tea brand Nayuki, has taken in tens of millions of RMB in a <a href="https://www.kr-asia.com/china-brief-chinese-artificial-meat-startup-starfield-secures-funds-from-investor-of-beyond-meat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">round of financing</a> in March.
Beyond Meat’s early investor New Crop Capital and its China-focused investment partner Dao Foods International have participated in this round, along with Joy Capital and Matrix Partners China.
Also, Chinese firm Shuangta marketed China’s first <a href="https://kr-asia.com/new-pea-protein-based-meat-mooncakes-sell-out-instantly-in-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pea protein-based meat mooncakes</a> in September 2019. The product, was based on pea protein tissues extracted from starch, said Shuangta, adding that it has also started to provide pea protein to Beyond Meat.
The global alternative meat market is predicted to hit an annual value of USD 140 billion, about 10% of the USD 1.4 trillion worldwide meat market predicted in the next decade, according to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c0be42e0-7c7d-11e9-81d2-f785092ab560" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a Barclay report</a>.

Beyond Meat enters the Chinese market via Starbucks partnership

Andrew Ive has deep passion for food tech and alternative proteins—and a lot of experience. He once led the world’s largest food company incubator, Food-X, based in New York City, which has helped hundreds of food startups get off the ground. After Food-X, Ive was engaged in other food tech institutions, Abbot’s Butcher and FoodTech accelerator among them, until he decided to establish his own <a href="https://bigideaventures.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Big Idea Ventures</a> two years ago, aiming to help solve the world's biggest challenges by supporting entrepreneurs.
Big Idea Ventures launched its first fund, New Protein Fund, in March 2019 and is currently raising USD 50 million to invest in plant-based food and cell-based meats. The fund is backed by the likes of Temasek and Tyson Foods and will be closed by August 2020, according to Ive. “We have two stages of investment: USD 200,000 for seed-stage startups through the accelerator programs, and between USD 750,000 and 2 million for those who perform well,” Ive told KrASIA.
<figure id="attachment_70203" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-70203" style="width: 328px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-70203 " src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/image001-1.jpg" alt="" width="328" height="469" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/image001-1.jpg 250w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/image001-1-210x300.jpg 210w" sizes="(max-width: 328px) 100vw, 328px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-70203" class="wp-caption-text">Andrew Ive, founder and general partner of Big Idea Ventures. Photo courtesy of Big Idea Ventures.</figcaption></figure>
Big Idea Ventures holds two accelerator programs every year in New York and Singapore to identify startups that will disrupt the global food industry. The firm has invested in several young companies globally, one of which is Singapore-based cellular agriculture startup <a href="https://kr-asia.com/sandhya-sriram-of-shiok-meats-on-introducing-cell-based-meat-women-in-tech" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shiok Meats</a>. Ive believes that Asia has massive potential to challenge the alternative protein industry in Europe and the US, and that <a href="https://kr-asia.com/collection/59869/at-the-frontline-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COVID-19</a> might actually speed things up.
KrASIA recently talked to Andrew Ive to hear his thoughts.
KrASIA (Kr): Why do you focus on plant-based proteins? How important is this for society?
