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The Canadian Government is set to invest $150 million in the plant-based food sector – in
the wake of a national shift toward plant-based diets.
The cash injection has come from a $950 million ‘Supercluster Initiative’ aimed at funding innovation in the food and manufacturing sector.
The
investment was supported by the findings of market research, as well as lobbying
of the 120 companies which make up Protein Industries Canada, and will fund agricultural and culinary innovation.
Market
research
One Neilson
study found that 43 percent of Canadians are trying to eat more plant-based
food.
Another indicates
that 23 percent of consumers want more plant-based protein on the market.
Plant
protein
Frank Hart,
Chair of Protein Industries Canada, played a big role in lobbying for the
plant-protein investment – which will emphasise high-protein legumes, and
extracting protein from canola.
Hart said: “It’s
a market that’s expected to expand in a significant way.”
Ongoing shift
This
investment seems to be part of a greater shift in the approach of Canada’s Government to the food industry, as well as diet and nutrition.
In a 2017 draft
for a revised food guide, governmental organization Health Canada emphasized
plant based proteins, and removed dairy entirely.
Pulse Canada CEO, Gordon Bacon, said: “Consumers are looking for better nutrition in the
foods they buy, they are looking to protect their health.”
