"Alternative proteins are innovation drivers but require major R&D investment" (OPECST)

"The development of alternative proteins that can be used in food still requires major R&D investments", says OPECST (French parliamentary office for the evaluation of scientific and technological options) in its report "Proteins and food" of 05/06/2025, published on 16/06.

The parliamentary office, who has an informational role for both the French Assembly and Senate, was mandated by the chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Affairs Committee to conduct a study of proteins in food in October 2023, "to inform debates on issues of transition and food sovereignty, as well as the opportunities and threats that need to be understood to enlight policy-making."

The authors underline that "research into new proteins can also improve all production processes in the food industry, even traditional ones, and therefore that alternative proteins are an accelerator of innovation".

The report's recommendations include:

• Encouraging the ecosystem of alternative proteins, "contrary to the idea of banning innovations in food production: technologies do not threaten our agricultural landscapes…