Andrew Ive (AI): Many studies suggest that animal factory farming is one of the largest contributors to climate change and global warming, which we need to solve now. In our opinion, bringing great-tasting, inexpensive, plant-based meat, seafood, and dairy to consumers around the world will help reduce the demand for animal factory farming, and will reduce its impact on the climate. The food system is very connected, so when something bad happens in the food system, it can have other consequences like diseases. Plant-based foods generally do not have the same challenges as animal factory farming, which sometimes use antibiotics or additional hormones. We believe plant-based food is a better and safer way of getting protein for humans, and it has a better outcome for Earth.
In addition, animal factory farming requires a lot of land, water, and other inputs while plant- and cell-based protein can be manufactured in smaller spaces more efficiently. So it provides more security for countries who rely on their neighbors for food, like Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and others. Given the current challenges with lockdowns and closed borders, it must make some nervous about their food security. Therefore, by producing plant and cell-based protein, populations are able to get a more reliable source of protein.
<a href="http://bit.ly/3bU6xXl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img class="wp-image-70215 aligncenter" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1582270296086-8-300x60.png" alt="" width="685" height="137" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1582270296086-8-300x60.png 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1582270296086-8-1024x205.png 1024w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1582270296086-8-768x154.png 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1582270296086-8.png 1160w" sizes="(max-width: 685px) 100vw, 685px" /></a>
Kr: What are the opportunities of the alternative protein industry in Asia? 
AI: Historically, plant-based foods have always been present in Asian countries, so its not necessarily a new thing. Entrepreneurs today are becoming more creative and are bringing new kinds of plant-based foods to consumers. We've seen American-style products coming to metropolitan cities throughout Asia, like Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, or Jakarta, with the introduction of products from Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, and so forth. But we want to back companies that bring culturally relevant plant based foods to Asian markets, not American-style products.
For example, our portfolio company Karana makes plant-based pork dumplings that taste like a very traditional dish that you would have in China. This is relevant because through the creativity of entrepreneurship, it is possible to make tasty traditional foods that don’t have animal protein in it. Interestingly, I read a report that suggested that China will potentially be moving towards more plant-based meat alternatives due to COVID-19. Thus, the awareness and popularity of alternative proteins might happen faster in Asia.
Kr: Do these startups have different risk profiles from startups in other sectors? How do you find companies worth investing in?
AI: I’ve invested in a lot of different companies across sectors before, including software, marketplaces, and more. It is very difficult to predict which companies are going to be successful, it depends on the founders and the team involved in the business, regardless of the sector. We called our company “Big Ideas” because we support companies that have two things: First, they need to have idea, product, and technology that is big enough to positively impact the world. So we're not looking for companies that are going to do well in just Singapore, Indonesia, or the US, but for companies that have potential to make an impact globally. The second thing we look for is a great team. We believe that the magic ingredients to create world-class companies are a strong vision and a team that can realize that dream.
<figure id="attachment_69960" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-69960" style="width: 490px"

COVID-19 crisis could boost awareness about alternative proteins: Q&A with Andrew Ive, founder of Big Idea Ventures

Asia

Singapore

Q&amp;A

Singapore entrepreneur Fengru Lin is a cheese connoisseur. Several years ago, she was traveling to various dairy farms in Asia in search of good milk to make quality cheese when she stumbled upon the fact that there are many bad farm practices happening in the region. “I found that many farms pump a lot of hormones into the cows and their overall animal hygiene is bad, which reduce the quality of milk,” Lin told KrASIA in a recent interview.
While drinking plant-based milk like soy or almond milk can be a substitute for dairy products, they are not sufficient for other purposes, like making cheese, butter, or yogurt, as they don’t have the same chemical properties as dairy milk, according to Lin.
She then talked to her friend and technopreneur Max Rye, who told her there are many companies that successfully develop lab-grown meat and seafood from mammals' stem cells. “I asked him if we could use similar methods to make milk. He then introduced his friend, a cell biologist, Rabail Toor, and the three of us started to do lots of studies for this,” Lin continued.
After deep research, Lin, Rye, and Toor managed to achieve a breakthrough. They patented the technology and co-founded a startup called <a href="https://turtletreelabs.com/">TurtleTree Labs</a>, where they serve as CEO, chief strategy officer, and chief scientist, respectively. The turtle and tree in the company's name symbolize sustainability and longevity, according to Lin. "If you look at our logo, it looks like the cross-section of a tree but also resembles a turtle's shell as well as a thumbprint. So the whole brand symbolizes man’s print on nature,” she said.
Based in Singapore, the startup aims to address the value gap created by the insufficient and unsustainable animal-based dairy industry. The firm develops cultured milk products with cell-based methods. “Cell-based milk is created by extracting stem cells of the milk of mammals. We then proliferate these cells, which means we grow them to a large number and we’ll morph them into mammary gland cells. The cells will be put in lactation media and when they start to lactate, we’ll filter out the cells, so we’ll get the end product, which is milk,” she explained.
<figure id="attachment_65594" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-65594" style="width: 961px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-65594 size-large" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DSC06536-961x1024.jpg" alt="" width="961" height="1024" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DSC06536-961x1024.jpg 961w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DSC06536-282x300.jpg 282w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DSC06536-768x818.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/DSC06536.jpg 1922w" sizes="(max-width: 961px) 100vw, 961px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-65594" class="wp-caption-text">Fengru Lin, co-founder and CEO of TurtleTree Labs. Photo courtesy of TurtleTree Labs.</figcaption></figure>
TurtleTree Labs claims to be the world’s first cell-based milk company. Lin said that the nutritional profile of cultured milk is identical to dairy milk because it is created with the same cells that are present in cows to produce the milk. “There is some cool stuff that we can do with the cells, for example, we can up-regulate the genes to produce less cholesterol or higher fat content when needed,” she said.
<h3>A solution for moms: Cell-based breast milk</h3>
TurtleTree Labs is able to create all mammalian milk, including human breast milk, which will potentially disrupt the infant formula industry. Lin believes that the demand for this type of milk is high. Many people are aware that breastfeeding is important, as breast milk has the best nutrients for babies, but many mothers cannot breastfeed for various reasons, and they sometimes turn to wet nurses. However, this practice carries risks, because recipients cannot ensure milk quality, which depends on the donor’s health condition and diet.
“Formula milk companies are trying to recreate breast milk using bovine powder and other formulations, while we produce something that is biologically identical to human breast milk nutritionally. And you can rest assured that there's a certain level of quality, especially since we’ll be partnering with dairy infant nutrition companies,” Lin added.
The firm believes that this is a sustainable method of sourcing milk. In developing their cell-based milk, TurtleTree Labs works with Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) and the National University of Singapore. With these entities' support, the startup is building large-scale bioreactors to produce milk in large quantities in the future. The company has been able to create milk in their lab. For the next 16 to 18 months, they will be focusing on scaling production. The firm has 20 full-time team members who are mostly scientists working on this round the clock to facilitate production.
In the long run, TurtleTree Labs wants to be the biggest dairy company in the world that doesn't make dairy itself. The firm will maintain ownership of its proprietary technology and eventually lease out their process of creating milk to companies like Nestlé or Danone. The company is currently discussing potential partnerships with major infant nutrition brands, according to Lin. TurtleTree's principal revenue streams include licensing, consulting, and royalties. “Our business model is where we help existing companies or conglomerates using our method, therefore we can keep our capital expenditure low and we’ll become a knowledge-based company," she said.
TurtleTree Labs raised pre-seed funding in January, in a round led by Lever VC with participation from venture capital fund K2 Global and asset management firm KBW Ventures. The company will close its seed funding round soon, and it wants to build a pilot plant in Singapore this year that showcases technologies related to cell biology. The firm is currently working with the FDA for a license and the target launch date for its lab-grown milk is in 2021.
“With this demo plant, we’ll be able to invite dairy companies and manufacturers to see what the future of milk looks like. We’ll also start consultation projects to help them understand our current process and how we can help them to slowly migrate to our method of sourcing milk,” Lin said.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “Startup Stories” series, where the writers of KrASIA speak with founders of tech companies in South and Southeast Asia.

One-of-a-kind startup TurtleTree Labs is producing milk from cells: Startup Stories

