NL a global leader when it comes to meat substitutes

The Netherlands is a global leader when it comes to meat substitutes, with companies and investors from all over the world turning to the Vegan Valley in the east of the country for its innovative technologies, EenVandaag reports.

Five years ago, the Netherlands counted 40 companies specifically working on meat substitutes. Now there are 72 working on everything ranging from insects as food to plant-based steak.

The world is in a "protein transition" and the Netherlands is a front-runner, FoodValley innovation manager Jeroen Willemsen said to EenVandaag. "Proteins are building materials that every body needs. We often get them from meat and other animal products, but by making and eating meat variations you also get these proteins, without having to burden the earth for it," Willemsen said.

"Because we started so early, we have an immense head start," Willemsen explained the Netherlands' front-runner status in this field. "Nowadays, companies from all over the world find what they are looking for in the Netherlands. There is already a lot of innovation here in the field of protein and meat variety and there are plenty of labs that have developed the technology."