Read our 'Future of Food' report

The Protein Challenge 2040 was the first global coalition of its kind, aiming to tackle the question: How do we provide up to 10 billion people with enough protein in a way that is healthy, affordable and good for the planet?

The challenge

Protein is fundamental to our diets, but the way we currently produce and eat it depletes natural resources, and overconsumption can impact human health. Awareness is growing among policymakers, businesses and civil society that urgent transformation is critical.

Human Health: While we produce enough protein to feed the world, quality protein is not equally available to all. Malnutrition is the most important risk factor for disease in developing countries, yet in 90% of countries average protein consumption is exceeding nutritional requirements.

Planetary health: The current production of protein is impacting our planetary life support systems. For example, if the number of livestock continues to grow on its current trajectory, their cumulative emissions between now and 2050 could be equivalent to one third of the remaining 1.5°C carbon budget

Food Security: Rising incomes and population growth are contributing to rising demand for protein, yet security of supply is at risk. Global fish populations are thought to have halved since 1970 yet 22% of catch from fisheries is used for animal feed.

The challenge is clear - but action is slow and fragmented. Together, we need urgent transformative action to reshape protein production and consumption.

The Future of Protein: Shaping the future of food

Our contribution

The Protein Challenge 2040 was a pre-competitive, international, multi-stakeholder initiative, running 2014 to 2020, whose aim was to explore critical questions about the future of the global protein system; to challenge and reshape the narratives about the scale and nature of transformative change needed; and to accelerate opportunities for progress towards a future in which everyone in our growing global population has access to healthy, sustainable and affordable sources of protein.

Every player in the protein system has a role in driving change. Through Protein Challenge 2040, we explored ways to: 

• Raise the importance of policy and collaborative industry action
• Advocate for a better balance of sustainable protein, relevant to local contexts
• Help to map out the path to an inclusive protein system that takes into account the livelihoods at stake
• Recognise the cultural importance of food, test approaches to unlock systems change

To find out more, explore our work in the following areas:

Future Plates: rebalancing protein in diets	Scaling sustainable animal feed

Why did we focus on these areas?

Shaping the Future of Protein

More information

Find out more about the Great Protein Transformation Challenge that continued and built on the work of Protein Challenge 2040.

Explore Recipes for food system transformation, a series of blogs by Forum's Food team on The Futures Centre, sharing insights from across our work on food and in particular in protein, looking at Innovation, Diversity, Net Zero and Resilience.

Contact our Food team for more information or to discuss opportunities for collaboration building on the Protein Challenge 2040. 

Contact our Food team

Who was involved?