Future-Food
A Hallmark Research Initiative
The Future Food Hallmark Research Initiative is focusing on protein production, and involves aspects of social and cultural acceptability, health and well-being, and sustainability. The focus on protein production will seek to address both development of premium protein products and affordable protein for future global food security.
Future food solutions need science, business and social acumen. The required changes in food and protein production systems are driven by environmental and sustainability imperatives and also by consumers and communities. Increased demand for protein-rich foods will be driven by population growth, the recognised health benefits, and demand for sustainable food production systems. Scarcity, sustainability of production, resource constraints, community and social licence to operate are all extremely topical and impact on future food production.
Australia is primed to take a lead in these opportunities and, in addressing these challenges in food production, the Future Food Hallmark Research Initiative will focus on research which draws on the University’s expertise across disciplines and involve industry partner, CSIRO. The Future Food Hallmark Research Initiative has critical mass across human physiology and nutrition, food chemistry and structure, engineering, production and processing, food policy and regulation together with expertise on consumers and markets.
Its initial focus will be on scoping the social, ecological, dietary health and food security drivers and the consumer attitudes and mindsets, to enable the identification of the opportunity spaces and constraints. Interdisciplinary research will be undertaken on the production of alternative sources of protein, including the consequences for the environment and consumer acceptance, nutrition and health. The technical challenges in producing retail ready, healthy protein products will be identified. Comparative data will be drawn from international case studies of food systems innovation.
The Future Food Hallmark Research Initiative will engage with communities through faculty networks, the Food Matters website and other avenues, and will develop engagement with policy makers, government and industry.
[Banner image source: Getty images]
Initiative Chair
Professor Robyn Warner
School of Agriculture and Food
Theme leader: Alternative sources of protein production
Academic Convenor
Dr Minh Ha
School of Agriculture and Food
Steering Committee
Ms Hollis Ashman
School of Agriculture and Food
Theme leader: Attitudes and mindsets of consumers
Professor Adrian Hearn
School of Languages and Linguistics
Associate Professor Jill Lei
Department of Management and Marketing
Professor Gordon Lynch
School of Physiology
Theme leader: Health and well-being
Associate Professor Greg Martin
Department of Chemical Engineering
Theme leader: Proof-of-concept products
Dr Brad Ridoutt
CSIRO
Dr Nicholas Robinson
School of BioSciences
Dr Gyorgy Scrinis
School of Agriculture and Food
Theme leader: Community, social, ecological and food security drivers
[Banner image source: Getty images]
The Future Food Hallmark Research Initiative is focused on alternative protein production systems for the future. Engagement with industry, communities and government policy are embedded across its five research themes.
This Initiative will
- Fund annual workshops with stakeholders, community and industry
- Fund research projects on a competitive basis each year
- Bring leading scholars to the University of Melbourne to collaborate with staff across the project, present to the public and co-host workshops.
Research Themes
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Community, social, ecological, dietary and food security drivers
This research theme will focus on identifying and analysing the main drivers of demand for alternative protein sources. This includes the environmental, animal welfare, food security, dietary health, cultural and commercial/corporate drivers of demand. Understanding these drivers will be important for identifying the types of foods, products and technologies that address these demands and needs, and which of these are more likely to achieve broad social, political and ethical acceptance and support. The policy and regulatory frameworks that may enable or constrain these food innovations will also be examined.
Theme Leader: Dr Gyorgy Scrinis
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Attitudes and mindsets of consumers
Consumer and market insight research will be conducted on the major alternative forms of protein production in order to identify the new opportunities and key areas of focus.
Theme Leader: Ms Hollis Ashman
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Health and well-being
Adequate protein intake is crucial for health at all life stages. Dietary protein provides the amino acids (AA) essential for growth and important cellular reactions. AA availability influences muscle homeostasis and of the 20 so-called essential AAs, the branched-chain AA, leucine, is the most powerful growth promoter. Developing foods with an optimal AA profile that are easily digested and have high bioavailability, will be of interest, as will investigating the efficacy of these foods for maintaining muscle mass in relevant conditions.
Theme Leader: Professor Gordon Lynch
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Alternative sources of protein production
To meet the future demand for protein, Australia’s livestock, aquaculture and plant sectors must identify ways to enhance production. While recognising the importance of traditional sources of protein, the project will focus on alternate protein production including production of protein from cells (including fish, poultry, mammals, dairy, plants), insects, algae and from by-products derived from food processing. The current limitations in existing traditional protein production will be identified, and this will enable focus on new opportunities to create novel alternative protein sources from cellular agriculture, food processing by-products, and algae.
Theme Leader: Professor Robyn Warner
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Proof-of-concept products
Proteins are complex and varied, consequently nutritious and tasty food products cannot be developed from alternative protein sources by simple substitution, rather the relationships between protein structure, functionality and food properties need to be considered. This theme aims to understand the behaviour of proteins from different sources during formulation and processing, enabling products with acceptable texture, flavour, shelf-life and nutritional properties. Through engagement with food processors, we will explore the use of alternative proteins with environmental, economic, and nutritional advantages.
Theme Leader: Associate Professor Greg Martin
[Banner image source: Getty images]
For more information about the Future Food Hallmark Research Initiative, please contact
- Academic Convenor: Dr Minh Ha
t. +61 3 8344 4770 | e. minh.ha@unimelb.edu.au
OR, if you have questions or comments in relation to the Hallmark Research Initiatives program, please email: hallmark-initiatives@unimelb.edu.au