Missouri Agtech Company Looks to the Future with Investment in Plant-Based Meat Industry

As meat supply chain issues occur across the world due to COVID-19, one Missouri-based company is targeting the fast-growing plant-based meat industry as it looks to the future. The St. Louis, Missouri-based agtech firm Benson Hill has begun commercially selling ultra-high protein soybean varieties aimed at meeting the demand of the growing plant-based meat industry.

Benson Hill will launch its new crop line in the 2021 growing season and will offer the soybean varieties through its Benson Hill Seeds division, which launched in 2019.

“In the next 10 years, the projection is that the alternative meat market will be about $140 billion,” said Benson Hill Co-Founder and CEO Matt Crisp. “We know that soybean is the number one protein source to meet that market demand. For us, it’s a matter of how quickly can we scale these lines in order to help contribute to meeting it.”

The agtech startup said its new commercial product will provide food companies with the opportunity to bolster their sustainability, allowing them to bypass processing efforts that involve heavy energy and water usage.

Benson Hill was launched in 2012 to improve the photosynthetic efficiency of crops using a proprietary computational platform, CropOS™, that combines data analytics, machine learning and advanced crop genetics tools. Its success led to expansion of the platform to multiple crop targets and partnerships with dozens of organizations working to develop healthier and more sustainable food choices.

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