California Assembly holds first informational hearing on alternative-protein innovation

The California State Assembly Select Committee on Alternative Protein Innovation convened its first informational hearing to review the state of plant-based, fermentation-derived and cultivated protein sectors and possible roles for state policy and investment. The hearing included nonprofit researchers, federal- and state-focused security analysts, company founders and university scientists.

Committee leadership opened the session by noting the state’s 2022 public investment to support research and development of alternative proteins, saying the state “invested $5,000,000 in the University of California to support and expand research and development efforts of alternative proteins.” Shana Fertig, senior adviser to the president at the Good Food Institute, told the panel that alternative proteins “are meat, dairy, and eggs made from plants, fermentation, and self cultivation to give the same sensory experience” as conventional products and argued the sector contributes to California’s climate and conservation goals.

The hearing’s nut graf: witnesses framed alternative proteins as a cross-cutting response to multiple policy challenges—greenhouse gas and methane reduction, water and land use pressure, antimicrobial resistance and supply-chain resilience—while urging the state to maintain and expand research funding, worker training and…