In the last few weeks, we’ve seen Beyond Meats shares skyrocket, the announcement of a vegan KFC burger and yesterday the Guardian reports experts suggesting that by 2040 60% of meat sales will be of plant-based or cell-based products. So is this really the beginning of the end for meat?

 

Plant-based or cell-based – the differences:

Plant-based products are created entirely from, you guessed it – plants. There is no animal-based ingredient in them and as such are 100% vegan-friendly. And one thing’s for sure, it seems the booming market of plant-based meat alternatives is here to stay. It seems that there are new products launched almost daily and these are loved by vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

 

Cell-based products, otherwise known as lab-grown, cultured or clean meat, are yet to hit the market but there is already a huge buzz about their potential. Shifting meat-eaters towards products that don’t cost animals their lives is clearly a huge step forward in the right direction when it comes to reducing harm. Currently, the process of growing cell-based meat does require animal involvement (through the use of Bovine Foetal Serum), but we’re hopeful that this is a part of the process that the development of crop-based or synthetic alternatives will overcome. That said, even as is, cell-based products and their ability to drastically reduce the number of animals killed for meat looks to be a huge step forward to more compassionate eating habits.

 

 

The New Report – what’s it all about?

Based on interviews with experts, this report (How Will Cultured Meat and Meat Alternatives Disrupt the Agricultural and Food Industry? Dr Carsten Gerhardt, Gerrit Suhlmann, Fabio Ziemßen, et al.)highlights that animal products are losing favour with consumers and that animal-free methods of production will be needed to meet the changing behaviours and needs of future consumers. The report implies that now it is just a matter of time for meat alternatives to corner a massive market share: “With the advantages of novel vegan meat replacements and cultured meat over conventionally produced meat, it is only a matter of time before they capture a substantial market share.”

 

 

Saving animals lives

It is estimated (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2017). FAOSTAT Statistics Database.) that each year roughly 75 billion animals are slaughtered. So, if these figures are true, coupled with the figures from the report, a 60% shift to plant-based or cell-based meats would equate to a saving of 45 billion animals per year! This is massive!

 

 

How ProVeg supports the shift towards a plant-based global food system

ProVeg works on multiple levels across retailers, manufacturers, schools and with the public to bring positive change that is good for health, animals, the environment, justice and taste. We recently hosted the New Food Conference in Berlin, a two-day event that brought together industry experts on new proteins. The conference was the first of its type in Europe, featuring the most important developments in plant-based foods and cultured animal products and helping shape a future that relies so much less on meat as a dietary staple. Find out more.