Ten Israeli companies were listed among two separate lists highlighting the top 50 companies worldwide in the food tech and agritech (agriculture tech) sectors in 2020, put together by SVG Ventures-THRIVE and <a href="https://thriveagrifood.com/startups/thrive-top-50-agtech-and-foodtech-companies/#" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="published (opens in a new tab)">published</a> by Forbes this week.
THRIVE is an ecosystem and an accelerator for food tech and agritech startups worldwide. The annual top 50 lists are published as map infographics and showcase “exceptional companies. . . pushing the boundaries of innovation and technology,” the publication said.
The companies on the lists “are scouted for their exemplary leadership teams, technology and traction and are selected following months of rigorous research by the SVG-THRIVE team.” To qualify, the publication wrote, companies “must have a product in market, have received a minimum of series A funding and be ready to scale.”
The 10 Israeli companies listed are:
– <a href="https://www.douxmatok.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DouxMatok</a>, a startup that developed a patented sugar reduction solution that retains the texture, sweetness, and appearance of sugar. The company <a href="https://nocamels.com/2019/06/israel-douxmatok-22m-sugar-reduction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="raised $22 million (opens in a new tab)">raised USD 22 million</a> in a Series B funding round last year and appeared in the “food processing / novel ingredient” category in the top 50 food tech map.
– <a href="https://innovopro.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Innovopro (opens in a new tab)">InnovoPro</a>, a startup that creates sustainable food products made from the chickpeas, including dairy and meat alternatives. This company, too, appeared in the “food processing / novel ingredient” class in the top 50 food tech map.
– <a href="https://www.hinoman.biz/who-we-are/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hinoman</a>, a startup that develops and cultivates Mankai, a proprietary, protein-rich, whole-leaf vegetable grown using sustainable hydroponics.
– <a href="https://www.futuremeat.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Future Meat Technologies</a>, an Israeli company that develops lab-grown meat and is building <a href="https://nocamels.com/2019/10/future-meat-technologies-cultured-alternative-series-a/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="the first cultured meat production plant (opens in a new tab)">the first cultured meat production plant</a> near Tel Aviv. The company appeared in the “CPG (consumer packaged goods) and retail” category in the food tech map.
– <a href="https://www.tastewise.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Tastewise (opens in a new tab)">Tastewise</a>, an Israeli AI-powered food trends prediction and intelligence startup. The company uses billions of data points from restaurant menus, online recipes, and social media to provide real-time insights, analytics, and food trends. It too appeared in the “CGP (consumer packaged goods) and retail” category in the food tech map.
– <a href="https://nocamels.com/2017/10/israeli-sustainable-packaging-group-raises-11m/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TIPA Corp</a>, a developer of biodegradable packages for the food, drink, and fashion industries. The company recently <a href="https://nocamels.com/2019/09/sustainable-packaging-tipa-raises-25m/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="raised $25 million (opens in a new tab)">raised USD 25 million</a> to expand sales. Tipa appeared in the “supply chain” category of the food tech map.
– <a href="https://www.infarm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Infarm (opens in a new tab)">Infarm,</a> the Israeli-founded, Berlin-based developer of <a href="https://nocamels.com/2020/02/infarm-tech-micro-farms-fresh-produce-urban/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="modular smart farms that operate on IoT and machine learning technologies (opens in a new tab)">modular smart farms that operate on IoT and machine learning technologies</a> to grow fresh greens in urban settings such as grocery stores and restaurants. The company appeared in the agritech top 50 list.
<figure id="attachment_61632" style="width: 680px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class=" wp-image-61632" src="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/shutterstock_1577082916-300x225.jpg" alt="Infarm" width="680" height="510" srcset="https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/shutterstock_1577082916-300x225.jpg 300w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/shutterstock_1577082916-768x576.jpg 768w, https://console.kr-asia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/shutterstock_1577082916-1024x768.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Kirkland QFC grocery store with its store-grown produce from Infarm. Source: Shutterstock.</figcaption></figure>
– <a href="https://www.cropx.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="CropX (opens in a new tab)">CropX,</a> an agriculture analytics company that developed an adaptive irrigation service to optimize irrigation. The company <a href="https://nocamels.com/2018/10/soil-sensor-cropx-world-israel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="taps into the power of big data (opens in a new tab)">taps into the power of big data</a>, machine learning, and cutting-edge cloud-based software in the soil to boost agricultural output. CropX also appeared in the agritech top 50 list.
– <a href="https://taranis.ag/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Taranis (opens in a new tab)">Taranis,</a> a precision agriculture startup that allows farmers to monitor fields and make informed decisions, also appeared in THRIVE’s agritech top 50 list.
– <a href="https://prospera.ag/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Prospera (opens in a new tab)">Prospera</a>, a developer of computer vision technologies to monitor and predict plant health and development.
These Israeli companies joined major global firms in the round-ups, including the California-based Impossible Foods, which makes plant-based meat alternatives, and indoor farming company Bright Farms.
<h3>Israeli food tech and agritech</h3>
Israel has been delivering innovative startups operating in the food technology and agriculture technology sectors for the past decade. The country has been positioning

