Plant proteins for human and environmental health: knowledge, barriers, and levers for their development, a case study in France. A review

Abstract

Agriculture faces multiple challenges, including reducing negative environmental impacts and producing quality food for a growing world population. One of the significant issues is the need for an increased proportion of plant-based foods in diets in the developed world and its combination with the ecosystemic services provided, such as those provided by legumes, allowing a reduction in the use of nitrogen fertilizers. This requires systemic innovation in order to increase the sustainable production and consumption of diverse plant protein sources in an interaction between knowledge, tools, regulation, and acceptability. The case of France is chosen to reflect on these innovation issues. There have been a number of recent reviews either on production or on food processing, but none has addressed their systemic interrelations, critical to select the levers such as genetics, agronomy, and processing to improve protein quality and use while maintaining crop performance in an environmentally friendly manner. Here, we review the issues of proteins for healthy and sustainable diets in synergy with agronomical benefits and recommend research priorities to address this topic from farm to fork. This review includes (1) analysis of the economic context for plant-based protein production for food in the context of the agroecological transition towards sustainability and on the consequences in plant breeding schemes; (2) assessment of overall protein production from a diversity perspective, including genetics and diversity of the production systems and territories; and (3) plant proteins in healthy and attractive foods: protein content and quality, typology of processing options for the production of protein-rich food products in relation to consumer needs and demands. Next, we identify major knowledge gaps and emphasize the need for transdisciplinary research from plant breeding to the food market, involving the various stakeholders in the food value chain, to address such complex issues for more sustainable agri-food systems.