Davao City – A U.S.-based food company which produces “meat substitute, has expressed interest to source its plant-based raw materials from Mindanao, especially the vast Indigenous People’s Ancestral Domains.
Beyond Meat Philippine representative Dr. Andrei Udal yesterday met with me at the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) office in Davao City to relay the keen interest of the company in sourcing non-GMO and healthy Cassava, Mushrooms and Soybeans from Mindanao.
He was referred to me by my daughter, Dr. Maria Krista Piñol-Solis, now a member of the Provincial Board of North Cotabato.
A check with wikipedia showed the following entry:
“Beyond Meat is a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company’s products became available across the United States in 2013.
“In May 2016, it released the first plant-based burger to be sold in the meat section of grocery stores, on an international basis.
The company has products designed to replace beef and pork sausage”
When informed that the Indigenous Tribes of Mindanao have been growing the highly edible local cassava variety, Dr. Udal said the company will prefer to engage with the the Tribal Farmers.
Sources for Mushroom and Soybeans which are non-GMO were also identified by the MinDA for Beyond Meat.
Dr. Udal said a technical team of the company will visit the sources of the food materials to ensure strict adherence to safe farming practices and ensure healthy products.
(Images of plant-based meat products were downloaded from Beyond Meat website while the other photos were taken in my office yesterday.)
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