FOOD TRENDS

Plant-based Food

In high-income countries, a flexitarian diet reduces food costs by 14 percent on average. And in the US, it’s a bit more (more like 25 percent). (“Vox”, 2022)

Americans spent $1.4 billion on retail plant-based meat (which found its way into 19 percent of households) in 2021, representing a market share of 2.7 percent of all retail packaged-meat dollar sales. (“Smithsonian”, 2022)

By 2035, 11% of all the meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy around the globe is likely to be alternative. (“BCG”, 2021) 

An estimated 79 million U.S. households are purchasing meatless meat alternatives, according to the Plant Based Foods Association. (“ScienceDirect”, 2020) 

The global vegan cheese market size was valued at $1.01 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow 12.8% from 2020 to 2027. (“Grand View Research”, 2020) 

The global plant-based meat market size was valued at $3.3 billion in 2019. (“Grand View Research”, 2020) 

Nearly half (49%) of participants in a consumer survey reported having tried plant-based alternatives to animal meat. (“Food Insight”, 2020)

Retail sales in the U.S. for plant-based foods grew 11% to $4.5 billion over the year leading up to July 2019. (“GFI”, 2019)

U.S consumers spent $3.3 billion on plant-based foods in 2018. (“Plant Based Foods Association”, 2018)

Almost one-third of US Millennials are trying to eat a more plant-based diet, compared to more than one-quarter of non-Millennials. (“Mintel”, 2018)

Fermented Foods

The fermented food and ingredients market is predicted to be worth USD 875.21 billion by 2027. (“Global News Wire”, 2020)

Upserve analyzed data from their customers and found that consumption of fermented foods experienced a 149% increase in 2018. (“Upserve”, 2020)

The fermented goods market could be worth $690 billion by 2023. (“Global News Wire”, 2019)

Cell-cultured Food

Cell-cultured meat producers don't expect to use antibiotics -- or at least large amounts -- so cell-cultured meat could alleviate the antibiotic resistance problem among humans. (“CNN Health”, 2022) 

Since cell-cultured meat would require less contact with animals and use of their habitats, it could lower the risk of more virus spillover from animals to humans. (“CNN Health”, 2022) 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's 2022 assessment report said that cell-cultured meat is an emerging food technology that could help substantially reduce global emissions from food production, because of its "lower land, water, and nutrient footprints." (“CNN Health”, 2022) 

Cell-cultured meat could be as cheap as conventional meat by 2030. (“iNews”, 2021)

The global cell-cultured meat market is predicted to be worth $15.5 million by 2021. (“Markets And Markets”, 2019)

In a survey of 1,185 US adults, 66% of participants were willing to try cell-cultured meat. (“Faunalytics”, 2018) 

Meat Consumption

The alternative protein market is still emerging. It accounts for about 1.5 percent of total meat consumption in the United States. (“The Washington Post”, 2022) 

From April 2021 to April 2022, egg prices went up 22.6 percent, chicken is up 16.4 percent, milk and beef are up almost 15 percent, and fish and seafood are up 11.9 percent. (“Vox”, 2022)

The USDA predicted that meat consumption would be 225 pounds per person in 2020, the most amount of meat consumed in recorded history. (“USDA”, 2020)

Nearly one in four Americans (23%) report eating less meat in 2019 than they had previously. (“Gallup”, 2020)

The USA produced 41.95 million tonnes of meat in 2010 increasing to 46.83 million tonnes in 2018. (“Our World In Data”, 2018) 

ENVIRONMENT

Deforestation

Replacing 20 percent of global consumption of beef and other grazing livestock with microbial proteins grown from fungus could cut annual deforestation in half by 2050. (“The Washington Post”, 2022) 

Nearly 50% of Brazilian livestock are raised in fields that used to be rainforest. (“Business Insider”, 2019)

By 2017, the number of cattle grazing on land that used to be covered in thick canopy had grown to about 60 million — 12 times what it was in 1975. (“Business Insider”, 2019)

In total, the area of land in South America devoted to soy grew from 17 million hectares in 1990 to 46 million hectares in 2010, mainly on land converted from natural ecosystems. (“WWF”, 2016)

