The future of cheese production in the face of climate and societal change, developing recombinant technology and plant-based analogues.

Based on the need to reduce the climate footprint of animal food production and dietary recommendations, consumers are being advised to increase their intake of plant-based foods. In addition, the opportunities created by the development of emerging technologies such as recombinant technology, could put the entire dairy industry at risk. To discuss these challenges representing both threats and opportunities for the industry, we would organise a workshop in conjunction with the IDF Cheese Science and Technology Symposium in Bergen at 6 June 2024. The workshop should be open to participants who would be interested in contributing to the topic. The workshop will focus on the sustainability of the dairy sector and explore the opportunities offered by the breakthrough research and radical innovation represented by the development of recombinant technology and the threats and opportunities it presents to the dairy sector. The event will be organised in three workshops 1. The future of dairy and cheese production in the face of climate and societal changes? 2. The use of recombinant technology in dairy and cheese production, where are the legislators, science and industry in this issue? 3. The production of plant-based analogue products, where are science and industry within this topic? After the workshop, the discussions will be summarised, and a prospective review paper will be developed and published The review paper provides an updated knowledge synthesis of knowledge, providing insights into the state of the art of science and industry within the topics covered by the workshop.