If you’ve ever wondered how Australia weighs up against other countries on government support for alternative proteins, here’s your definitive answer. On our scorecard, the final tally puts Australia bringing up the rear in comparison to the 10 leading countries across 10 key areas critical to the success of the alternative proteins industry. These include:

1. A national strategy that is either exclusive to alternative proteins or includes alternative proteins in some capacity, such as Denmark’s national action plan for plant-based foods or the UK’s national vision for engineering biology, which includes cellular agriculture.
2. A climate strategy that includes mention of alternative proteins.
3. Plant protein farmer incentives, like Germany’s funding for farmers transitioning away from traditional animal agriculture.
4. A regulatory framework dedicated to the approval of novel proteins.
5. Cultivated meat products are approved for sale.
6. Precision fermentation dairy products are approved for sale.
7. Total public funding is over USD$100m (up to 2023), as reported by GFI’s 2023 State of Global Policy.
8. Sufficient support for alternative protein infrastructure development.
9. Support for research and development.
10. Dietary guidelines prioritise plant proteins.

Find out more about the actions and motivations behind the increasing support for alternative proteins in our article: Global government support for alternative proteins an opportunity for Australia.