With the world population growing to 9 billion by 2050, the demand for food and other natural sources is rising exponentially. Flanders’ FOOD asked Dialogic together with the Flemish food industry to investigate alternative food sources such as seaweed and algae, insects, vegetable protein and cultured meat. The findings are interesting:

• Cultured meat is getting cheaper. Although the first cultured hamburger cost 250,000 euros, a few years later, it was only 11 euros. The expectation is that in a matter of about eight years, the price will be able to compete with the meat in the supermarket.
• We see more and more insect-based products appearing on our supermarket shelves. Insects are rich in protein and furthermore easily digestible. Consumers, on the other hand, have yet to get used to the idea and find it difficult to think up recipes.
• Algae are good for using in pasta, bread and drinks. Their smell and taste, however, form a major challenge.

The results have been combined in a number of roadmaps.