The growing demand for food containing animal products has led to livestock accounting for 40% of the global agricultural output value[1]. The production of these foods, however, is highly inefficient[2]. To illustrate, the production of animal protein derived from beef has found to be responsible for six times more greenhouse gases and thirty-six times more land use than that of plant protein such as peas[3]. As almost half of the world’s harvest is fed to animals, it follows that livestock production contributes to the global food crises[4]. However, change is on the horizon and it is endowed by advances in technology.
At least a dozen companies have been exploring technology-enabled alternatives to reduce the environmental impact of animal related food products. Currently, the ones most prevailing are plant-based substitutes and lab-grown meat, which is also known as clean or cultured meat[5].
Just Inc., the Silicon Valley food start-up, is using machine learning to automate the process of screening plant characteristics to increase the probability of discoveries for plant-based meat-mimicking food alternatives[6]. Alternatively, Memphis Meats is focusing on the development of cell-based meat by replicating animal cells in Petri dishes. Ground-breaking technology enabled the debut of the first clean meat hamburger by Dr. Post of Maastricht University in 2013, at a rough cost of $330.000[7].
These cutting-edge products have not remained unnoticed. For instance, Memphis Meats has attracted investments from some of the leading names in tech8, among which Bill Gates and Richard Branson9, but also from Tyson Foods10, the world’s second largest processor and marketer of beef, pork and chicken.
In spite of the smaller environmental footprint and health benefits, Just’ eggless mayonnaise is said to cut 75% of water use and Memphis Meats’ clean meat is 100% real but without the antibiotics11, these companies are facing challenges. The obstacle for most clean meat producers is cultivating an economical and animal-free growth serum to feed the cells with. Additionally, in order to convince the world of eating these new foods, marketing is essential. While Just has received $220 million in investment, its budget is a far cry from that of Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company, which was valued at $229.5 billion in 201712. On top of that, incumbents of the US meat industry have filed a petition to exclude non-animal products from the definition of meat, including clean meat13. Such could further limit the marketing strategies of Just, Memphis Meats and the alike. Nevertheless, according to the study by Bhat, Kumar and Fayaz14, it is the anomaly of technology-enabled food that will be one of the largest barriers for the public acceptance of these new foods.
A recent survey found that 62% of Americans, and 71% among millennials, are inclined to try a technology-enabled food11. What about you, would you try it? Besides, do you believe this industry will be disrupted? And if so, at what pace?
Sources
[1] http://www.fao.org/animal-production/en/
[2] http://www.theworldcounts.com/counters/world_food_consumption_statistics/world_meat_consumption_statistics
[3] Poore, J., & Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 987-992.
[4] Food Security Information Network. (2018). Global Report on Food Crises 2018. Food Security Information Network.[5] http://fortune.com/2017/12/19/silicon-valley-meatless-meat/
[6] https://justforall.com/en-us/stories/searching-faster
[7] https://cleanmeat.org/
8 https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/23/bill-gates-and-richard-branson-bet-on-lab-grown-meat-startup.html
9 https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2018/01/29/exclusive-interview-tyson-invests-in-lab-grown-protein-startup-memphis-meats-joining-bill-gates-and-richard-branson/#66ee6f1c3351Sorvino
10 https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2018/01/29/exclusive-interview-tyson-invests-in-lab-grown-protein-startup-memphis-meats-joining-bill-gates-and-richard-branson/#66ee6f1c3351
11 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/30/lab-grown-meat-how-a-bunch-of-geeks-scared-the-meat-industry
12 http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20171214-could-ai-help-create-a-meat-free-world
13 https://www.businessinsider.nl/beef-companies-file-petition-against-lab-grown-meat-startups-2018-2/?international=true&r=US
14 Bhat, Z., Kumar, S., & Fayaz, H. (2015). In vitro meat production: Challenges and benefits over conventional meat production. Journal of Integrative Agriculture.
Interesting read!
In the case of acceptance of tech-enabled food, there is an uphill battle to be waged for sure. The US meat industry being what it is is a major issue. Not only do their employees form a significant block of voters that will hold on to whatever jobs they have due to poor job security, the companies themselves have deep pockets for lobbying.
On the more sinister side, these companies have used and will use astroturfing, which is a phenomenon where companies form interest groups with fake grass roots to falsely present their own agenda as that of the public. An example of this is the “Americans against food taxes” group that claims that the public doesn’t want soda taxes while its members are mostly people from the beverage industry wishing to avoid lost sales.