XPRIZE Unveils Advisory Board for $15 Million XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion

Mar 24 2021

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Nine Influential Leaders in Food Innovation Will Help Guide the Competition To Develop Globally Accessible, Nutritious and Sustainable Chicken and Fish Alternatives

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (March 24, 2021) – Today, XPRIZE is announcing the $15 Million XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion advisory board, a collection of nine of the most influential voices participating in the conversation around the future of food. Launched in December 2020, amid a  surge in global food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion seeks to meet the growing demand for protein products through the development of nutritious alternatives to traditional chicken and fish products that are cost-competitive and more sustainable to human health, the environment and animal welfare. Over the next three years, with guidance of the competition’s advisory board, teams of global innovators will be asked to develop environmentally conscious alternatives that replicate the look, taste, smell, feel, and cooking behavior of a fillet of fish or chicken. 

XPRIZE has recruited the following global experts to join the XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion advisory board: 

  • HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, KBW Ventures
  • Bernhard Kowatsch, Head of Innovation Accelerator, ‎United Nations World Food Programme
  • Isha Datar, Executive Director, New Harvest 
  • Jose Andres, Chef and Owner of ThinkFoodGroup - Founder of World Central Kitchen 
  • Lisa Sweet, Head of Future of Protein, COVID Response, and Food-Health, World Economic Forum
  • Ricardo San Martin, Research Director of the Alternative Meat Program at the Sutardja, Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at UC Berkeley
  • Rosie Wardle, Co-Founder and Partner, Synthesis Capital 
  • Varun Deshpande, Managing Director, Good Food Institute India
  • Sally Rockey, Executive Director of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

“Every year nearly 690 million people go hungry and two billion lack regular access to safe, nutritious food,” says Kate Krueger, Cultivated Protein Expert and technical lead for XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion. “So, as our earth’s population continues to grow it’s become increasingly apparent that we not only need to think about how we’re going to feed the next generation but also about how technology will play a role in the future of food. With science we can make things that we never thought possible, developing a better food system with greater efficiency and sustainability by creating more nutritious, delicious and accessible food options than those currently on the market. We’re looking forward to seeing what the teams develop and how their innovation shapes the future of food.

XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion originated from the Future of Food Impact Roadmap, an in-depth analysis of global food system challenges by XPRIZE, which found alternative proteins at-scale to be a critical impact area requiring significant technological advances, decreased price points, and notable shifts in consumers’ preferences. The competition was then launched with the support of partners including ASPIRE, a part of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), which funds research and runs global tech competitions, the Tony Robbins Foundation and The Good Food Institute. Through the development of chicken or fish alternatives, teams competing in the prize will work to ensure that, as the world grows in wealth, the availability of sustainable food can meet the coming demand for high-protein diets allowing the next billion to live active and healthy lives.

“Our global population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050 and analysis shows it will be impossible to maintain the consumption trends for protein that are typical of current diets in North America and Europe if we want to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and meet the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement,” says Lisa Sweet, Head of Future of Protein, COVID Response, and Food-Health, World Economic Forum. “Balancing climate change mitigation with ensuring food and nutrition security for the next generation, and doing so in a manner that is inclusive will require significant diversification of protein sources. Advances in the alternative protein category are a critical pathway, and I am excited to be working with XPRIZE in a competition aimed at spurring that advancement and can’t wait to see what teams develop over the next three years.” 

Registration is open until May 31, 2021, and winners will be revealed in 2024. To learn more about XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, visit xprize.org/feed.