Pohang City Outlines Blueprint for Alternative Food and Food Tech Industry Ecosystem

City and Gyeongbuk Province Collaborate to Develop Food Ingredient Innovation Food Tech Cluster

Fostering Global and Enterprise-Centered Alternative Foods, Securing Future Food Sources and Food Security

On the 30th, Pohang City held a kick-off briefing session for a research project on establishing a food tech industry ecosystem based on alternative foods in collaboration with North Gyeongsang Province at the city hall's main conference room.

Pohang City Hall.

At the briefing session, about 20 participants including representatives from the Gyeongbuk Economic Promotion Agency, Gyeongbuk Technopark, Pohang Institute of Metal Industry Advancement, Korea Food Tech Association Gyeongbuk-Daegu Branch, related companies, and the research agency, Seoul National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, gathered to share opinions on the project details and future directions.

The research project to establish a strategy for creating a food tech industry ecosystem in Pohang will include analysis and outlook on the future food industry, plans for building innovative food material infrastructure, and a roadmap for establishing the food tech industry ecosystem in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.

'Alternative foods', which mainly refer to foods that replace animal protein, are rapidly emerging as a solution not only to the global food crisis caused by population growth and climate change, but also to address the spread of value-based consumption, environmental pollution from traditional livestock and fisheries, resource depletion, and animal ethics issues.

According to the Institute for International Trade, the global meat market is expected to reach 2,000 trillion KRW by 2040, with alternative foods accounting for 60% (25% plant-based, 35% cell-cultured).

Through this research project, Pohang City plans to establish a Food Material Innovation Center for developing innovative food material technologies such as plant-based ingredients, formulate detailed plans to lead the future food market, and explore directions for the advancement of the national food tech and agri-food industries.

Pohang City has been focusing on food tech as an alternative to address local issues such as climate change, food crises, aging population, and low birth rates that threaten the survival of regional areas. Through this research, the city aims to build innovative food material infrastructure and expand the industrial base in the future.

Vice Mayor Jang Sangkil said, "With Pohang City recently designated as a bio-specialized complex and having abundant related infrastructure, we will leverage these strengths to accelerate the development of the food tech industry," adding, "By fostering the alternative food industry, we will create quality jobs and contribute to overcoming regional extinction by building an advanced city."

Last November, Pohang City and North Gyeongsang Province, together with the Gyeongbuk Economic Promotion Agency, jointly hosted a global forum on building an alternative food industry ecosystem at Pohang Change Up Ground, and signed an agreement with B?hler, a world-leading food equipment company, to promote the food tech industry based on alternative foods, making continuous efforts to foster the alternative food industry.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.