5 ways to accelerate protein diversification in Europe’s Food system

How can Europe diversify protein sustainably? Discover 5 key actions to improve health, support innovation, and build a resilient food system.

04 May 2026

4 min reading time

Many Europeans consume enough calories, yet their diets remain unbalanced and often unhealthy. How is this possible?

On average, adults in Europe consume around 2,500 calories per day. However, many people aren’t getting enough food that truly nourishes the body. Across Europe, diets often exceed intakes of red meat, saturated fats, and added sugars, while falling short on the very foods that support long-term health: whole grains, legumes, nuts, and vegetables.

At the same time, this lack of dietary diversity, especially in protein sources, has implications beyond health. Diets dominated by a narrow range of animal proteins place significant pressure on the environment, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and resource depletion.[1]

The good news is that momentum is growing around alternative protein sources, including plant-based proteins (e.g. legumes, pulses), fermented and microbial proteins (e.g. fungi, algae), and hybrid protein products.[2]

Initiatives like the Horizon Europe project Plantomyc, involving EIT Food, places protein diversification in the centre by combining plant proteins like peas with mycelium-based protein to create innovative hybrid meat alternatives.

Rethinking the future of protein in Europe

As interest in protein diversification grows, the Protein Diversification Think Tank brings together experts from across agriculture, food, research, and policy to explore how Europe’s protein system could evolve.

Conducted by the futures experts from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Think Tank have developed a foresight study exploring four possible futures for Europe’s protein system by 2035 and 2050.

One of the most promising scenarios is the “Circular Protein Renaissance.” This vision imagines a future where Europe accelerates protein diversification to create a future-proof food system through five practical ways :

1. Regulatory agility

Europe is home to cutting-edge research and startups developing sustainable protein solutions, but approval processes are slow and complex.

In simple terms, regulatory agility means making rules faster and more flexible without reducing safety. This could include allowing proven safe products to enter the market on a temporary basis while being closely monitored, as well as speeding up approvals for innovations that already have strong evidence behind them.

The goal is to keep high consumer protection while removing unnecessary delays, so that good, safe innovations can reach people more quickly instead of being held back by bureaucracy.

2. Pair public funding with private investment

To scale innovation and turn them into market-ready businesses, public funding and private investment need to work much more closely together.

Many innovations fail to scale because there isn’t enough funding to move beyond the testing phase and into the market. That’s why it’s important for public support to cover early stages, while also attracting private investment to drive further growth. Once a solution has proven it works, more funding is needed to scale production and make it widely available.

This should align with Horizon Europe Cluster 6 priorities on agrifood innovation, circularity, and resilience [3], while also leveraging EU co-financing tools to speed up the process and maximize impact.

3. Deploy energy‑efficient biomanufacturing and “circular” processing hubs

Today, a significant share of valuable resources is simply lost across Europe’s food production systems. Circular economy approaches offer a clear opportunity to recover these by-products and transform them into high-value ingredients.

The Dry Sour from Spent Grains project, supported by the EIT Food Impact Funding Framework, illustrates this potential in practice. Partners such as Agrain and Blendhub are converting by-products from beer production into nutritious sourdough ingredients, demonstrating how waste streams can be effectively repurposed.

This approach not only reduces food waste and lowers production costs, but also contributes to strengthening Europe’s protein self-reliance.

4. Consumer familiarisation and trust-building

The EIT Food Trust Report 2026 shows that while 51% of Europeans want to eat healthier, everyday barriers such as cost, convenience, and unfamiliarity still limit change.[4]

To change this, people need clear and easy-to-understand information about the nutritional and environmental benefits of their food choices, alongside more gradual exposure to alternative and blended proteins in familiar formats.

Public institutions, including schools, hospitals, and workplace canteens, are uniquely positioned to lead by example. By integrating a broader range of protein options into daily menus, they can help make these foods more visible, accessible, and accepted, supporting a shift in habits across the wider population.

5. Open digital transparency

We need to make the journey of our food more visible and easier to understand. By sharing clear, user-friendly data and common dashboards, we can show where products come from and how they move through the supply chain.

When producers and regions speak the same “data language,” it becomes much easier to monitor what’s happening in real time, speeding up approvals, and acting quickly if something goes wrong.

In turn, this creates a system that works more efficiently and earns the trust of consumers, who increasingly want transparency about what they eat.

Why protein diversification matters for Europe

While current diets and production systems are driving both health and environmental risks, protein diversification in Europe offers a strategic opportunity to rethink how food is produced and consumed.

By improving regulation, aligning investment, scaling circular production, building trust, and increasing transparency in food systems, Europe can unlock a more resilient and food ecosystem.

The choices made today will shape Europe’s food system for decades to come.