From pasture to pipettes: Brazil embraces alternative proteins

Meat is going out of fashion. At least, that is what a recent survey on the consumption of alternative proteins, carried out by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), found.

BCG surveyed 3,700 consumers in China, France, Germany, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the U.S., and concluded that developed economies could reach so-called “peak meat” over the next decade — a point after which their domestic meat consumption will start to decline as consumers embrace alternative sources of protein. 

These can be plant-based, produced through fermentation, or grown from animal cells in a lab — what is known as cultivated meat.  

This poses questions for Brazil, a leading global producer of animal protein. The country is the world’s third largest producer of meat overall (including beef, pork, and poultry), and the second largest beef producer. Brazil also exports more beef than anyone else, with the market dominated by a few large companies such as JBS, Marfrig, and Minerva.

“The country’s vocation for the production of animal protein is undeniable,” the Brazilian branch of the Good Food Institute, an NGO that promotes alternatives to animal protein, wrote in a May 2022 white paper on cultivated meat.

“The challenge for the Brazilian industry is to maintain its competitiveness at a global level and quickly adapt to new technologies and new markets.”

Remaining competitive

“It is a point of concern,” says Amanda Leitolis, who worked on the paper. In the alternative protein market, Brazil will face competition from smaller...