May 16, 2023
There’s quite a bit of confusion out there when it comes to food these days. First, we hear about the detrimental effects of meat consumption for human health and the environment. Then, a week later, in the same media outlet we’ll find an article discussing the importance of meat consumption for human health, or how the plant-based food industry is just another “passing fad”.
What gives?
Roberto Guerra, Alt-Protein Communications Specialist, Singular Foods.
Animal agriculture lobby groups have been investing millions of dollars each year to influence legislature, the media and public opinion to the benefit of the meat, dairy and egg industries for well over a century.
Regardless of the claims of any lobby group, here are some facts:
Today’s livestock systems occupy approximately 45% of the Earth’s ice-free habitable land and are the leading drivers of species extinction, while also contributing between 14.5% to 18% of all human-induced global greenhouse emissions, more than the entire global transportation industry.
The meat industry consumes approximately 33% of the Earth’s freshwater reserves. In fact, the average meat burger requires 460 gallons of freshwater. That’s simply because all those crops to feed all those animals need to be irrigated on a regular basis.
With regards to health, red meat consumption has been causally linked to colorectal cancer by the WHO, and nearly all legitimate health organizations agree that healthy plant-based diets are not only sustainable for human wellbeing but can offer numerous benefits, like significantly reducing a person’s chances of suffering from diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and obesity.
This is why the word “lobby” tends to carry quite a bit of baggage, since these groups often protect industries that have negative effects on human health, the environment and human civilization as a whole.
The tobacco lobby has been notorious for misleading the public about the detrimental health effects of cigarettes for decades. Fossil fuel lobby groups work diligently to sow confusion about the role human industrial activities play in heating our planet, and the global weapons lobby doesn’t exactly contribute to world peace.
But when it comes to food, there are a few lobby groups working hard to bring a more sustainable, healthful and ethical approach to how we eat. The Good Food Institute, for example, was founded in 2016 and promotes plant and cell-based alternatives to animal products around the world, which are generally much more environmentally sustainable when compared to animal protein, especially beef.
Just last month, Singular Foods had an interesting conversation with Matt Hotze, Director of Science and Technology for The Good Food Institute.
Then we have ProVeg International, founded in Germany, Poland and the UK in 2017. The organization’s stated mission is to reduce the consumption of animal products by 50% by 2040. Singular Foods recently had the pleasure of speaking with Albrecht Wolfmeyer, the Director of ProVeg Incubator, the organization’s arm focused on growing plant-based and cultivated meat startups.
The above mentioned are the most prominent organizations dedicated to reducing meat consumption across the globe, while there are numerous smaller, more local organizations with the same goal, such as Vegetarianos Hoy, which focuses on South America, and the Mexican Association of Vegan Entrepreneurs, which, as the name implies, is centred on animal-free entrepreneurship in Mexico.
Singular Foods is committed to food sustainability by way of our events, webinars, consulting services, and more.
Don’t miss this year’s Food Design Festival, which will be taking place at Madrid’s most prominent event centre, La Nave, from September 12 through the 15th, 2023.
For more information checkout the event folder here: FOOD DESIGN FESTIVAL2023_EVENT FOLDER_EN
Or email me at Roberto.guerra@singularfoods.net.
