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On Meat Substitutes On Meat Substitutes March 2020 1 Research and writing by: Annalisa Audino, Anselme Bakudila, Serena Milano, Paola Nano, Yael Pantzer, Raffella Ponzio Editing Charles Barstow Layout Claudia Saglietti On the front cover On Meat Substitutes - Freepik The sole responsibility of this publication lies with the author. The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. 2 On Meat Substitutes In recent years, much scientific research has been dedicated to developing meat substitutes based on animal or vegetable proteins produced in the laboratory using cell culture techniques. These methods avoid the environmental impacts of livestock farming without requiring consumers to change their eating habits. Meat substitutes made from plant proteins have been on the market in several countries for years, while cultivated meat is not yet on the shelves—because of its production costs, it is not competitive with meat produced on farms, and there are still considerable technical challenges to overcome. In the coming years, so-called cultivated meat (also known as synthetic meat or in vitro meat) could become an alternative for consumers, but its production and consumption pose crucial questions. Can meat substitutes satisfy the growing global demand for meat without altering the balance of the planet, as industrial animal husbandry has done? Is the production of these substitutes actually more sustainable in terms of emissions? How can we prevent this new market from being co-opted by the multinationals that already control the food system? How should new meat alternatives be defined and regulated by law? The global picture In the second half of the 20th century, global meat consumption increased from 50 million tonnes in 1961 to over 300 million tonnes today1. This increase is due to the growing world population (which grew from 3 billion to 7.6 billion during the same period) as well as improved living conditions of part of the population. In richer countries (USA, Australia, Europe), but also in places like Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, meat consumption exceeds 80 kg per person per year on average2, even though 26 kg per year is enough for a healthy adult.3. Where Meat Consumption Is Highest & Lowest Total per capita meat consumption worldwide in 2014 (in Kg) Meat consumption is very high but stable in Western countries; in fast-growing countries (China, India, Southeast Asia), on the other hand, it is increasing rapidly due to the westernization of lifestyles and the exit from poverty of large sectors of society. Taking into account the expected increase in the world population (11 billion people by 2050), the FAO estimates a pos- sible increase of 75% in the demand for meat4. This forecast is also confirmed by the 5th report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change5. 1 Our World in Data website; Meat consumption, health and the environment, H.C.J.Godfray, et all (2018) 2 Meat and seafood production and consumption, Hanna Ritchie and Max Roser, Our World in Data (2017) 3 World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research: https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/recommendations/limit-red-processed-mea 4 World Livestock 2011, FAO 5 IPCC Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty e Coninck, H. et al. (2018), ‘Strengthening and implementing the global response’. 3 The global surge in demand for meat in recent years has seen a corresponding increase in industrial meat production, which has made it possible to put large quantities of meat on the market at low prices, taking advantage of the reduction in animal feed costs, the reduced need for labor, and the rapid growth times of new high-yield breeds. The concentration of power in the hands of a few large companies has also increased, with a small group of multinationals now controlling the entire supply chain from animal genetics to feed production, pharmaceuticals to breeding, and slaughter to distribution. The number of farmers is gradually decreasing, but the number of animals per farm is increasing6. In the United States, the number of hog farmers decreased by 70% between 1992 and 2009, but the overall livestock population remained the same7. Today in the US it is possible to find farms (feedlots) with 100 thousand cattle (equal to the entire dairy cow population of Greece!), and globally the number of farms with over 500 thousand chickens or 10 thousand pigs continues to grow. Industrial meat production is exerting tremendous pressure on environmental resources. The agricultural sector accounts for 24% of global emissions8, and the livestock sector accounts for half of this (or 14.5% of total emissions9). Livestock contributes with 14,5% of Green Houses Gases emissions caused by humans-made GHG emissions Of this 14.5% • Enteric fermentation from ruminant animals contributes nearly 40% of livestock GHGs • Emissions related to manure contribute around 25% • Production of animal feed contributes around 13% • Land-use change for livestock contributes nearly 10% • Post-farm emissions (processing & transport from farm to retail) contribute only 2.9% Public opinion is also increasingly sensitive to issues such as animal welfare, which is clearly lacking in intensive farming, and to the health risks of excessive consumption of meat and animal products. The meat industry is therefore trying to change how it is perceived. 