b'reduce animal-based meat and dairy choose to eat it only occasionally, she says. Seventy-eight per-cent of shoppers who are purchasing plant-based foods are repeat and loyal shoppers.With the numbers speaking volumes of the con-sumer demand for plant-based foods, Sopko says its important to remember there are crop benefits as well.The top crops used to make plant-based ingredients are soybeans, dried peas, chickpeas, oats and wheat, she says. Growing these crops as part of a diversified cover rotation will have multiple climate benefits starting with soil conservation and water quality.In addition to the benefits of diversification, plant-based proteins are also starting to pull crops out of more region-specific areas. Take pulse crops, for example.As this investment grows, youre going to see the pulse world move out of Saskatchewan and out of Montana and spreading further, says Mark Macrander, director of specialty grains at Ingredionwere really going to make it more accessible and during the ASTA panel. For old agronomists, itsrealize that type of growth, weve got to make theseMatt Crisp is the CEO of exciting to see the work in pulses help increase thatsolutions more affordable. Benson Hill. acreage to help meet the customer demand. Largely, the expenses come down to cost of For companies like Impossible Foods, creator ofprocessing.the Impossible Burger, those new ingredients areIn order to concentrate the protein today, to a key for alternative proteins. high enough level to make a texturized plant-based All of our main commodity ingredients areprotein ingredient, the industry has to concentrate being sourced from the U.S., says Tyler Jameson,it further through a soy protein concentratevice president of government relations forwhich is really water and energy intensive, Crisp Impossible Foods. That would be primarily soy- says. Its also really expensive. Thats the primary beans and sunflower oil. reason why you see significant price premiums So, what should food ingredient companies doabove and beyond what you would otherwise sell to respond to this ever-increasing demand andas commodity.market? One solution that Benson Hill worked on is a27% high protein non-GMO soybean.is the amount of What Does It Mean for Ingredients? If we can let Mother Nature do the hard workgrowth of theWhen it comes to ingredient companies likeand concentrate that protein for us in the seed,plant-based food Benson Hill, theyve heard the call and the demand.then we dont need to go and pay for this verymarket in 2020.Benson Hill has developed a high-protein soybeanexpensive water and energy intensive processing, and is exploring opportunities in yellow pea, bothhe says. We can use that natural genetic diversity made to be food-grade ingredients for marketsof the plant and move it more directly as a whole71such as the alternative protein sector.ingredient to our customer base. million households in It comes down to preference, Crisp says.Grower engagement around alternative proteinsthe U.S. purchaseWere intending to have multiple crops in theis also continuously growing, and Benson Hill hasplant-based foods.portfolio to offer our customers choice. Some folksbeen working with new farmer partners through prefer a yellow pea ingredient solution, like Beyondtheir program called Plant for Protein. Meat, whereas Impossible uses a soy base for mostWere on our third year of contracting for 202247% of their products. Soy is the most predominatefor proprietary soybean, and weve expanded fromof Americans identify alternative protein source used in plant-based meat30,000 acres to 70,000, Crisp says. This year, as flexitarians.products. Yellow pea, on the other hand isnt as bigwere intending to expand that significantly further, in the market, but its fast growing. and weve had a really terrific return rate of growers The challenge in the soybean market, though?weve worked with. Its a milestone and indicator of9 timesThe expenses. the demand were seeing on the consumer side. is how much faster Market research would inform us that the plant- Make sure to keep an eye on the alternativeplant-based foods are based meat alternatives market, on a global basis,protein market as it continues to grow and rise withgrowing in comparison will reach $140 billion this decade, Crisp says. Ifconsumer demand.SW to total food sales.44/ SEEDWORLD.COMFEBRUARY 2022'