Ten Israeli companies listed among top 50 global agritech and food tech firms in 2020

Agritech

Israel

… fruit orchard pollination system that does not require bees. <a href="https://www.biobee.com/natural-pollination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BioBee</a> mass-produces the earth bumblebee for natural pollination of various crops.
<h3>Israeli food tech</h3>
A <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6399/eaam5324" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="recent major scientific analysis of global meat consumption (opens in a new tab)">recent major scientific analysis of global meat consumption</a> suggested that not only does eating high levels have negative health consequences, as the world population grows and demand increases, it will also prove detrimental to the environment, increasing carbon emissions and reducing biodiversity.
“What’s happening is a big concern, and if meat consumption goes up further, it’s going to be massively more so,” Professor Tim Key, an epidemiologist at the University of Oxford and co-author of the analysis <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/19/rising-global-meat-consumption-will-devastate-environment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="told the Guardian (opens in a new tab)">told The Guardian</a> in 2018. “On a broad level you can say that eating substantial amounts of meat is bad for the environment.”
In Israel, a host of local startups and companies have been working to develop “clean meat” solutions.
Israel’s <a href="https://nocamels.com/2018/12/aleph-farms-first-lab-grown-steak/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Aleph Farms unveiled the world's first slaughter-free steak (opens in a new tab)">Aleph Farms unveiled the world’s first slaughter-free steak</a> a little over a year ago, grown from animal cells using 3D technology. In October, <a href="https://www.futuremeat.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Future Meat Technologies</a>, an Israeli company that also develops lab-grown meat, announced that it will <a href="https://nocamels.com/2019/10/future-meat-technologies-cultured-alternative-series-a/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="opening the first cultured meat production plant (opens in a new tab)">open the first cultured meat production plant</a> near Tel Aviv later this year, backed by a major food company.
Meanwhile, Israeli biotechnology startup <a href="https://www.supermeat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SuperMeat</a> is <a href="https://nocamels.com/2018/01/israel-startup-lab-chicken-supermeat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">developing lab-grown poultry</a> extracted from the stem cells of a live chicken.
And there are also proposed solutions to replace meat altogether with innovative alternatives. Israeli startup <a href="https://www.redefinemeat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Redefine Meat (opens in a new tab)">Redefine Meat</a>—which is developing tech to 3D-print vegan meat substitutes made of plant-based formulations to emulate the appearance, texture, and taste of natural meat—is one example. <a href="https://www.rilbite.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rilbite</a>, a developer of a minced meat alternative, is another.
<h3>Saving coral reefs</h3>
<a href="https://www.wri.org/resources/charts-graphs/reefs-risk-projections-present-2030-and-2050" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More than half of the Earth’s reefs could be under threat by 2030</a>, according to the World Resources Institute.
To save Red Sea coral reefs from the threat of climate change, scientists from Israel, Eritrea, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, and Djibouti have <a href="https://nocamels.com/2019/06/israel-7-muslim-majority-states-research-partnership-red-sea-reefs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="joined forces (opens in a new tab)">joined forces</a> to collaborate on research projects and find ways to protect the natural world.
The main goal of this collaboration is to help “<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/israel-is-joining-forces-with-arab-states-to-save-coral-from-climate-change-destruction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">develop more resilient corals, which will protect reefs and the livelihoods of people who depend on them.</a>”
Israel has other coral reef research projects underway, including a research group made up of marine biologists and designers who <a href="https://nocamels.com/2019/07/1st-study-3d-design-science-coral-reefs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3D-printed the world’s first bioplastic and ceramic tile coral reefs</a> to shed light on the complex relations between coral architecture and fish recruitment.
<h3>Israeli desert viticulture</h3>
One of the main effects of climate change is the weather. And Israel is recognized for its abilities to make the desert bloom. The wine community has its eyes on the Negev to see how climate change will affect their industry.
“Climate is becoming more and more unpredictable,” Aaron Fait, a biochemistry professor at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/21/climate/wine-climate-change-israel.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>. “The desert model is a way to study how climate change will affect wine worldwide.”
The New York Times ran a feature in September 2019 on a group of European and Israeli researchers now testing 30 varieties of wine grapes and how they grow in Israel’s desert conditions.
Desert viticulture know-how is expected to be in high demand as the frequency of droughts and heatwaves rises.
Europeans “are looking at Israel and the way we are dealing with harsh conditions and trying to learn from it,” Naftali Lazarovitch, a soil scientist at the Blaustein Institutes of Desert Research in the Negev, told the newspaper. “We produce more with less, that’s our objective.”
Another branch of Israeli wine research garnering interest is that of Dr. Meir Shlisel, an expert in wine chemistry from Tel-Hai College, who spends his days analyzing grape molecules.
Shlisel’s lab is now developing “<a href="https://nocamels.com/2019/10/super-wine-raise-a-glass-to-israeli-vino-innovation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Superwine</a>,” what may be the world’s first officially healthy wine.
<h3>Climate-resilient plants and Israeli water technologies</h3>
Climate change, scientists warn, will create a need for plants to be able to withstand extreme growing conditions. Again, Israel’s deserts are fantastic research grounds for testing traditional growing techniques alongside new technologies.
The country’s water challenges and its cutting-edge solutions—from seawater desalination and

