The Bezos Earth Fund has announced plans to invest $60 million (€55 million) to establish Bezos Centers for Sustainable Protein as part of the Bezos Earth Fund’s $1 billion (€923 million) commitment to food transformation.
At an event called Aspen Ideas: Climate, Bezos Earth Fund vice chair Lauren Sánchez said that the public need to invent a way out of climate change and pursue advancements in technologies to find solutions for the future.
'Our Greatest Challenges'
“We need to feed 10 billion people with healthy, sustainable food throughout this century while protecting our planet. We can do it, and it will require a ton of innovation,” said Sánchez.
“Our world is poised for transformation, for a future not constrained by compromise. Solutions to our greatest challenges often come from the quiet persistence of those willing to question, reimagine, and innovate.”
Alternative Proteins
The Centers will target major technological barriers to reducing cost, increasing quality, and boosting nutritional benefit of alternative proteins by advancing science and technology.
To date, Bezos Earth Fund has noted challenges in biomanufacturing – the production, at scale, of sustainable protein products, whether plant based, fermented, or cultivated – are resulting in high costs and limited quality.
The group also believes there are 'enormous opportunities' to enhance the texture and boost flavor through innovation in cell biology and engineering.
$1bn commitment
This comes after Bezos Earth Fund’s $1 billion (€923 million) commitment to support farmers and expand food production in a sustainable manner.
Work includes reducing methane from livestock and innovating in pasture management to help take pressure off forested land.
The Earth Fund
The Earth Fund works with inventors, researchers, and entrepreneurs to improve the resilience and carbon absorption of major food crops.
The Fund was created by a commitment of $10 billion (€9.2 billion) from Jeff Bezos in 2020, to be disbursed as grants to address climate and nature within the current decade.
