Alternative meat could help the climate. Will anyone eat it?

Meat is often the star of our dinner tables, but our love for animal-based foods is creating problems for the climate. Depending on how you calculate it, livestock accounts for between 10% and 20% All greenhouse gas emissions.

A growing number of alternative foods seek to imitate or replace options that require raising and slaughtering animals. These include plant-based products and newly approved cultured (or lab-grown) meats. More and more companies are even growing microorganisms in labs in the hope we can add them to our menus, As I covered in a story this week.

But as one of my colleagues always says when I tell him about an alternative food, the key question is, will anyone eat it?

Food may be one of the most difficult climate issues. Technically, we don’t have anyone must Eat any food with the highest emissions that is bad for the climate (e.g. beef). But what we eat is deeply personal and often tied to our culture and social lives. Many people want burgers and delicious steak dinners on the grill.

The challenge of our food system’s climate impact is only going to get tougher: Rich countries tend to eat more meatTherefore, as populations grow and living standards improve around the world, we will see emissions from livestock production increase.

To combat this trend, alternative foods aim to provide foods that are similar to the foods we know and love, while having less of a harmful impact on the climate. Plant-based foods like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have exploded in recent years, making their way into supermarkets and even on the menus of major fast-food brands like Burger King.

The problem is, many alternatives have been struggling lately. According to one study, unit sales of meat alternatives in the United States fell 26% between 2021 and 2023, with fewer households purchasing plant-based meat alternatives. Good Food Institute report. Consumers say alternatives still fall short of the mark in terms of taste and price, two factors that determine what people decide to eat.

As a result, companies are racing to invent better products. I spend a lot of time covering cultured (or lab-grown) meat. To make these products, animal cells are grown in a lab and processed into things like chicken nuggets. two company approved By 2023, farmed chicken will be available in the U.S., and we’ve already seen two companies offering their products in limited quantities at fine restaurants.