Plant-Based Companies Should Follow the Electric Vehicle Handbook, New Report Says

While there is no literal handbook for the electric vehicle industry — an industry that went from niche to representing 18 percent of new car sales in 2023 — if we were to trace the history of how electric and hybrid vehicles went from idea to consumer reality, there are some important lessons. A new report from Boston Consulting Group, alongside The Good Food Institute and Synthesis Capital, maps key takeaways from the early days of the electric vehicle industry. The researchers make the case for drawing from that industry’s successes to help plant-based and other alternative protein companies find staying power.

The two industries are indeed somewhat analogous. Both provide consumers with choices that are better for the environment while innovating on the traditional version of the products sold. Not only did electric vehicles present consumers with a gas-free option, but many models gave consumers additional perks too — technology updates designed to make driving easier or in some cases a quieter ride.

For alternative proteins, whether a plant-based patty from Beyond Meat or a cultured chicken nugget from Upside Foods, the climate benefits are huge. The meat, dairy and eggs we eat account for anywhere from 11 to 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions — the higher end adding up to more than the “combined carbon output of cars, motorcycles and other passenger light vehicles,” according to to the report. Yet the authors also point out that plant-based meats made up just over 1 percent of the total food and beverage retail sales in the U.S., not enough to make a significant dent in climate emissions.

Some of the takeaways from the report are pretty straightforward — matching price and quality are important (even if researchers disagree on how important). Ultimately, getting to a place where veggie burgers can outcompete factory farmed meat requires a series of policy and funding tools, some of which are easier said than done.

Subsidies Helped Electric Vehicle Sales

A global push to increase adoption of electric vehicles certainly helped the industry grow (even if that growth has now cooled). In 2022, the U.S. and other governments promised $40 billion in direct purchase subsidies for EVs, according to the International Energy Agency. Subsidies and other public support also helped boost growth for hybrids and all-electric alike, from less than 0.2 percent of sales in 2012 to 18 percent in 2023.

Cast a wide net for funding, both private and public initiatives, the authors recommend. But keep in mind that food choices are deeply personal, so the researchers also point out the importance of not being too prescriptive about what Americans eat either.

Policy Can Set Ambitious Climate Targets

Setting ambitious reduction targets for industry emissions can help set a country on the right path. The European Union’s CO2 standards require car emissions to fall 55 percent by 2030, and requires new car models to be zero emissions by 2035. While it’s difficult to imagine the federal government setting similar targets for the meat industry, cities like New York and Washington do have goals for reducing emissions from the food they serve in schools and hospitals.

One strategy for winning over policy makers might be to emphasize the benefits of these foods rather than the harms associated with conventional meat. In other words, set targets attached to increasing food security, reducing climate pollution and creating jobs, the argument goes, rather than putting the onus on individuals. “There’s no real appetite, or no appetite at all within the alternative protein industry for policies that restrict consumers’ food choices,” Daniel Gertner, a business analyst at The Good Food Institute, tells Sentient.

Training the Workforce

Job creation and economic growth are far more appealing than dictates restricting consumer choice, the report suggests. Protein Industries Canada, an industry led non-profit, has said that it will generate $15 billion to Canada’s GDP by 2030 and create 10,800 jobs through its co-investments, for instance.

To build a skilled workforce as the electric vehicle industry grew, China enacted a vocational education program for training workers. China is now looking to advance alternative proteins with an emphasis on biotech-driven progress — one goal among many in their most recent 5-year plan — and its government may soon roll out similar training programs for alternative proteins.

Several U.S. universities have academic programs that support training for alternative proteins, like the Tufts Center for Cellular Agriculture. The Good Food Institute’s Alt Protein Project also supports student groups around the world organizing to study product gaps, like designing new growth factors for cultivated meat.

Making Research More Collaborative

In the electric vehicle research space, a strategy of open innovation has been critical. This type of information-sharing is very different from the traditional model of corporate innovation, where companies only share research within their own organizations. One prominent example of open innovation: in 2014, Tesla committed publicly to allowing competitors to use their technology — declining to file any patent lawsuits — as long as these competitors acted in “good faith.” There have been other open innovation efforts as well, such as the Hyundai-led EV open innovation challenge to help start-up electric vehicle makers reach the pilot stage.

The alternative protein industry, on the other hand, has operated in almost the complete opposite way. Much of the work has happened behind closed doors, depending on private investment and proprietary advancements for growth. But it doesn’t have to remain this way: there are trade groups and associations looking to support cooperation and transparency.

“Governments themselves can play a much larger role by funding Open Access research that helps alternative protein products. They can continue to diversify beyond one-off grants, to multi-year multi-stakeholder programs,” says Gertner. Academic consortia like the Tufts Cellular Agriculture Consortium, as well as research hubs and contract manufacturing pilot plants, could all help the field work together more collaboratively.

Alternative Proteins Do Differ From Electric Vehicles, in Some Advantageous Ways

The Good Food Institute estimates that governments around the world will need to invest $10.1 billion in alternative proteins to achieve 50 percent market penetration by 2050. That’s a high number, but it’s not as much as electric vehicles have needed to grow. “It’s actually not clear that alternative proteins need to match the funding levels of electric vehicles to fully realize their benefits,” Gertner says. That’s a potential benefit for funding alternative protein growth.

Another key difference is how often Americans think about buying meat as compared to an automobile. Americans buy a car once every eight years but for packages of meat, it’s closer to at least 48 times a year at the grocery store. For boosters of meat alternatives, that means a whole lot of opportunities to persuade consumers to choose something different.