The Innovation, Science and Technology Ministry will lead the national effort to formulate a plan to remove barriers in the food-tech arena, Minister Ofir Akunis said Monday.
The Ministerial Committee for Innovation, Science and Technology chaired by Akunis met Monday to discuss the urgent need for developing such a plan, which will be done in collaboration with the Prime Minister’s Office, the National Council for the Economy, the Health, Agriculture, Economy and the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience ministries.
“Food-tech is an industry with great potential that will make a huge contribution to Israel’s economy in the coming years, similar to cyber in the previous decade,” Akunis said.
“Food-tech is an industry with great potential that will make a huge contribution to Israel’s economy in the coming years, similar to cyber in the previous decade.”
Ofir Akunis
Israel: A leader in food-tech
In April, the PMO announced that promoting alternative proteins was a “national goal, on the understanding that it is a solution for food security and that the supply and production of alternative proteins will strengthen the Israeli economy.”
According to the Good Food Institute (GFI) Israel, the country is already a leader in the food-tech industry.
From 2018 to 2020, investments in Israeli alternative food companies increased from $14 million to $114m.
According to numbers from Start-Up Nation Central, around 230 food tech companies were in Israel at the end of 2022. There had been $473m. invested that year – the majority in the alternative protein sector.
A July report by GFI noted that Israel leads the world in investment in plant-based proteins and is second only to the United States regarding money invested in the alternative protein industry.
