Creating a Vibrant Food Innovation Ecosystem

The report highlights Israel's strategic approach to alternative proteins, where the government identifies key intervention points across the value chain—from basic research to commercial production—to overcome market constraints. It argues that public investment is critical to de-risk deep-tech innovations, such as cultivated meat and fermentation, which face high capital expenditures and long return timelines. The document positions alternative proteins as a vital tool for meeting Paris Agreement climate goals, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture, and enhancing global food security.

• Animal agriculture is a major driver of climate change, contributing between 11% and 20% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, including the emissions from crops and pastures used for feed.
• There is a significant funding gap in the alternative protein sector; while an estimated $10 billion in annual global public spending is needed for R&D and commercialization, current public support has likely surpassed only $1 billion.
• Israel has established itself as a global leader in alternative protein investment, ranking second globally over the last five years, behind only the United States. In 2022, Israeli companies received 25% of all private investments in cultivated meat.
• The Israeli government has prioritized alternative proteins as one of the nation's top five R&D priority areas, based on criteria including strategic needs, R&D strength, and potential for cross-sector collaboration.
• Israel's alternative protein ecosystem is characterized by high diversity and growth, with 73 active start-ups in the sector as of January 2024, and a record 15 new start-ups launched in 2023.
• The Israel Innovation Authority utilizes specific intervention points to support the value chain, including the Cultivated Meat Technological Consortium (investing $18 million over three years) and a $13.5 million tender for fermentation services provided by YDLabs to help companies transition from R&D to pilot stages.
• Israel was the first country globally to approve cultivated beef, specifically the whole cuts produced by Aleph Farms.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). Creating a Vibrant Food Innovation Ecosystem. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Protein_Diversification_2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Creating a Vibrant Food Innovation Ecosystem. 2024. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Protein_Diversification_2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Creating a Vibrant Food Innovation Ecosystem |date=May 2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Protein_Diversification_2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024creating, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Creating a Vibrant Food Innovation Ecosystem}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Protein_Diversification_2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }