Towards a More Sustainable Food System

Photo credit: Noah Buscher

The current food production system is not sustainable.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we were not on track to end world hunger and malnutrition by 2030. It was estimated that around 1 in 10 people in the world faced hunger in 2020. Between food wastage, suboptimal food production practices, overfishing and the growing demand to produce even more food (up to 70% more to feed a projected 9.7 billion population by 2050!), we need to take swift and decisive action to ensure food security for all. At the same time, there is also a need to diversify protein sources while improving efficiency, and reducing carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and aquaculture practices.

At Growthwell Foods, we care deeply about sustainability and food security. We believe that plant-based alternatives are not just a viable alternative food source but are also good for the environment. With the rapid advancement of technology and continued innovation, plant-based alternatives are going to be a game-changer in terms of sustainability and will be an important food source in the next few years.

Why are we so confident?

It is simply more efficient. Currently, growing 1 kilogram of beef requires 38 kilograms of plant-protein. A mere 3% efficiency. An analysis shows that by shifting crops away from animal feed and biofuel to human consumption, global calorie availability can be increased by as much as 70%. Why not cut the ’middleman’ out and harvest crops directly for human consumption or use in plant-based alternatives? That will be a more efficient use of our limited resources and land.

It gets better. Our 90% chickpea protein isolate is not just the world’s first, but it is also a highly sustainable crop. As a legume, chickpeas have a higher water-use efficiency than nuts and are also able to adapt to drought and heat stress. They can bring nitrogen back into the soil, making it more fertile, and can also be incorporated into cropping systems to reduce the need for additional nitrogen-rich fertilisers.

It is greener. Livestock contributed to 14.5% of the greenhouse gas emission according to findings by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. They also take up nearly 80% of global agricultural land, yet produce less than 20% of the world’s caloric supply. In contrast, plant-based meat emits up to 90% less greenhouse gas than conventional meat.

Starting from the very beginning.

Growthwell Foods encourages the adoption of plant-based alternatives into people’s diets by making them affordable and accessible. This is a good first step towards sustainability, but it is only the start for us. Our commitment stems from the very beginning of our value chain.

We prioritise sourcing our ingredients as close to our production centres as geographically available. Our production centres are strategically located to optimise transportation routes. By being closer, we can reduce supply chain nodes and therefore our carbon footprint. Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Singapore is optimised to reduce food waste and enhance shelf life and food safety. We can produce in large quantities with minimal manpower, enabling us to make our products more affordable.

We believe we can do more.

To further reduce carbon footprints, we have invested in solar panels for our facilities in Malaysia and started a zero-waste programme to further reduce food waste during production. A carbon footprint analysis is underway to examine all aspects of our value chain and identify opportunities for Growthwell Foods to move closer to being carbon neutral. This is only the beginning, and we will leave no stone unturned in our commitment to sustainability and food security.

Our mission: To nourish 1 billion lives with accessible and affordable plant-based alternatives.

This is Growthwell Foods’ guiding light. Making our products accessible and affordable goes hand in hand with our commitment to sustainability. We want to convince more people to adopt plant-based alternatives as part of their everyday diet with great tasting, nutritious and sustainable plant-based products. We want to make food that is not only good for you but also good for the planet. By tapping into the power of plant-based nutrients, we are committed to delivering good food products with excellent nutrition profiles to nourish 1 billion lives.