FUNCTIONAL FOOD AND SMART PROTEIN

In recent years, there a concept of plant based diet gaining popularity throughout the world. Along with with which there’s another thing called as functional food , which is been in talks as it has a lot of benefits. The functional food is the one which contains more nutritional values then it’s basic nutrients. Protein is a important component of functional food as it has a major role in maintaining a good health.
From this, the concept of smart protein has become popular which based on a alternative source of protein which will reduce the environmental concerns also it is a more sustainable source. It reduces the health impact of animal-based protein productions

IT’S IMPACT ON ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENT AND EMPLOYMENT
Functional food and smart protein has wide impact on the various factors like economy, environment and employment.

FUNCTIONAL FOOD AND SMART PROTEIN HELPING IN ECONOMIC GROWTH
In last few years, the wide popularity of functional food has been very beneficial in the economic growth. The functional food industry has been grown widely on a global level as people are turning towards a healthy lifestyle. Due to the wide demand of functional food and smart protein people are investing in food technology and agriculture. Many companies are working on different methods which will help in agricultural field and increase the functional food production. Also a lot of startups idea are related to the use of functional food. Many sports players and athletes have started to consume functional food for maintaining a healthy life. Also, many nutritionists and health professionals are prescribing functional food. The increased health awareness in people is also help the functional food industry to grow rapidly.
This has created a lot of job opportunities in various sectors from agriculture to retail. Also a lot of research and development work has started.
Overall this is helping in the economic growth.

FUNCTIONAL FOOD HELPING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Food production has a very harmful impact on the environment, which has been a serious concerns. But the use of functional food and smart protein has reduced the environmental impact. Because of this various new techniques are been used in the food production methods to increase there yield and serving a dual purpose of full filing the food demand and also helping the environment. The concept of plant based protein and lab grown protein are working towards it’s. The aim of some food producers is regenerative agriculture, helps in improving the agricultural field. Functional foods often emphasize the importance of sourcing ingredients locally and seasonally, which can reduce pollution that occurs due to transportation.The food packaging is also a concern as it impact the environment and to reduce this problem many food companies are working on Eco-friendly packaging. Also the packaging that is been used is recyclable which adds a help in reducing the environmental pollution. The government is also working on reducing the packaging waste, specifically the plastic waste. The government has made many strict rules related to the use of plastic. Reducing plastic waste and promoting sustainable packaging helps mitigate one of the largest environmental challenges in the food industry. To reduce the environmental impact of food production the lab grown protein has a very good alternative and a lot of research work is going on to make the lab grown protein more safe and more nutritional for the human health.

FUNCTIONAL FOOD HELPING IN EMPLOYMENT
The employment need has increased due to the immense growth of the functional food industry. More people are consuming functional food , which has increased the production of the functional food and also it demands for new methods of developing the smart protein which requires more expertise people for the research work. All these has increased the employment as it is creating more job opportunities. The increased demand of functional food has lead to an increase in the transportation need, also there is need of the people to promote and spread more awareness about the benefits of functional food which also creates the job opportunities. The basic need for this is more people in the agricultural field as the food is grown there. Scientists and food experts work to create new health-focused products.Also there are a lot of work opportunities in factories as factories need workers to produce and package functional foods. Various plant based recipes and functional food products are been made by expert chiefs only, which is giving more job opportunities to chiefs. As the awareness increases in people about health and consuming healthy food, this increases the job opportunities for nutritionists and health experts.

In this way, the functional food and smart protein are helping in the economy, environment and employment . The government is spreading awareness about its importance and it’s benefits on the human health.The advancements in biotechnology fields has also helped in the functional food industries. Functional foods are increasingly important due to their dual role in promoting health and addressing global challenges.

Mandar Nilesh Patil

University/College name : Svkm's Institute of pharmacy, Dhule