A new trend in hospitality
Hospitality industry players need to rethink all of their roles in the food system and try to find ways to provide more sustainable food to guests while offering a journey towards more sustainable diets.
Food has always played a central role in the hospitality industry. The most obvious example that shows this fact is the growing importance of the culinary tourism market. By 2032, it is expected to exceed $4530.9 billion, according to Future Market Information, which translates to a compound annual growth rate of approximately 16.6% per year. In addition, new trends are emerging when it comes to culinary tourism. In fact, travelers are rethinking the impact of their consumption, vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians are finding great appeal in food tourism.
2022 has shown how vulnerable our food system is to extreme events. Food prices have increased worldwide due to the war in Ukraine, but that is not the only reason. Extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods and heat storms, have put pressure on food production, limiting supply and keeping prices high. For example, a heat wave could reduce the grain harvest this year compared to last season by 5% in the European Union. In China, a significant drought also threatens food production and puts pressure on the food system.
If some of the effects of climate change can be easily seen by the human eye. However, their effects are just as worrisome. Bee populations are declining, which means fewer and fewer of those insects will be able to do their job. Pollination of plants that are undoubtedly real food for humans and indeed, “bees, in particular, are responsible for the pollination of about 90 commercially produced crops” among other plants.
Getting back to a good thing Reducing meat consumption by going vegan (vegetarian) or being flexible will have at least two benefits for our food system. Let’s take Britain as an example. Knowing that animal foods account for 57% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions compared to 29% for plant-based foods in the UK and that currently, 85% of UK farmland is used as pasture for grazing animals such as cattle or reducing meat consumption It can help reduce the impact of extreme weather and prevent food shortages and rising crop prices by growing food directly for humans, not livestock.
A second benefit is that it also reduces greenhouse gases because “grazing and feeding livestock consumes about 80 percent of the Earth’s agricultural land, everything from milking cows to mass deforestation to create pastures causes greenhouse gas emissions, so Dietary changes are necessary to meet the two-degree limit on global temperature change, scientists say, especially since nutritionally comparable plant foods can be found with less climate impact. However, the US government’s Dietary Guidelines for 2020-2025 ignore these facts and never mention the impact of climate on food. Scientists urge the US government to consider this issue for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines and suggest dietary changes that should be implemented.
In other words, hospitality industry players need to rethink all their roles in the food system and try to find ways to provide more sustainable food to guests while offering a journey towards more sustainable diets. It seems that one way or another, the industry will have to adapt, either because the increasing number of heat waves increase food insecurity or because consumers have realized what’s at stake and more sustainable food options. will request By taking our food system seriously, the hospitality sector can only become more resilient. In fact, food has an important influence on the service quality of hotels and restaurants. It is important for those institutions to ensure that they can deal with food shortages. In addition, they must be responsible and play an active role in greening the food system.
Innovation
What about proteins? Innovative Foods, Meatless Diets and Reinventing Food Waste On the other hand, innovation never stops and human curiosity can save the world. Entrepreneurs are developing food innovations to provide alternatives to meat consumption. Soon it will be possible to find vegan fried chicken in supermarkets and more vegan cheese substitutes. Startups and research labs are working on alternative sources of protein and new foods. Air Protein Company makes air meat from air. They convert the elements in the air into stable protein using a process similar to how yogurt is produced.
OmniFoods is developing innovations to promote a plant-based diet, its OmniSeaFood range of products made from non-GMO soy. In parallel, other entrepreneurs set up fast food restaurants and offer healthy and vegetarian food to customers.
More startups are turning to cultured meats, growing meat in labs using cell science (without killing animals).
A well-known alternative, but more challenging to implement because it does not meet western visual and taste standards, is insects. For example, mealworms are an environmentally friendly protein source with a meat-like flavor and have already been used as a snack for pets. For example, Loopworm, an agricultural startup that uses insects to produce new bio-based products, has raised $3.4 million in seed funding from leading investors.
Steamed worms or fried crickets could be our future food. Remember the word entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, will soon become popular. In addition, new processes of cooking insects are being tested to create a taste similar to what people in the West are used to. Food 3D printers can make these insect containers visually appealing. If you don’t find new food ideas tempting, you can take a fresh look at existing fruits. According to researchers, we may soon see the fruit of bread on the shelves, replacing new chefs is a new trend. More and more people are concerned about sustainable development. Governments encourage companies to advance agriculture and work on new products and agricultural processes that can mitigate climate change and strengthen food security. Dubai is creating a new ecosystem for agribusiness.
Younger consumers, Gen Z, want sustainable and healthy products. Celebrities are starting to invest in sustainability startups like Back To the Roots, a home gardening venture sparked by curiosity in a business ethics class in college. Indoor vertical farming can also revolutionize the future of agriculture by providing new approaches to food production, which is especially important when agricultural land is in short supply. The current turmoil in agriculture leads to turmoil in markets, and there are many possible solutions to food insecurity, but the challenge of developing these innovations to the point of mass production remains unsolved.
Another way to move towards sustainable consumption is to tackle the problem of food waste, as one chef is doing by producing a range of ice creams and syrups made from surplus ingredients collected from farmers and producers. It’s sad that at a time when humanity is facing food shortages, more food waste ends up in landfills than plastic or paper. One solution is to find a way to bring buyers and sellers together quickly and in time to prevent the entry of contaminated products. Tridge, a South Korean startup that connects global agricultural buyers and sellers in more than 150 countries by offering affordable prices, has so far raised $37 million at a $2.7 billion valuation.