City Leaders in Florida Approve Incentives for New Plant
- Dave Price
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
A development in Jacksonville, Florida, with the code name, “Project Pan,” received an overwhelming vote of support by council leaders for an incentive package. American Farmland Owner reported last week that an unnamed company was looking to re-open a previously shuttered Tyson Foods plant.
A Jacksonville economic development leader confirmed that the company planned to spend $28 million on the project. Tuesday, the Jacksonville City Council voted 16-1 on an incentive package that could include an $800,000 Recapture Enhanced Value (REV) grant
over the next six years.
The project could create 100 jobs for the operation that would transform a vacant plant. A city leader said the plant would focus on meat processing and packaging but likely not rendering. He added that company leaders planned to import meat from overseas, including Australia, according to the report in Meat + Poultry.
Americans Want More Protein
Projects like the one in Jacksonville could work to better satisfy Americans’ growing appetite for protein. The protein craze has consumers looking to up their daily intake of protein, regardless of whether they find that additional protein in animals or plants.
The unexpected benefit for some producers is the demand for more protein from Americans losing weight through GLP-1 medications, as the American Farmland Owner Podcast reported with this conversation with a noted meat trends tracker.
GLP-1 medications have shown success with Americans hoping to lose weight. But they can also require users to find ways to increase protein consumption to offset muscle loss.
Regardless of whether Americans need more protein because of their GLP-1 medications or whether they are prioritizing higher protein consumption because of health choices, they are bringing new opportunities for farmland protein producers.
Cargill reported a rapid increase in protein intake by American consumers. The report found that 48% of Americans said that they were increasing their protein consumption in 2019. Five years later, that number rose to 61%.
