A World Without Slaughter

The future of food is animal-free, with plant-based and cultivated meats transforming the way we eat. Nafeesa Saini examines the new entrants to the meatless market, and its leap to the mainstream.

- Nafeesa Saini

The true cost of eating meat is a tough pill to swallow. Industrialised farming leaves a trail of destruction in its wake. Poor animal welfare aside, a vast amount of habitable land is used to grow crops for animal feed, causing a ripple effect that includes greenhouse emissions and pollution, deforestation and decimation of wildlife, and even human rights abuses on indigenous communities.

But change is imminent. Where the gospel of veganism falls on deaf ears, a more appealing solution proves irresistible.

In his TED Talk on Meat Without Animals: The Future Of Food, Bruce Friedrich, Co-founder and Executive Director of The Good Food Institute, says: “Instead of trying to convince people to change how they think about their diet, let’s change the food. Let’s innovate in meat.”

The slaughter-free movement is poised to dominate the meat industry, with plant-based alternatives and cultured meat advancing into the mainstream.

A SWEEPING SHIFT

Titans of the plant-based sector are Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods – both of which are backed by powerful investors. The two are the most visible players, and are sold at supermarkets and served in menus at leading restaurants.

What, however, has signalled the movement’s rapid growth is its entry into the mainstream. Mass market chain Swensen’s offers Impossible burgers, while soya bean food and beverage retailer Mr Bean serves wholegrain mixed rice bowls with an option of a Quorn (mycoprotein) meat substitute. Also new to the fray is fast-food chain KFC, which recently launched its New Zero Chicken Burger with a meat-free patty.