Europe’s latest agrifood research blueprint recognizes fermentation as a critical capacity gap, yet provides no dedicated funding to close it. The disconnect could stall the continent’s alternative protein sector precisely when private investment is surging.
The European Commission’s new strategy for building a competitive agrifood system leans on two frameworks: Agri 2040 and Food 2040. Together they outline priorities ranging from bioeconomy and digitalisation to aquaculture and sustainable diets. Protein diversification earns explicit support as a tool for tackling climate change, food insecurity, and antimicrobial resistance.
Missing from the document, however, is any renewed commitment to research targeting the taste, texture, and affordability of plant-based, fermentation-derived, and cultivated proteins. That omission stands in sharp contrast to the Commission’s own evidence review, which documents how earlier research projects successfully developed new plant proteins.
Alessandro Gardino, policy officer at GFI Europe, called the gap “a missed opportunity.” The strategy identifies Europe’s shortage of industrial fermentation infrastructure and pledges to explore ways to attract private investment for open-access facilities. As a result, startups could test and derisk processes without massive upfront capital.
Meanwhile, fermentation companies captured 84% of all private alternative protein funding in the first half of 2026, driving a 56% year-on-year sector increase. Still, the strategy lacks concrete funding measures under Horizon Europe’s 2028-34 research programme.
The EU has sent conflicting signals before. Last year it allocated €350M to food and biotech innovation, and a July Protein Plan highlighted precision fermentation’s potential. Yet that same plan ignored support for farmers growing protein crops for human consumption. And Brussels continues banning meat-related terms on plant-based product labels.
The bloc also excluded novel foods from its Biotech Act regulatory sandboxes. GFI Europe now urges a reversal ahead of the Act’s second part, due this quarter, with fermentation-derived ingredients as a covered category. Without that change, Europe’s own innovation roadmap remains incomplete.
