Alternative proteins sourced from plants – popularized by the global meat-free movement –  are not as sustainable as advocates claim, according to a new review of meat and protein studies. Exploring both sides of the argument, FoodIngredientsFirst speaks to the publishers of the research as well as representatives of the plant-based sector who oppose these findings.

The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES) argues that while industrial livestock continues to generate a big environmental footprint, alternative meats will not solve the problem. 

According to its researchers, evidence that technologies such as cultured and plant-based meat – alongside precision livestock and fish farming – help reduce climate change is “limited and speculative.”

Philip Howard, member of IPES-Food and lead author, remarks: “Instead of focusing on quick protein fixes, we need to consider much bigger changes to our food systems.”

“These transformative pathways are out there but get insufficient attention: shifting to diversified agroecological production systems, territorial food chains and markets, and ‘food environments’ which increase access to healthy and sustainable diets,” he stresses. 

“These pathways are about transformative behavioral and structural shifts. They require sustainable food system transitions, not just a protein transition.”

IPES believes public resources need to be “reclaimed” from large protein firms, while policymakers “address the concentration of power” across the food system through new antitrust and competition law approaches. 

Reclaiming investment from giants?According to IPES misleading claims dominate public discussion.
IPES suggests that the alternative protein market has become characterized by multinationals that integrate industrial meat production and meat alternatives into their industrial meat businesses to form what the IPES terms “protein monopolies.”  

Alternative proteins have attracted financial backing from people like Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, and Richard Branson. It has received significant support from the US, Chinese and European governments. The market has also seen significant investments and acquisitions from the world’s big meat processing companies such as JBS, Cargill and Tyson.

“We need to strengthen alternative supply chain infrastructures to build up and support independent producers – not just those who start companies to sell them to the existing industry giants. We need to democratize the debate and start hearing the perspectives of small-scale farmers, fishers, pastoralists, and food insecure populations, not just those who shout the loudest,” Howard says.  

“As long as we believe that the only choice we have is between industrial meat and industrial alternatives, that’s the choice we’ll get. In reality, a much bigger transformation is possible. A different food system is possible.”

Quick fixes and silver bullets
Earlier this year, Innova Market Insights tipped “Plant-based: The Canvas for Innovation” as its second Top Trend for 2022, while stressing that consumers now prioritize the health of the planet above their own health, in terms of key purchasing drivers.

“When it comes to tackling the problems with livestock, quick fixes and ‘silver bullet’ solutions are everywher from ‘fake meats’ to new technologies for factory farms and even corporate-led ‘regenerative agriculture’ schemes,” argues Howard.

“These solutions promise to get us more protein with less greenhouse gas emissions,” he asserts. “But this is a simplistic way of looking at food systems. Firstly, there is no global protein shortage. Secondly, climate change is one of many sustainability problems in food systems, including biodiversity loss, livelihood pressures for smallholders, and unhealthy diets.”

“Quick protein fixes don’t have an answer to these problems. They are likely to increase the dominance of big agri-food firms, reinforce our reliance on damaging industrial supply chains and keep us focused on unhealthy diets with too many processed foods and too little variety.”

Plant-based “misleading” claimsUN FAO research shows that animal is a major contributor to environmental problems. 
The IPES report flags “misleading claims” that “dominate and polarize” public discussion about meat and protein.

Howard says: “The key takeaway is that misleading claims about meat and protein are taking us way off track. These claims lead to a disproportionate focus on ‘protein,’ a GHG-only approach to sustainability, a systematic failure to account for differences between production systems and world regions — and ultimately to the wrong solutions.” 

“Meat ‘techno-fixes’ appear to be viable due to savvy marketing and misleading claims about a global protein shortage,” he believes. For the technologies to work, IPES claims that key aspects of sustainability such as biodiversity and livelihoods have to be ignored.  

In addition, the panel says the technologies could cause more harm than good, resulting in hyper-processed food, dependency on fossil fuel energy and loss of livelihoods for livestock farmers in the global South.

Vegan Society advocates for plant-based
One of the plant-based industry’s biggest proponents, The Vegan Society has come forward with arguments for the growth of the plant-based sector. However, the society recognizes that a key element in making a sustainable food transition will be to support farmers to move away from animal industrialized farming toward plant-based land management techniques. 

Amanda Baker, campaigns, The Vegan Society, tells FoodIngredientsFirst: “Our food systems in the Global North must move toward plant-based land management and food production to achieve our sustainability and health goals.”

Backing this statement, recent evidence compiled by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO) shows that industrialized animal farming in the Global North is a major contributor to every environmental problem, from global climate change to local water pollution. 

Baker continues: “By growing protein-rich plants, such as legumes (pulses) wher conditions are appropriate, we can provide more sustainable protein sources rich in other healthy phytonutrients including dietary fiber, to replac less environmentally sustainable proteins from animals which tend to also contain excess saturated fats.”

“There are sustainability and health benefits when we eat lightly processed plant protein foods. wher people need more processed foods such as pea-protein sausages or mycoprotein filets, these can also form part of a food system that is overall sustainable and healthy,” says Chantal Tomlinson, dietitian, The Vegan Society, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“So, The Vegan Society advocates that plant-based meats have a role in making our food system more environmentally friendly.”

“wher culture ‘meats’ are made without the use of any animals, The Vegan Society considers the main advantage to be, freeing animals from being used in the food system,” says Tomlinson.

Seamless transition to plant-basedAccording to The Vegan society a plant-based diet is low in saturated fat and rich in dietary fiber.
Meanwhile, The Vegan Society advocates for the world to move toward net harmful GHG emissions in the UK, the EU, and the Global North as quickly as possible. 

Baker says: “That means we need to be net absorbers of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The transition to plant-based land management in harmony with plant-based diets in the Global North is a key factor in becoming net absorbers of GHGs.”

“We know that plant-based diets can hugely positively impact the environment. A 2018 Oxford University study declared that ‘avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on Earth’ as animal farming provides just 18% of calories but takes up 83% of our farmland, while a 2019 UN report urged people to eat less meat and dairy to help combat climate change.”

According to The Vegan Society, a well-balanced plant-based diet can be low in saturated fat and is rich in dietary fiber from whole grains, beans and pulses such as lentils, nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables. 

“A plant-based diet rich in healthy fats from foods such as nuts and seeds in replacement of saturated fat (unhealthy fat) can help reduce cholesterol levels. Dietary fiber is important for helping to reduce the risk of chronic disease, benefit gut health and prevent constipation. Therefore, a balanced plant-based diet can contribute to healthier outcomes for the population,” Tomlinson says.

The organization advocates for leadership from food secure people in the Global North toward a plant-based food system and diets. This will make it more affordable for people who are currently facing a high cost of living and food insecurity to make healthier food choices. 

“We can and must build a plant-based land management and food system that balances all our needs: public health, environmental sustainability, food security for all and ending industrialized animal use in our food system,” she says.