Plant-Based Meat: A Big Step for Environmental Sustainability

The traditional meat business, dominated by cattle, poultry, and pigs, not only requires a significant portion of America's cropland for grazing and growing animal feed but is also a significant contributor to climate change.

FREMONT, CA: The race is on to bring to market the most palatable and "believable" plant-based alternatives to traditional meat. While these substitutes may still need to be as popular, their popularity is rising rapidly. Plant-based product sales climbed three times faster than food sales overall. By 2030, plant-based foods will account for 10 percent of the global food market. Plant-based meat's potential health and flavor benefit to promote as it is beneficial for the consumer's conscience. The exponential growth of plant-based food sales is encouraging; industrial meat agribusiness continues to expand concurrently. The agricultural techniques that make plant-based alternatives more sustainable can assist markets in anticipating demand.

GHG reduction: Food production emits tons of greenhouse gas annually, more than double US GHG emissions from all industries. Conventional meat production get releases twice as much GHG as plant-based diets. The plant-based sector is smaller than the traditional meat industry, using gas-emitting farming technology and nationwide distribution. Aside from industrial output, the primary source of air pollution is animals, not crops. Fewer animals eaten would reduce food chain needs. Global GHG emissions will drop if every American cut their meat consumption.

Land reduction: Livestock needs lots of land. Planet's non-icy surface is used for animal grazing, while another grows crops for them. Cattle pastures get often deforested. Cattle grazing and meat industry feed use U.S. land. If the U.S. population went vegan, only the cropland would be needed to cultivate and process enough food to feed everyone. Livestock farming uses up land and damages the ground around it, and as a result, industrial livestock farming causes U.S. erosion. The widespread adoption of plant-based alternatives could significantly influence global environmental health and sustainability.

Water conservation: Beef demands the most water. One pound of beef requires more than 1,800 gallons of water, including water used to irrigate and preserve crops for animal feed, water ingested by the animals, and water used in butchering and processing. The type and amount of water hoarded matter. Industrial meat production requires gray water for cleaning, processing, and other industrial processes, while plants can use only green or blue water. Compared to potatoes, two important plant protein sources used in plant-based meat alternatives—soybeans and peas—require 256 and 72 gallons of water per pound, respectively.

Production reduces water damage: Eutrophication, caused by runoff, suffocates marine and freshwater life. Agriculture, especially animal products, causes eutrophication. Beef generates 365 grams of runoff per kilogram. For instance, Eutrophication is most evident in the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone," a 6,000- to a 7,000-square-mile area where animal waste and fertilizer pollution kill all sea life. Crop-focused farming, which almost eliminates animal waste, can prevent surplus from entering surrounding waterways, significantly lowering eutrophication.