6 Meat Atlas, Facts and Figures about the animals we eat, Heinrich Böll Foundation and Friends of the Earth Europe (2014) 7 USDA Hog Production from 1992 to 2009: technology, restructuring and productivity growth (2013) 8 http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6340e.pdf 9 Gerber, P.J., Steinfeld, H., Henderson, B., Mottet, A., Opio, C., Dijkman, J., Falcucci, A. and Tempio, G. (2013). Tackling climate change through livestock – A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities. Food and Agriculture Organisation. 4 The new meat For many years the market has offered high-protein meat replacements made from plants (tofu, seitan, quorn, and other products made from legumes) or insects, but now we are on the verge of a scientific turning point with the introduction of so-called “second generation” meat substitutes. In addition to the way they are obtained, another aspect that differentiates second generation substitutes from first generation ones type of is the consumers that they target, namely people who are sensitive to the negative narrative that increasingly sur- rounds meat consumption and would like to eliminate it from their diets for ethical and environmental reasons, but are unable or unwilling to give up the taste and texture of meat. Depending on the origin of the raw product (plant or animal cells), the new meat-like products can be divided into plant- based meat and cultivated meat10. • Plant-based meat The plant-based origin of the raw product meat is produced using vegetable cells from legumes or cereals—soy, peas, wheat—as- sembled together with other ingredients thanks to innovative cellular farming techniques. What makes these product different from the plant-based meat substitutes that have been on the market for years is the extraordi- nary extent to which they resemble meat from farmed animals, in terms of taste, texture, appearance, and cooking experience: The burgers sizzle during cooking, secrete a liquid that looks and tastes like blood, and have a crust on the surface just like conventional burgers. The ingredients used in the production process are mostly of vegetable origin (extracts of beet, turmeric, sunflower or coconut oil, xanthan gum, fibrous parts of carrot or bamboo...), but preservatives, thickeners, and dyes that are not always of natural origin are also used. Some producers also use genetically modified yeasts in the production process or in the extraction of proteins and other substances from plants. An oft-cited example in this regard is leghemoglobin or heme (SLH), a substance that produces a liquid similar to blood. Heme is naturally present in the blood of people and animals, and also in some plants, and is used to transport oxygen to cells. Producing a natural heme from soy or other legumes would require very large amount of plants and therefore a lot of soil. But it can also be obtained in the laboratory thanks to a process of genetic engineering: A DNA sequence (from soy root cells, for example) that codes for heme is inserted into a yeast strain, allowing it to produce this molecule naturally during the subsequent fermentation process. Vegetable-based substitutes are commercially available in the form of sausages, hamburgers, meatballs, and steaks. Cellular agriculture also uses vegetable proteins to produce gelatin, casein, albumen, milk, and collagen. These products can also be obtained from simple bacteria, fungi, algae, or yeasts that are genetically modified and then fermented. 10 Bringing cultured meat to market: Technical, socio-political, and regulatory challenges in cellular agriculture, Neil Stephens, Lucy Di Silvio, Illtud Dunsford, Marianne Ellis, Abigail Glencross, Alexandra Sexton (2018) 5 Ingredients that may be found in a meat replacement product: • Soy protein concentrate* • Maltdextrin* • Natural flavors including “smoke” • Hydrolyzed corn or soy protein* • Caramel color • Pea protein isolate • Leghemoglobin (soy)* • Gum Arabic • Cellulose • Soy protein isolate* • Carrageenan • Autolyzed yeast extract* • Oleoresin paprika (color) • Potassium chloride • Xanthan gum* * Ingredients which may be derived from genetic engineering • Cultivated meat Cultivated meat, on the other hand, uses animal stem cells that are multiplied in vitro or in bioreactors with biotechnological pro- cesses typical of regenerative medicine (the same used to produce cells, tissues, and organs useful in human transplantation).
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