Jeff Bezos' USD 10 billion Earth Fund should look to Israel for innovative climate change solutions

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… in China has grabbed attention from investors and alt-meat international producers. The world’s most populous nation accounts for nearly 25% of global meat consumption.
Impossible Foods, the maker of Burger King’s hit plant-based Impossible Whopper, has <a href="https://www.caixinglobal.com/2019-09-05/impossible-foods-eyes-chinese-dining-table-for-faux-meats-101458941.html">reportedly</a> been in early talks with Chinese local firms, as it expects to enter China’s mainland market.
However, it may face regulatory hurdles due to <a href="https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-10-19/chinese-state-newspapers-argue-over-genetically-modified-soybeans-101337070.html">Beijing's cautious attitude</a> toward genetically modified (GMO) crops. GMO-derived soy leghemoglobin, also known as “heme”, is Impossible’s key ingredient to make its products taste more like meat.
The global alt-meat market is predicted to hit an annual USD 140 billion value, about 10% of the USD 1.4 trillion world meat market in the next decade, a <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c0be42e0-7c7d-11e9-81d2-f785092ab560">Barclay report</a> showed.

New pea protein-based meat mooncakes sell out instantly in China

Germi8, a new agritech-focused private investment firm, was launched in Singapore yesterday, the company said in an official statement.
Co-founded by Leave a Nest and Focus Tech Ventures, in collaboration with Japanese corporates Kobashi Industries and Euglena, Germi8 plans to invest approximately JPY 100 million (USD 940,176) in about 20 projects in Southeast Asia over the course of the next three years.
The new private investment firm will focus on seed-stage startups developing alternative proteins, such as plant-based and fermentation-based meat substitutes, seafood, and clean meat.  The company will also concentrate on insect-based functional foods, as well in startups focusing on supply chain-related technologies to reduce waste.
Leave a Nest and Focus Tech Ventures will leverage on Kobashi Industries' expertise as an agricultural machinery manufacturer and distributor, as well on Euglena's experience in the biotechnology and food industry, to help new agritech startups establish themselves in Singapore and expand to other countries in Southeast Asia and Japan.
Leave a Nest already has a flagship program called "Tech Planter", which is a <a href="https://en.techplanter.com/">seed acceleration program</a> to nurture startups aimed at new venture creation around deep science and technology. As of August of this year, agritech startups accounted for over 25% of its total participants.

New agritech-focused private investment firm starts operation in Singapore, backed by Japanese corporates