The Future Protein Plan
>> how can we feed people in 2050?
>> 2020.02 - 2020.06
>> MA graduation project
>> Future Food
“We shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium.”
— Winston Churchill, 1931
STATEMENT
The biotechnology Churchill imagined is known to this day as cellular agriculture, the field of growing agricultural products directly from cell cultures in a laboratory instead of using livestock. But,
Why more and more countries are looking into cellular agriculture?
What kind of food system will emerge in the future based on cellular agriculture?
Should consumers change their attitudes towards food in response to the new food system in the future?
The Future Protein Plan aims to explore how design can be used in combination with cellular agriculture to encourage people to consume alternative protein choices and achieve a sustainable future diet.
I started with two directions: the development and characteristics of the lab-grown meat and consumer attitudes towards new proteins.
CONTEXT
89% of the world's population eats meat on a daily basis. As the world's population explodes and the demand for meat consumption skyrockets, it's time to seek alternative protein to alleviate the pressure of livestock farming on the environment.
To enable people to adapt to protein transition[1], cellular agriculture was created. By taking live cells from livestock and culturing them in vitro, muscle cells are gradually grown into the meat protein. Since the growth process is highly controlled, this provides unlimited possibilities for customizing the protein.
[1]protein transition is the shift from the consumption of animal proteins to vegetable and new protein sources.
GAP & CHALLENGE
Cultivated meat technology has matured, but there is still a lot of work to be done before it is available on the market. While most startups focus on technological innovation, I'm more interested in consumers' attitude.
How can we get consumers actively involved in protein transition?
How can we use the features of cellular agriculture to show people an alternative?
INTERVIEW
At this time, plant-based meat was launched on the Chinese market as a new type of food, which also represents a new way of eating.
My project was inspired by observing the attitudes of Chinese consumers towards the new food.
I'm not surprised that plant-based meat isn't highly regarded in China, where there's a long-established vegetarian culture of tofu.
What concerns me is that consumers paid more attention to sensory satisfaction brought by meat.
They focus on whether it taste like real meat and ignore other benefits of the new meat.
People are EATING THOUGHTLESSLY.
People do not know that their food choice can have a huge impact on our living life.
No attitude of eating sustainably, no acceptance of protein transition.
KEY INSIGHTS
From paper research and interviews, I've summarized the following factors that can affect people's perceptions of new foods：
SAFETY AND TRANSPARENCY
With lack of competence is a key barrier to accommodating the change.
Build the trust and provide the transparent information is the key for consumers to believe that cultivated meat could offer a higher standard of safety and quality.
GOOD TASTE AND LOOKING
The first eating experience will determine consumers’ attitude towards this new technology in their life.
Different outward appearance may be the feature of cultivated meat.
SEE THE ADVANTAGES
Consumers prefer a win-win strategy.
When they could identify multiple benefits(cost, quality, nutrition), they viewed potential changes to diet and food-related practices (environment, animal welfare) more favorably.
DESIGN STRATEGY
To build an attitude of eating sustainably rather than thoughtlessly, the first question maybe is:
HMW help consumers to build competence of cultivated meat in a positive and transparent way?
Then to encourage them accept the protein transition for a sustainable eating future.
To motivate people step by step, I developed the design strategy for this project with reference to the innovation curve of Everett Rogers. I designed a platform to connect the early stages of information dissemination with the mid-term user engagement. I believe when the technology is fully established, it should be more available to the public.
THE FUTURE PROTEIN PLAN
- HOW IT WORKS -
Step 1: Scientists and chefs as innovators to use the website to create the protein. The recipe shows the highly customized nature of cultivated meat.
Step2&3: Foodies and vegetarians as early adopters, they can get the basic knowledge of future protein from these recipes. The novelty of the food will light up their creativity. Then They can go to the website for simple customization.
Step4: After the scaffold is analyzed, the data will be sent back to the lab for cultivation by professionals. In about 1-2 weeks, the protein will be delivered.
- STEP 1: RECIPES -
Inspired by salami, controlling the size of the scaffold during the production of cultivated meat can generate different flavors of meat production in one plane, giving diners an initial experience of the full control of cultivated meat.
Inspired by the “spinach meat”, expert have confirmed the possibility of using the scaffold of the onion to produce "onion bacon" with its properties. Not to make it too overwhelming for diners, I chose to start with a French home cooked dish: onion tarte tatin, putting regular onions and bacon onions together to show diners the characteristics of different scaffolds.
- STEP 2&3: WEBSITE USER TEST -
During the test, the users were getting immersed in the creative process. They became more and more curious about what cellular agriculture could bring to the table. The feedback showed the users were proactively thinking about what they wanted to eat during the process.
- STEP 4: CALL FOR THE COLLABORATION! -
FORESIGHT
I got positive feedback from experts. Scientists and chefs also told me that the website open their mind during researching。somtimes Consumer creativity can inspire them with different perspectives to help them explore more solutions.
At the end of this project, I summarized the foresight of our future foods. There is no doubt that this is a forward-looking project. In the future, as technology advances and the environment changes, our food resources are likely to become more and more diverse. How might we respond to those changes? Should we take the initiative to achieve a sustainable diet rather than waiting for resources to run out?
During the pandemic, people started to use less transportation to maintain social distance. We then witnessed better air quality and clearer rivers. A little change by people can have a huge impact on the environment. In the same way, I believe it's a positive step forward if people get interested in protein transition and choose more cellular products to achieve a sustainable diet.
Many thanks to
Dr Jakub Radzikowski
Culinary Education Designer / Chef
Imperial College / Kitchen Theory
Reka Tron
Chief Operations Officer
Multus media
Jeremiah Johnston
Program Manager
New Harvest
Alex
Creative Chef
Stanisław Łoboziak
Bioengineer Scientist
Copernicus Science Center
