In today's society it has become common to hear about substitutes for different foods, especially for vegetarians and vegans. Furthermore, companies like Beyond Meat and Hampton Creek Foods are researching new ways to turn plants into foods that taste exactly like meat and eggs. They are assembling plants that produce the same texture, taste, and protein of meat. Plant based proteins are better for the environment and take up less land, water, and CO2. Lastly, turning these veggie fibers, grains, oils, and spices to chicken only takes about thirty seconds. These new ways of producing protein will soon innovate the food industry.
I thought it would be helpful to include some statistics I found on the article about the change in global demand for meat:
Beef:
64M in 2005
106M in 2050
Mutton (flesh of sheep):
13M in 2005
25M in 2050
Pork:
100M in 2005
143M in 2050
Poultry:
82M in 2005
181M in 2050
Eggs:
62M in 2005
102 M in 2050
By 2050 the world's population will exceed nine billion people and the demand for meat will practically double. Is the future in risk of receiving enough protein? Or are plants and genetically modified meats the way of the future? I think sometimes people forget not all protein comes from meat. There are other ways to receive protein through alternative sources such as beans, lentils, grains, and many more foods.
To produce 1 kg of beef, 150 square meters of land is needed, along with 15,000 liters of water, and 27 kg of CO2, which is equivalent to driving your car 100 miles. Raising animals to eat has a great environmental impact and it's almost impossible to be able to produce enough meat to feed more than nine billion people. So, what are our options? Not everyone is willing to go vegetarian or vegan. Are you okay with eating protein that isn't actually meat? More importantly, do you want to be aware of it?
I think the plant based proteins replacing actual meat is a great idea. It would be better for the environment, better for the animals and probably better for our health than eating traditional forms of protein, it seems like an all around win to me. Personally, I wouldn't mind replacing my proteins with meat that isn't actually meat. Of course, I would like be made aware of it. The amount of people who will be living on Earth in 2050 is an insane amount and I don't think we'll be able to feed them all with out introducing substitutes like this in our diet.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very strange how we don't really know if we are eating real meat, or some other form of meat. A lot of people are still stuck on eating whatever is easy for them, but we really should pay more attention and eat healthy foods, to ensure our health will stay good. I think plant based protein is also a good thing because it will be healthier and will save our animals for things we really need. It will also save us money, because in most cases, plants are a lot cheaper than animals.
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