UAE-Based Switch Foods' Locally Produced Plant-Based Meat Is Set To Accelerate The Growth Of This Food Category In The Region
As per global data and business intelligence platform Statista, the plant-based meat market is expected to be worth US$33.99 billion by 2027. And while that should be incentive enough for one to start an enterprise in this arena, for Edward Hamod, who founded Switch Foods in the UAE in 2022, one of the drivers for his foodtech startup -which locally produces plant-based alternatives to meat- was his personal experience working in the F&B industry.
“We live in a world where health, sustainability, and global climate change are on every government agenda, and on the minds of most people, where immediate drastic measures are needed,” Hamod adds. “One of the top causes of health risks, pollution, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions is our food systems. The energy industry is spending billions of dollars to cut emissions and switch to green solutions, and if we do nothing as food producers and consumers, our food systems will soon become the biggest emitters in the world. Plant-based alternatives and increasing consumer adoption of plant- based foods into diets is a must if we are to improve individual health, and slow or reverse our food systems’ impact on climate change.”
