Tyson Foods' CEO Tom Hayes just made a bold proclamation that we should definitely all pay attention to.

In an interview with FOX Business, the head of one of the world's largest chicken manufacturers claimed that plant-based protein is going to become a significant part of the future of food.

"If you take a look at the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) stats, protein consumption is growing around the world—and it continues to grow. It’s not just hot in the U.S.; it’s hot everywhere, people want protein, so whether it’s animal-based protein or plant-based protein, they have an appetite for it. Plant-based protein is growing almost, at this point, a little faster than animal-based, so I think the migration may continue in that direction."

With our world's food supply projected to run out by 2050 on its current trajectory, many alternatives to foods - including protein - have been heavily discussed and researched by the food industry. It's led to the development of many key alternative protein products, such as utilizing bugs in items like pasta and turning plants into meaty products like Impossible Foods' famous bleeding plant-based burger.

Hayes has apparently caught onto that trend, and is leading Tyson in a direction to be a part of the plant-based category of meats. The company has already acquired 5% of plant-based meat company Beyond Meat and has a $150 million venture capital fund to help startups who are attempting to make their own meat alternatives.

With the plant-based meat market value being well over $500 million and plant-based products to have a $5 billion market by 2020, things are only looking up for the plant-based meat industry. Especially now that one of the biggest names in meat production has thrown their support behind this movement.