China is positioning alternative proteins within a wider future food system spanning food security, nutrition, sustainability and consumer needs, according to Prof Li Zhaofeng, vice president of Jiangnan University.
This aligns with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s earlier directives to seek nutrition beyond traditional agricultural sources.
“Apart from traditional crops and livestock and poultry resources, we should exploit biological resources. By developing biological science and technology and bio-industries, we can obtain calories and protein from plants, animals and microorganisms,” Xi had said previously.
It frames alternative proteins as representative of changes in future production methods and lifestyles, rather than as new products or ingredients.
Speaking at a conference held within Food Ingredients China (FIC) 2026, Prof Li outlined a development framework in which alternative proteins sit alongside synthetic biology, artificial intelligence (AI), precision nutrition and intelligent manufacturing as technologies that could reshape how food is produced and consumed.
He identified four broad areas for future foods to address: food supply and quality; food safety and nutrition; dietary patterns; and consumers’ need for enjoyment and emotional wellbeing.
Food security drives China’s alternative protein push
Food supply is a key part of the case for developing alternative proteins.
Prof Li highlighted China’s reliance on imported soybeans, particularly for animal feed, as one example of the country’s protein supply challenge.
Developing alternative protein resources could help diversify supply and improve the efficiency of food production, alongside reducing pressure on land and other agricultural resources.
This positions alternative proteins as more than a sustainability play. The development of new protein sources can also be viewed through the lens of food security and supply resilience, particularly as China seeks to make better use of domestic biological and agricultural resources.
Prof Li mentioned a broad range of technologies and resources, including plant-based and microbial protein, as well as biotechnology-enabled approaches to creating new food ingredients.
His argument was that future food development should address both the quantity and quality of food available.
From food supply to personalised nutrition
Increasing food availability, however, is only one part of the future food equation.
Li identified precision nutrition as one of the major directions for future food development, reflecting a shift away from designing products around the needs of an average consumer towards more personalised nutritional solutions.
Personalised vs precision nutrition: What’s the difference?
Personalised nutrition is a broader approach that customises your diet using simpler, easily observable information – such as age, gender, weight, personal goals, and food preferences.
Precision nutrition is a more scientific approach that customises your diet based on data that is unique to your body, such as your DNA, gut microbiome, blood sugar spikes, and metabolism. One such example product is Calbee’s Body Granola.
Prof Li identified precision nutrition as one of the major directions for future food development. This points towards a shift from designing products around broad consumer groups to developing more targeted nutritional solutions for individuals.
Prof Li linked advances in biotechnology with the potential to better understand nutritional needs and develop products with more targeted health benefits.
At the same time, future foods will still need to satisfy consumers.
“However, future foods should not simply be judged by whether they taste good,” Prof Li said.
The comment reflects a broader point in his presentation: technological innovation alone will not determine whether future foods succeed with consumers. Products need to combine nutritional and functional benefits with taste, enjoyment and consumer acceptance.
He also described providing “emotional value” as a characteristic of future foods, suggesting that eating experiences and psychological satisfaction will increasingly form part of product development alongside nutrition.
Li’s core objectives for future foods were clear: safer, more nutritious, tastier and more sustainable products.
AI and biotech to reshape food production
Technology will underpin the transition, with Li identifying synthetic biology, AI, additive manufacturing and nanotechnology among the technological foundations for future food development.
The technology list also includes additive manufacturing, which encompasses techniques such as 3D food printing, alongside synthetic biology and nanotechnology.
AI, meanwhile, could extend beyond product development into the manufacturing process itself.
Prof Li said intelligent manufacturing in China’s food industry remains at a relatively early stage, highlighting the need for greater collaboration between food companies and equipment manufacturers to advance digitalisation and automation.
Greater digitalisation and automation could improve production efficiency, quality control and food safety, while giving manufacturers greater flexibility to respond to changing consumer requirements.
Integrating food, biotech and information technology
Underlying these technologies is an emphasis on integration. Li’s development pathway calls for biotechnology (BT), information technology (IT) and food technology (FT) to converge in support of a high-tech food industry.
This moves the future food discussion beyond individual categories such as plant-based meat or precision fermentation, positioning alternative proteins as one component of a wider transformation in how food is sourced, produced, formulated and consumed.
Sustainability is similarly embedded within this broader vision.
Prof Li linked future food development with challenges including resource constraints, land and water use and environmental pressures, suggesting that new production technologies could improve resource efficiency while supporting a more resilient food supply.
The implication for the food industry is that future food innovation will increasingly be judged on its ability to solve multiple problems at once: securing adequate food supplies, improving nutritional quality, reducing environmental pressure and delivering products that consumers actually want to eat.
For alternative proteins, that could mean the next phase of development will be less about positioning them as a standalone replacement for conventional protein and more about demonstrating how they contribute to a safer, healthier, tastier and more sustainable food system.