In recent years, 48% of all tropical rainforest loss occurred in Brazil, where cattle ranching drives around three-quarters of forest clearing. (“Sage Journals”, 2013)

Water

By reducing the animal product contribution in the diet we could secure adequate food supply for an additional 1.8 billion people without increasing the use of water resources. (“IOPScience”, 2014) 

29% of the water in agriculture is directly or indirectly used for animal production. (“ScienceDirect”, 2013)

The consumption of animal products contributes to more than one-quarter of the water footprint of humanity. (“Water Footprint”, 2012)

Agriculture consumes 80% of U.S. freshwater resources. (“Cornell University”, 2004)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has blamed current farming practices for 70% of the pollution in the nation’s rivers and streams. (“National Center for Biotechnology Information”, 2002)

It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef. (“The Atlantic”)

Climate Change

Meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gases from food production. (“The Guardian”, 2021)

A global switch to diets that rely less on meat and more on fruit and vegetables could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two thirds. (“Oxford Martin School”, 2016)

Livestock production contributes an estimated 14.5% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions – more than the entire transportation sector. (“Central Laser Facility”, 2015)

Biodiversity Loss

Biodiversity is being degraded and lost to a considerable extent, with 70% of the world’s deforestation a result of stripping in order to grow animal feed. (“Springer Link”, 2016)

Food Waste

Chickens, the most efficient form of livestock from a feed perspective, still need to eat nine to 10 calories of food for every calorie of edible protein produced. (“The Counter”, 2021)

Growing food exclusively for direct human consumption could increase available food calories by as much as 70%. (“IOPScience”, 2013) 

Currently, 36% of the calories produced by the world's crops are being used for animal feed, and only 12% of those feed calories ultimately contribute to the human diet (as meat and other animal products). (“IOPScience”, 2013)

For every 100 calories of grain fed to animals, we get only about 40 new calories of milk, 22 calories of eggs, 12 of chicken, 10 of pork, or 3 of beef. (“Compassion In World Farming”)

Land Use

If 20 percent of protein consumption per capita from meat was replaced by microbial protein by 2050, the reduced demand for animal feed would offset clearing new pasture. (“The Washington Post”, 2022) 

71 percent of our land is considered habitable, and half of that land is used for agriculture. Of that 50 percent, 77 percent is used for livestock, either as land for grazing or land to grow animal feed. (“OurWorldIndata”, 2019)

Today’s agricultural system covers 43% of the world’s ice-and desert-free land. (“Science”, 2018)

Livestock takes up nearly 80% of global agricultural land, yet produces less than 20% of the world’s supply of calories. (“Our World In Data”, 2017)

Some countries may require 30–50% increases in land for meat production by 2050. (“ScienceDirect”, 2015)

HUMAN HEALTH

Overall Mortality/Longevity

In 2017, 11 million deaths were attributable to dietary risk factors. (“The Lancet”, 2017)

A global switch to diets that rely less on meat and more on fruit and vegetables could save up to 8 million lives by 2050. (“Oxford Martin School”, 2016)

Transitioning toward more plant-based diets that are in line with standard dietary guidelines could reduce global mortality by 6–10% and food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 29–70% by 2050. (“Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America”, 2015)

A recent large cohort study with 10 years of follow-up found that a higher intake of total red meat and total processed meat was associated with an increased risk of mortality. (“National Center for Biotechnology Information”, 2012)

Heart

Eating two servings of red meat, processed meat or poultry per week is linked to a 3 to 7 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease. (“JAMA Network”, 2020) 

A Harvard study of 84,000 women and 38,000 men found that people who ate the most red meat tended to die younger, and also died more often from cardiovascular disease and cancer. (“Harvard Medical School”, 2012)

Cancer

Eating a 50 gram portion of processed meat daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. (“International Agency for Research on Cancer”, 2015)

Hormones in dairy products could be counted as an important risk factor for various cancers. (“National Center for Biotechnology Information”, 2015)

Diabetes

A high-quality diet defined by low intake of animal foods such as red meat, and high intake of plant foods could be associated with reduced risk of diabetes. (“Duke NUS”, 2019)

A daily, single serving of red meat increases risk of adult-onset diabetes by 19%. (“Harvard Magazine”, 2012)

