An agricultural revolution is taking place that will change the way we eat forever. Imagine enjoying all of your favorite foods whilst knowing that they were made with a lighter impact on the environment and without harming any animals. Fortunately, this is a potential reality of our future, thanks to plant-based, fermented, and cell-cultured meat, eggs, and dairy.
Plant-based
Plant-based alternatives have been around since the late 1800s, though not at the same level of quality that’s available today. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, “plant-based” essentially refers to all foods that aim to mimic the taste and texture of animal products by using plants. You’ve no doubt tried a plant-based substitute before, whether it was dairy-free milk or a veggie burger. There’s now a plant-based version of almost everything—from bacon to eggs to steak. More people than ever are reaching for plant-based meat, dairy, and eggs because they’d rather consume foods that are less likely to harm their health and the planet.
The companies that use plants to expertly mimic animal products (think of Impossible Foods or Beyond Meat) are trending primarily due to the rise of reducetarians—vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians, and others who cut back on animal products in their diet. Indeed, one of the most attractive qualities of plant-based alternatives is that they can be made from various familiar ingredients (like potatoes and peas) and thus appeal to a wide range of consumers.
Although plant-based alternatives have been around for some time now, their rise in popularity is only just now beginning. Although plant-based meat, eggs, and dairy currently make up a relatively small amount of the market, predictions say that by 2035, 11% of all animal products globally are likely to be plant-based. Time will tell.
Fermented
You may be familiar with fermentation as the process that makes wine and beer; however, it’s also used to revolutionize the way we eat. Food tech companies are using precision fermentation methods to create animal-free ingredients.
Precision fermentation—a technology that enables microorganisms to produce complex organic molecules—can help make plant-based foods tastier at a much lower environmental and financial cost than animal-based protein because it uses less space and fewer resources. Impossible Foods, known for their highly realistic plant-based meat, uses an ingredient called heme which is created using fermentation. Heme is found in both plants and animals, and Impossible Foods discovered that it gives plant-based meat a conventional meaty taste.
Food tech companies are already making waves with their nutritious, sustainable innovations. For example, The EVERY Company partnered with Pressed Juicery by offering consumers the world’s first animal-free egg-white protein. And Perfect Day is using fermentation to convert plant sugars into milk protein, resulting in animal-free dairy that’s ultra-realistic.
Cell-cultured
Scientists are now able to cultivate real meat grown from animal cells rather than slaughtered animals. Cells are taken from a live animal and then provided with a nutrient dense environment to allow them to multiply, grow and eventually form into muscle tissue - all without a living being needing to suffer. Cell-cultured meat can also be referred to as cultivated meat, cell-based meat, cultured meat, and lab-grown meat.
In 2013, Mosa Meats cooked up the first successfully grown cell-based burger. Since then, investors have poured billions of dollars into creating nature-identical animal products, in part because demand for this alternative protein is high. Consumers want to live more eco-friendly and ethical lives, and cell-cultured meat, eggs, and dairy can help us do just that. For example, one study found that cell-cultured beef is projected to use 95% fewer global greenhouse gas emissions, 98% less land use, and up to half as much energy. Cell-cultured meat is also created in much more sanitary conditions than factory-farmed meat.
There’s no doubt that cell-based alternatives are taking longer to get to market than plant-based alternatives did, but there’s still a lot of excitement surrounding its future arrival. Some experts predict it’ll be in supermarkets within the next five years, though many others remain skeptical given the many political, scientific, technological, and manufacturing barriers that need to be overcome in order to reach widespread distribution.
According to analysis, the global cell-cultured meat market is predicted to reach $25 billion by 2030. However, the primary challenge is making it affordable enough for consumers. Some predictions indicate that cell-cultured meat could be as cheap as conventional meat by 2030.