The Impossible Burger 2.0, a plant-based vegan burger that tastes like real beef. Copyright © Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
1. Introduction
Consensus is building across the scientific, environmental and public health communities that a radical shift away from excessive meat-eating patterns is urgently needed to tackle the unsustainability of the livestock sector. Meat production is a principal driver of environmental change and natural resource depletion: the livestock industry accounts for an estimated 40 per cent of global arable land, 36 per cent of crop calories produced, 29 per cent of agricultural freshwater use,1 and 14.5 per cent of all human greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.2 To meet global climate targets, per capita consumption of meat would need to fall drastically: the average global citizen would need to eat 75 per cent less red meat, while citizens of the western hemisphere would need to reduce consumption by 90 per cent.3
Excessive levels of individual meat consumption are associated with overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and certain cancers.4 It has been predicted that in 2020 consumption of red and processed meat could lead to 2.4 million deaths globally and total healthcare costs of $285 billion.5 Furthermore, the inappropriate use of antimicrobials in animals is recognized by the UN as a leading cause of the increased occurrence of antimicrobial resistance,6 while the intensification of livestock production raises serious animal welfare concerns.7
Recent years have signalled a step-change in public awareness of the health (and, to a lesser extent, environmental) risks associated with overconsumption of meat, particularly red and processed meat, and an increased trend towards ‘flexitarian’ diets, in which meat intake is reduced in favour of plant-based sources of protein. Many of the larger environmental groups are actively promoting plant-based diets – Greenpeace, for example, has called for a 50 per cent reduction of meat and dairy and a significant increase of plant-based foods in terms of both production and consumption by 2050,8 and the conservation organization WWF-UK’s Livewell dietary guidelines encourage healthy and sustainable eating by focusing on moderating meat consumption9 – while the scientific community is advocating for meat reduction as a core principle of healthy and sustainable global diets.10
Many European consumers are increasingly concerned about the impact of their current meat consumption. In 2018, an open public consultation carried out by the European Commission in member states showed that over 80 per cent of respondents were willing to ‘consider the impact of their food purchases on greenhouse gas emissions’ and 74 per cent would ‘consider changing their diets’.11 Globally, however, meat consumption continues to rise. Between the early 1960s and the early 2010s, worldwide availability of meat per capita almost doubled, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) expects that, by 2030, global consumption will be 76 per cent higher than it was in 2005.12
Recognizing the scale of the challenge ahead, public policymakers, civil society and innovators in the agricultural sector and beyond have increasingly sought to prompt shifts in consumer food choices, away from the most resource-intensive meat products and towards more sustainable alternatives.
Recognizing the scale of the challenge ahead, public policymakers, civil society and innovators in the agricultural sector and beyond have increasingly sought to prompt shifts in consumer food choices, away from the most resource-intensive meat products and towards more sustainable alternatives. For some, the priority lies in encouraging reduced red meat consumption and greater demand for poultry, the emissions footprint of which is lower than that of beef or lamb.13 For others, the aim is to encourage a shift away from meat consumption altogether and to promote vegetarian or vegan lifestyles. For others still, the most promising opportunity lies in substituting meat produced through conventional means with meat produced in an entirely new way.
Meat analogues are plant-based and cultured products that are (or aim to be) equivalent substitutes for animal-derived meat, and are produced from plant or animal cells cultured in a laboratory or bioreactor. Meat analogues are the latest in a long history of meat alternative products that are intended to replace conventionally produced meat in a meal or diet. What sets meat analogues apart from well-known meat alternatives – Quorn, for example, or tofu and wheat-based processed ‘meat’ products – is that they are aimed at meat-eaters rather than vegetarians or vegans. They are designed
to achieve an unprecedented degree of mimicry that enables consumers to continue experiencing the ‘sensory pleasures’ of conventional meat.14
Interest in meat analogues – from innovators, investors and the public – is rapidly growing. In recent years, meat analogue start-ups have gained increasing amounts of attention from the global media, helped along by investments and endorsements from high-net-worth individuals including Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Leonardo DiCaprio. In September 2018, two plant-based ‘meat’ manufacturers, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, were jointly presented with a Champion of the Earth Award, the UN’s highest environmental honour.15
For policymakers, civil society and industry incumbents, meat analogues raise a number of challenging questions: do meat analogues belong in the realm of meat alternatives or that of conventional meat? How should they be defined and regulated by lawmakers? And what place do they hold in a sustainable, healthy and equitable food system? With innovation continuing to happen at pace, policymakers in key markets will need to respond imminently to new production methods and products to ensure that human, animal and environmental health are protected. Decisions taken today by those actors, on how meat analogues can and should be regulated and marketed, will likely have a formative impact both on the pace of industry scale-up and on the degree to which the public, civil society and industry incumbents either accept or resist their uptake.
This paper considers the two principal categories of meat analogues: advanced plant-based ‘meat’ and cultured meat. It explores the challenges that innovators face in scaling up production and generating demand, regulatory frameworks to which they will be subject, and implications of regulatory decisions for the future of the meat industry. The paper focuses on the European Union, which is a hub of research and development in plant-based ‘meat’ and cultured meat and a region where demand for meat alternatives is experiencing rapid growth.
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