It is estimated that the world’s population will reach over 9 billion by 2050. The standard of living in the major economies of China, Russia and India will steadily increase, and demand for animal and dairy proteins will therefore rise. Global food transition is imminent, and food security and protein supplies are set to become major global issues.

The need to develop new sustainable protein sources, raw materials and processes could not be more pressing. What can we do now and achieve results by 2020?

The time to discover synergies and opportunities between the private sector and policy-makers could not be more opportune. Understanding the challenges we face is the first step towards safeguarding the supply of protein and the future of our planet.

At the 2010 Protein Summit over 150 business managers and opinion-leaders met and discussed the challenges such as Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture & Innovation, EU DG Research, VION Food Group, Premier Foods, Nutreco, Nofima, DSM, CBL, TNO, Fonterra, Solae, Burcon, CJ Foods, Wageningen and Amsterdam Universities, GfK, and many others.

The value chain represents huge business opportunities. The 2010 Summit Programme included presentations from both B2C and B2B perspectives, including coverage of:

- Consumer demands

- Retail challenges in European countries

- Ambitions of leading food manufacturers, from the meat & meat-free, dairy, soya & fish industries

- Issues in the animal feed chain

- New protein sources, such as canola, potato, rice and also single cells

The Protein Innovation Plaza gave companies, research organisations and policy-makers the opportunity to interact, form alliances, start projects and create new business opportunities.

Major business, research and sustainability issues need to be tackled by the value chain:
- What is driving the demand for protein foods?

- What are the consumer issues?

- How sustainable are the various protein foods, ingredients and feedstuffs?

- Which innovation opportunities exist for shifting towards other protein sources?

- Will new, raw proteins such as canola, algae, rice and single cell be able to play an important role?

This Summit represented a unique platform for the world's decision makers, stakeholders and business leaders in the protein market to meet and exchange knowledge, share ideas and gain inspiration. The combination of plenary sessions, specific parallel sessions and panel discussions guarantees dialogue and insights for all delegates.