Programs
The Action Lab is advancing the transition to a more sustainable and humane food system through high-impact, applied scientific research.
We operate at the intersection of science, commercialization, and capital—bridging the gap between academic research focused on basic discovery and venture-backed companies constrained by limited R&D runway. By combining dedicated scientific expertise, commercially informed research priorities, and patient capital, we accelerate the development of solutions that can succeed in real-world markets.
Why a New Model of R&D Is Needed
With the global population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, the need for sustainable, scalable food systems has become urgent. Given the resource intensity and environmental impact of conventional animal agriculture, meaningful progress will require a transition toward sustainable proteins.
That transition depends on more than innovation alone. New products must meet consumer expectations for taste, texture, nutrition, affordability, and convenience, while also delivering measurable climate and environmental benefits. This requires a new approach to research and development: one that is commercially informed, mission-driven, and designed to move efficiently from lab to market.
Companies often operate with limited R&D budgets and, as a result, can be understandably risk-averse. Scientific insights generated within companies are rarely shared across the sector, slowing collective progress. Universities, meanwhile, are well-positioned to conduct deep scientific research, but faculty and researchers juggle multiple priorities and any resulting intellectual property is typically owned by the institution. Those ownership structures do not always align with our vision of a food system designed to nourish and sustain people and the planet.
The Action Lab fills this gap. With dedicated, top-tier scientific staff fully focused on our mission, the Lab conducts rigorous, translational research designed to benefit the broader field. Importantly, decisions about intellectual property are made in alignment with our mission, ensuring that discoveries serve the long-term public good rather than narrow institutional incentives.
Data Garden
The Data Garden is the Action Lab's open-science platform for plant-protein functionality. It addresses a core bottleneck in modern protein development: the lack of standardized, actionable data on how different protein sources and processing conditions affect real-world behavior in food applications.
By systematically characterizing commodity protein sources across scalable extraction routes and formulation conditions, the Data Garden generates a high-quality, centralized dataset linking protein inputs to functional outcomes; emulsification, gelation, foaming, solubility, texture. The result is faster product development, less redundant experimentation across the industry, and a foundation for AI and ML-driven discovery.
The work focuses on supply-chain-ready crops and commercially viable processes, so results translate directly to manufacturing. Near-term outputs include partner-ready protein candidates for applications like egg replacement, dairy analogs, and baked goods, alongside a growing open dataset that supports innovation across the sustainable protein ecosystem.
Our Approach
The Action Lab advances our mission through three commitments:
Open evidence. The Data Garden treats the linkage between ingredients, extraction, and function as a shared scientific problem that requires open data and transparency to make industry-wide progress.
Supplier protection by design. Suppliers see an independent characterization of their material and control whether, and to whom, their identity is disclosed. Anonymization is the default; attribution is the supplier's call.
Supply-chain ready. We focus on commodity protein sources and commercially viable processing, so results minimize the translation gap when scaled to manufacturing levels. Buyers, suppliers, and researchers each work from the same evidence base, with a workspace tuned to the questions they bring.
Leadership
The Functional Protein Discovery Project is led by Dr. Daniel Westcott and supported by scientists Vivian Jones and Iris Moore.
Get Involved
To learn more about the Action Lab and opportunities to engage, visit www.sustainableprotein.org.
“Creating fantastic, protein-rich foods without animals starts with high-performance proteins. Today, discovering them is slow, siloed, and inefficient. By systematically mapping protein sources, extraction conditions, and functional performance in real-world applications, we’re clearing the path to faster innovation, lower costs, and more fantastic, protein-rich foods. Our goal is to transform protein discovery from a bottleneck into a catalyst for the next generation of fantastic, sustainable foods.”