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Fake Meat Won’t Save the Planet
Hype around meat substitutes and the problems they supposedly solve is questioned by experts in many fields
Trying to eat a healthy diet with an eye toward sustainability is bewildering these days. The recipe for perplexity includes long-running arguments over the nutritional and environmental merits and demerits of meat vs. plant-based foods, the supposed need for more protein around the world, and the latest spicy ingredient: fake meat billed as being better for you and solving all our global food-production problems.
An international team of experts recently cooked up a fresh take on the burgeoning global alternative-protein industry, including imitation meat products like the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger, as well as emerging plant-based and lab-created substitutes for other animal products.
“Fake meat is a ‘silver bullet’ technology that may not be as sustainable as its advocates claim,” the report concludes. “Fake meat will not save the planet.”
The data-driven report, from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), questions and debunks several industry claims and commonly held beliefs. While it’s unlikely to end any food fights among businesses, governments, environmentalists and various…
