XPrize plant-based fish and cell-based chicken competition ends without a winner

Contest organisers praise entrants' contributions to sustainable food research

Taste testing for the XPrize Feed the Next Billion competition took place at Abu Dhabi's International Centre for Culinary Arts. Photo: Cody Combs

XPrize Feed the Next Billion, a competition launched four years ago that saw teams compete for a $15 million prize for creating plant-based fish and cell-based chicken, has announced that no winner will be declared.

“XPrize sets incredibly audacious goals,” said Anousheh Ansari, XPrize chief executive. “This means sometimes our competitions will not have winners in the timeline we set.”

Ms Ansari added that the competition helped to spark progress in the alternative protein and food sustainability sectors, and that the XPrize was “more committed than ever” to supporting the teams who competed for the top prize.

In 2020, XPrize, a US-based non-profit that seeks to encourage the altruistic development of technology through public competitions, teamed up with Aspire, the programme management and business development arm of Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council by announcing the Feed the Next Billion competition in the hope of transforming the way food is produced and in turn, helping to combat hunger.

More than 350 teams with various alternative meat ideas were whittled down to six teams, from China, Argentina, South Korea, Canada, Austria and Estonia.

In July, at the International Centre for Culinary Arts in Abu Dhabi, The National witnessed competition judges taste-testing and assessing different types of cell-based chicken, fermentation-derived chicken and plant-based fish.

Besides taste, the entries were assessed on structure, preparation and cookability, aroma, and overall similarity to their animal-origin equivalents. The environmental footprint of the alternative proteins was also taken into consideration.

Food scientists, chefs, environmental life-cycle assessment scientists and business experts made up the judging panels seeking to select a winner.

“Our judges were faced with an incredibly difficult decision,” said Caroline Kolta, the competition's programme director. “The criteria for winning this prize were intentionally rigorous, reflecting the complexity of the global food system challenges we seek to solve.”

She added that the efforts from all participants brought closer a future where sustainable and accessible food is universally available.

A total of $3 million was awarded to the participating teams during the semi-finals of the competition, a joint news release from XPrize and Aspire said.

“Finalist teams each demonstrated significant progress towards products that will fulfil the promise of alternative proteins,” the news release added. “Each team’s dedication, extensive research and hard work have measurably advanced the field of alternative proteins, setting the stage for future successes.”

Alternative proteins have several shortcomings in terms of nutritional value and cost barriers. They also tend to skew towards beef and pork alternatives.

During the judging in July, prize organisers said that while beef offers the highest profit margin for food companies, that created a gap in the market as protein alternatives to fish and chicken are often overlooked. Chicken and fish are more widely consumed, so there is market demand for more protein alternatives.

According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, meat and dairy account for approximately 14.5 per cent of global greenhouse gases.

Finding protein alternatives could make a significant impact by lessening the world's reliance on environmentally taxing animal agriculture methods, while also making it easier to feed a growing population which by some estimates will reach 10 billion by 2050.

XPrize Feed the Next Billion was supported by the International Centre for Culinary Arts in Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways, WSP, Perkins Coi LLP and Aspire.

It was also backed by the Tony Robbins Foundation, a US-based non-profit which seeks to provide millions of meals around the world each year and award grants to health and human services organisations.