Plant2Food Pitch Session w. Isabella Righini

PLANT2FOOD PITCH SESSION

w. Isabella Righini (MSc, Wageningen University & Research)

- In collaboration with Kristian Holst Laursen (PhD, Msc Agro, Associate Professor and Group Leader at University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Science)

- EUdamame - Advancing Edamame production for sustainable protein supply in Europe

"Food production needs are evolving: consumers demand fresher, safer, more nutritious, and locally produced crops using fewer resources and at affordable prices. This trend also applies to protein products, with a shift from animal-based to plant-based proteins driven by health, climate change, and animal welfare concerns. Thus, there is a need for exploring new methods to produce fresh protein-rich crops for human consumption (with legumes as the main representatives), and increase their availability in Europe. Fresh soybean, or “Edamame” (Glycine max L.) is a key candidate due to its excellent nutritional and agronomic properties. Currently, Europe's domestic open field production of Edamame is still in its infancy, making it reliant on Asian imports. This highlights the need for innovative production systems and more synergies with traditional open field production methods. Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems, like greenhouses, have proven their ability to produce fresh, high-yield, high-value vegetable crops. Protein crops like Edamame can benefit from CEA, offering year-round production or off-season production, higher yields and quality, reduced dependence on outdoor conditions, and improved commercial and nutritional value. Embracing CEA for Edamame can reduce import dependency and meet the growing demand for fresh, nutrient-rich products while upholding sustainable agricultural practices.The project “EUdamame” aims to advance Edamame cultivation in Europe by optimizing yield, as well as nutritional and commercial quality, through innovative production methods and techniques. This aims to meet the growing demand for fresh, local, nutritious, and sustainable plant-based proteins."

NB: The pitch session will be recorded and made available online at Plant2Food on WorldLabs.