Ontario Grain Farmer October 2021

literacy and choice discretion is also being enabled by grocery e-commerce, which in Canada developed on an accelerated timeline during the pandemic. Consumers now have product and price information at their fingertips and can research food items with a click. Beyond that, food retailers are increasingly able to analyze metadata on product origins, ingredients, and packaging. This allows them to tag and categorize products that appeal to consumer preferences, such as diet-specific, locally sourced, or even ‘sustainable’ foods, and communicate these attributes through product descriptions or search engine optimization. PLANTS FOR PROTEIN Perceived health and environmental benefits have also helped plant-based, animal product alternatives penetrate the mainstream throughout the pandemic. Plant-based dairy alternatives are the most mature subcategory, they now make up 10 per cent of the total dairy market in North America and are consumed by more than 40 per cent of Canadian households. According to a recent Ernst & Young report commissioned by Protein Industries Canada, plant-based meat alternatives are approaching cost parity with their animal- based counterparts, which is accelerating their adoption beyond the vegan/vegetarian cohort. McArthur says that we are at a tipping point for plant-based foods and we will see more products celebrating the plant ingredient beyond just using it as a way to mimic meat. Consumer scrutiny of the protein and nutrient quality is also becoming more pointed. This presents a good opportunity for IP food grade soybeans which are the leading global source of plant-based proteins with very high protein concentration and functionality. Dana Dickerson is the manager of Market Development for Grain Farmers of Ontario. l ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 13 OCTOBER 2021 This article contains insights from Grain Farmers of Ontario's Market Development department.