“We’re seeing the emergence of protein agnostic companies,” said Ian Proudfoot, global head of Agribusiness at KPMG, who was speaking at this week’s launch of the 2018 AgriBusiness report.

Proudfoot said global giants in the food industry such as Danone and Tyson Foods, the largest meat company in the US, are positioning themselves more and more as suppliers of all protein options, including plant-based proteins.

“Tyson is a great example of a protein agnostic company,” said Proudfoot. “They want to have a relationship with all consumers as opposed to having a relationship with a consumer that wants to eat meat.”

Tesco’s recent decision to list plant-based steak in 400 of its UK stores was further evidence of a growing consumer preference for alternative products. Proudfoot said that to survive against this disruption, traditional food companies need to communicate why their products are better than alternatives.

Proudfoot said the NZ government had recently undertaken a review of the dairy industry restructuring act, which is the governing legislation that created Fonterra. The review will look at the milk price setting process, New Zealand’s product mix and could also set a limit on stocking rates for environmental reasons.

“This is the biggest review of our dairy industry in 20 years so it’s a big moment for the industry. Should the government be regulating the number of cows that are on a paddock or determining the investment strategies for Fonterra? I don’t know,” said NZ-based Proudfoot.

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