Local Supply

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The market demand for plant-based proteins is growing, but the raw materials often come from far away, in a supply chain that is not always that transparent.

ME-AT has the ambition to build a local and transparent supply chain that have a positive impact on the farmer, nature and consumer. These supply chains consist out of locally grown proteins, from dedicated farmers in a full transparent supply chain, from farm to fork.

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Check below our collaborations with the FabaFood group and the Bean Deal 

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Vion's meat chain has come up with successful examples

ME-AT has the ambition to build a local and transparent supply chain that have a positive impact on the farmer, nature and consumer. These supply chains consist out of locally grown proteins, from dedicated farmers in a full transparent supply chain, from farm to fork.

With ME-AT The Alternative, we are now also focusing on building our own balance chain, contributing to the plant-based protein transition towards a sustainable food chain for future generations. A supply chains consist out of locally grown proteins, from dedicated farmers in a full transparent supply chain, from farm to fork.

We do this together with strong chain partners ZLTO, Agrifirm and Herba Ingredients. In spring 2021, 30 hectares of fava beans have been sown. This acreage is expected to increase strongly over the next five years. And not just in the Netherlands: our home countries, Germany and Belgium, are also on the wish list.

As first step, we are using the fava bean. This is a leguminous crop that has a long history on dutch fields. It also has one of the highest protein yield per hectare and provides extra biodiversity and fixes more nitrogen in the field. Finally, it gives the arable farmer an extra crop in the rotation plan, making them less dependent on the standard crops.

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Innovative Strength

But the search for the right crop is not an easy one. Besides the fact that there are many varieties of fava bean, the crop has never really been developed for the production of proteins for the food industry. The challenge for the consortium is the ensure that these fava beans can be made into a tasty product ready for the market.

Due to the innovative strength of the various parties and Vion retails’s strong NPD team, we are convinced that we will make this project a success.

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Tasty meat subsitute

The first fields were harvest in september 2021, and the protein was separated from the beans in the following months. The proteins were the converted into a texturated, which ME-AT the alternative have been using to make a tasty meat substitute.

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Ambition

Together with the partners, we are also looking at the valorization of the residual flows (fibres and starch) in order to achieve the highest possible yield in the balanced chain: not only for the partners but also for the farmers. .All this with an eye for the origin of the fava bean and the story of the grower, produced in the shortest possible balanced chain. All in all, this is a great challenge to sink our teeth into!

 

Add the fact that was done in the Netherlands, now the ambition is to do it on the different country markets