Obesity

A decrease in meat consumption can improve weight management. (“The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition”, 2010)

People who consume high amounts of meat are 27% more likely to be obese, and 33% more likely to have central obesity compared to those with lower meat consumption. (“National Center for Biotechnology Information”, 2009)

Stroke

Consumption of red meat and processed red meat as well as total red meat is associated with increased risk of total stroke and ischemic stroke. (“Semantic Scholar”, 2012)

Men who eat more than two red meat servings daily have a 28% higher stroke risk than those who eat one-third of a serving each day. (“AHA Journals”, 2011) 

ANIMAL WELFARE

Scale Of The Problem

About 55% of the grain grown in the US goes to fattening cows (and other animals). (“The Guardian”, 2022) 

An estimated 99% of US farmed animals are living in factory farms at this present time. (“Sentience Institute”, 2019”)

The total number of livestock on the largest factory farms rose by 20% between 2002 and 2012. (“Food And Water Watch”, 2015)

Meat-eaters consume 7,000 animals in a lifetime. (“USA Today”, 2015)

The US consumes more beef, pork, lamb, and veal than any other country on the planet. (“Fast Company”, 2012)

Pigs

Over 90% of Europe’s pigs are tail-docked despite it being illegal to perform routinely. (“European Food Safety Authority”, 2007)

65% of all hogs tested have pneumonia-like lesions on their lungs. (“National Center for Biotechnology Information”, 2002)

Chicken

In 2015, just 6 percent of US hens were raised cage-free. Now, 29 percent are. (“Vox”, 2021)

Farmed chickens now account for 57% of all individual birds, including those in the wild; farmed ducks and turkeys account for another 14%. (“Chatham House"“, 2021)

The broiler chicken now outweighs all wild birds put together by three to one, with 23 billion alive at any one time. (“The Conversation, 2018)

Around 5.9 billion broiler chicks are reared for meat in the EU every year. High stocking density in broiler sheds restricts the broiler chickens’ behaviour and causes health problems. It leads to increases in lameness, breast blisters, foot-pad dermatitis, hock burns and infections. (“Compassion in World Farming”, 2005)

Fish

Over 30% of fish stocks are overfished. (“WWF”, 2016) 

It is estimated that 0.97-2.7 trillion wild fish are caught globally each year. This does not include unrecorded fish capture, such as fish caught illegally and those caught as bycatch and discarded. (“Fish Count”, 2013)

It took humans only 55 years to wipe out 90% of the ocean’s predators causing a disruption of the marine ecosystem. (“The World Counts”)

Cows

Global production of beef and veal is forecast to grow 1% in 2020 to 61.9 million tons. (“United States Department of Agriculture”, 2020) 

The number of US farms raising beef cattle dropped by 54% between 1982 and 2002 (“The Guardian”, 2018) 

Currently, 'grass-finished' beef accounts for less than 1% of the current US supply. (“IOP Science” 2018)

Cattle are the most inefficient in their energy conversion, requiring 7 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of beef. (“National Center for Biotechnology Information”, 2002)

Turkey

Turkey consumption has more than doubled since 1970. (“National Turkey Federation”, 2018)

The carbon footprint of a 16-pound turkey creates a total of 34.2 pounds of CO2 (“Carnegie Mellon University”, 2016)

Lamb

Consumption of lamb/mutton has fallen by 24% and 72% respectively between 1990 and 2017. (“Committee on Climate Change”, 2018)

In total, more than 550 million sheep were slaughtered for food in 2016. (“Faunalytics”, 2018) 

Roughly four million hectares of uplands are used for sheep in the UK, yet sheep account for just 1.2% of our diet. (“BBC”, 2018)

WORKER TREATMENT

Mental Health

Workers at US industrial slaughterhouses experience higher prevalence of serious psychological distress compared to US population-wide estimates. (“National Center for Biotechnology Information”, 2017)

Slaughterhouse employment increases total arrest rates and crime in communities in comparison with other industries. (“SAGE Journals”, 2009)

Physical Health

On average, there are 17 “severe” incidents per month in US meat plants. (“The Bureau of Investigative Journalism”, 2018)

Poultry processing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, with 27 workers a day suffering amputation or hospitalization. (“National Employment Law Project”, 2017)