An Animal Rights/Vegan Activists' Strategies Article used with permission from All-Creatures.org


Stockfree Farming shares a report on protein derived from grass and clover that could help farmers move away from using their land for animal farming.


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High Quality Plant Protein for Human Consumption from Grass and Clover!
From Stockfree Farming, StockfreeFarming.org
December 2024

image of hand with fork, cow, and grass and clover
Images from Canva


We have been involved with a project led by SRUC for two years now to produce high quality plant protein for human consumption from grass and clover. Through the persistent research of Dr David Lawson (SRUC), we now have a product that is scalable, affordable, sustainable, taste-free, allergen-free, and super high in protein. We also have farmers who are keen to start producing the product on-farm.

Because humans have historically never eaten grass, the product still has to go through the Food Standards Agency Novel Food approval process. Currently, we are at the stage of completing the tests and portfolio needed for the FSA application. Much of the testing can be done in-house at SRUC and David can prepare the portfolio. We just need the funding to be able to do this.

In the following document, David outlines the process and potential of leaf protein concentrate, or leafu! The chart on page 2 shows the staggering contrast in protein productivity per hectare between food from animal sources and food from grasses – the average protein productivity per hectare of white clover and perennial ryegrass is 230 greater than that of beef. Leafu production extracts over 30% of the leaf protein, meaning that leafu from grasses is 69 times more productive in protein/ha than beef. There are also two very valuable by-products from the protein extraction process, which have a similar NPK composition to farmyard manure and can therefore be used as soil/plant conditioners.

The current funding requirement to achieve Novel Food Status is on page 5 and totals £43,020.


The report, Protein from Pasture, can be found here.

Posted on All-Creatures.org: May 21, 2025
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