Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 10/5/11

For nearly 30 years, technologist, inventor and author Henk Hoogenkamp has developed and taught innovative ways to optimize nutritive protein and texturizing solutions, many of them tied to what he calls "underutilized raw food material" like vegetable protein and rice bran.

Hoogenkamp’s new book, “Vegetable Protein Marketing,” covers a wide range of seemingly unrelated topics that influence food security, health, sustainability, affordability and dietary enjoyment. He took some time out from a European book tour to answer a few questions from Meatingplace on how vegetable protein will be key for meeting the food and nutritional needs for the 9.4 billion people expected to be living on the planet by 2050.

How “sustainable” is the current meat industry without the use of other types of proteins to supplement production?
Considering the enormous growth of the population, the world will be faced with tough choices. And even though the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and various special interest groups want to reduce per-capita meat consumption, the opposite will happen.

It’s probably safe to assume that the per-capita meat consumption in most developed countries, including the U.S. and Canada, has peaked or is slightly declining. However, developing countries — especially Asia, including China — will see phenomenal growth. As a matter of fact, much to the chagrin of FAO and WHO, the world’s meat production is expected to double by 2040.

The meat business probably will be the best "food business" to be in: A 10 percent climb in income by U.S. consumers will result in a 1 percent increase in meat spending, but in most of the developing Asian countries, a 10 percent increase in income will result in a 9 percent increase in meat purchases. People who have been deprived of eating meat for many, many generations want to satisfy this deep-rooted human instinct for eating meat and meat products.

Current and anticipated meat production is not sustainable long term and tough choices probably will need to be made in five to 10 years.

With sustainability being the goal, how should today’s meat processing companies start to look at their operations?
Actually, the U.S. and Canada — and to a certain extent Germany — are traditionally blessed with an abundance of meat supply at very low prices compared with other parts of the world. So there hasn’t been too much pressure on meat processors to reduce meat formulation costs.

On a worldwide basis, however, the processed meat industry is by far the most important market for functional soy protein, soy concentrate and soy isolate. It is estimated that of all functional soy protein sold worldwide about 70 percent is used in processed meats. And a staggering 50 percent of that amount is being used in emulsified sausage like hot dogs.

It is probably fair to say that the processed meat industry keeps the functional soy protein industry alive. Mind you, it’s also worth noting that the use of functional soy protein ingredients in U.S. meat products is still relatively very low. The U.S. soy industry has not really been able to convince U.S. meat processors to embrace soy protein when it comes to reformulating meat products. This indicates that there still is an anti-soy bias in the U.S. while U.S. processors so far can still afford to produce meat products with high lean-meat content.

What is some of the fallout of the American diet when it comes to sustainability and the general health of the U.S. population?
It’s no secret that typical U.S.-made emulsified meat products are formulated with a fat content that is much too high, with 30 percent fat being typical. I believe nutritionally speaking, high-fat products are not long-term sustainable.

The U.S. population is the heaviest in the world with a staggering 65 percent being overweight. In fact, excess nutrition now kills more than hunger. In terms of food supply and availability, obese people now outnumber the hungry globally, but hardship for the undernourished is increasing.

The problem in the U.S. widens when one recognizes that food is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and that there’s an increasing number of children who have to feed themselves because their parents simply aren’t available to teach them how to eat properly. The parents are absent because of work or they simply don’t follow the rules themselves.

Is soy protein the most important player in improving sustainability? And if not, what is?
Yes, soy protein is still the No. 1 source of vegetable protein globally. Soy protein is functional, cost effective and readily available and will continue to play an important role in improving sustainability. However, pea protein is making inroads, especially in countries and among consumers who have a negative opinion about soy protein.

For example, in Sweden, England and Canada there’s a trend to replace soy protein with pea protein. However, on the horizon is the rapid emergence of rice bran and rice protein. On a worldwide basis, a staggering 70 million metric tons of rice bran is wasted annually and ends up in a landfill. Rice bran contains about 15 percent of nutritive protein, which equals about as much as 9 million metric tons of rice protein isolate. It’s disgrace to mankind that this enormous quantity of protein is not utilized in food products.

This is especially staggering [considering that] 65 percent of the world population eats rice as a staple and, moreover, rice is hypoallergenic. All this is about to change now that an American-engineered and patented technology is being used in California to functionally allow rice bran to be used in formulated meat products.

How important are beverages in boosting sustainability efforts when it comes to proteins?
I expect that protein-formulated beverages will be increasingly used to help all of these situations. Protein-formulated beverages will enjoy major growth curves for a number of important market segments.

For starters, the baby boomers will increasingly look for no-brainer foods that are easy to consume. As people age they have difficulty in eating solid foods, including steak meat and even burgers. Protein beverages are an easy solution for target nutrition. Then there is the rapidly growing understanding by medical experts that as people age, many suffer from sarcopenia, or weakening of body muscles. 

This is a very serious issue, affecting hundreds of millions elderly who have a shortage of quality protein nutrition. Protein-formulated beverages are an ideal solution for these people.

Do you think that the public can adapt to the addition of vegetable protein in processed meat when it comes to current tastes, textures, etc.?
For the overwhelming majority of people, a meal without meat simply is not a meal! However, there are subtle changes occurring and the drivers are usually the “iPad generation” of young women who experiment with alternative food choices.

It wasn’t many years ago that typically vegetarian foods and meat analogs were only palatable to die-hards. However, technology has now reached a point that it’s very hard at times to distinguish between meat and meat analog. High-moist, extruded "chicken analog" has reached a point where consumers can’t tell the difference any more. The same is true for beef-fiber analog being used in canned corned beef and extruded tuna-flake analog where there’s no way to tell the difference.

This is what is needed to infuse meat and make it sustainable long-term. It’s remarkable, however, to see that meat analog extrusion plants are quickly generating lots of business in countries like England, Canada, Philippines and Indonesia. There is no doubt that the public will adapt to high-quality, ecologically sound and nutritive meat analogs. It’s happening now as world leaders in fast food — especially in Asia — have introduced successful menu board foods, including burgers and chicken patties formulated with high amounts of extruded vegetable protein. These fast foods are tasty, nutritious and above all, affordable.

What future do you predict for whole-muscle meat?
I predict that whole muscle meats like roast beef, pastrami, Parma ham always will be en vogue. This market is strong and enjoys strong market demand throughout all cultures that can afford these premium foods. I believe that the premium cuts will always be available though at markedly higher prices. I also believe that the typical "middle-of-the-road" meat cuts will be upgraded in quality protein by infused (vegetable) protein.

Processed meat products will show a similar pattern. The high-quality sausages and whole muscle meats, such as cooked ham and roast beef, will command premium pricing. The "middle-of-the-road" quality will most probably disappear and meat processors will be forced to make a choice to either focus on premium quality or "low quality."

In terms of ground meat, it’s estimated that about 50 percent of all beef produced in the world is ground and ends up as burgers one way or the other. Ground beef patties that are 100 percent pure beef, though, are probably not sustainable for the masses.

For additional information on “Vegetable Protein Marketing” (CreateSpace), click here. 

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.