I’ve been a vegetarian my whole life, so I’ve heard everything from “You’ve never tried meat? How do you resist it?” to “How’s the rabbit food?” Growing up, I was in the minority, so it was difficult to find appetizing or nutritious meals in group settings and restaurants that didn’t have lettuce as the primary, or even sole, ingredient. Recent years have seen a rapid increase in the availability and diversity of meat alternatives in grocery stores and restaurants. What has sparked this growth?
I’m a vegetarian for religious reasons, but conversations with friends and peers have revealed that an increasing number of people are opting for vegetarian or vegan diets for other reasons as well. Some have cited the negative long-term health effects of red meat consumption, but most are concerned about the meat industry’s contribution to the climate crisis. It’s not a secret that cattle farming, in particular, is unsustainable, generating large amounts of greenhouse gasses at each stage of the production process.
A plant-based diet and/or plant-based alternatives have been touted as solutions to reducing the emissions associated with the meat industry. But how climate-conscious and sustainable are plant-based meats and food companies?
Cows & Goats & Sheep, Oh My!
Before I dive into the skepticism surrounding the sustainability of plant-based alternatives, I’ll briefly discuss how meat production is harmful to both people and planet.
Forests are cleared to create space for both livestock and their fodder, releasing stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Additionally, centuries-old organic matter found in the soil of these cleared lands is degrading due to overgrazing and soil compaction from the hooves of livestock. This reduces the soil’s natural biodiversity and fertility, leading to further deforestation in the search for agriculturally viable land. This stage accounts for approximately one quarter of the emissions per kilogram of product.
Cattle, along with other ruminant livestock like goats and sheep, perform enteric fermentation, a process that allows them to digest grass and other plants. This process results in burps, and sometimes farts, that release a large amount of methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a problematic greenhouse gas because it is more effective at capturing heat than its gaseous counterparts and is the primary contributor to ground-level ozone formation. Emissions from raising livestock can also be attributed to fertilizers, manure, and machinery, so overall, this stage accounts for over half of the emissions per kilogram of product.
Furthermore, nitrogen and phosphorus in manure and synthetic fertilizers can pollute water supplies, creating “dead zones” where aquatic life can not survive due to low oxygen levels. These pollutants also pose serious health risks to humans because they can contaminate local drinking water supplies.
The emissions from processing, transport, retail, and packaging account for approximately 15 percent of the emissions per kilogram of product. As such, while eating locally does support the economy, it does little to reduce the carbon footprint of consuming red meat.
What is Plant-Based Meat?
Two major producers of plant-based alternatives – Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods – have stated that their burgers are composed of plants (as you would hope) and do not contain artificially produced or genetically modified ingredients. The Beyond Burger includes rice and pea protein, potato starch, and plant oils, and the Impossible Burger has a similar composition, but it derives its protein from soy and potatoes.
Compared to red meat, the Beyond and Impossible plant-based meat has a similar amount of calories and protein, but it lacks cholesterol and saturated fats and has an increased sodium content.
The Problem with Plant-Based Meat Alternatives
While plant-based meat companies claim that their products are more environment-conscious and sustainable than meat alternatives, analysts have found that there isn’t a way to confirm these statements. This is due to a lack of transparency on the part of companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods regarding the ecological footprint of their supply chains.
Critics have said that “neither Beyond Meat nor Impossible Foods discloses the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions across all of its operations, supply chains, or consumer waste. They also do not disclose the effects across all of their operations on forests or how much water they use.”
Regarding the latter points, the growth of components of plant-based meats, such as pea protein and soy, do require deforestation and significant water usage, but not nearly as much as that required for red meat production. To put this in perspective, 49.89 kilograms of greenhouse gasses are emitted per gram of beef, while 1.98 kilograms and 0.44 kilograms of greenhouse gasses are emitted per gram of soy and pea protein, respectively.
In response to the critics, the CEO of Impossible Foods, Patrick Brown, says that “the existing framework doesn’t recognize, doesn’t appreciate, the overall majority of our impact, which is massive.”
It’s difficult to contest that the production of plant-based alternatives emits fewer greenhouse gasses, but plant-based meat is too niche an industry to have a significant effect on the climate right now. For the industry to have an observable environmental impact, the manufacturing process will need to be redesigned, and meat alternatives will need to be transitioned from a “novelty product to [a] consumer staple.” Regardless, the primary issue remains that there is a lack of transparency from plant-based meat companies that needs to be addressed.
What’s the Solution?
Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the food we consume necessitates a shift towards a more plant-based lifestyle. In order to break plant-based alternatives out of its niche, some have proposed that the plant-based industry partner with the meat industry. As counterintuitive as it may seem, these companies have the visibility and infrastructure to help make plant-based meat more accessible and appealing to the general public. In fact, major meat processing companies like Tyson Foods and JBS S.A. have already started selling their own plant-based products.
It is also important to hold companies that are creating these plant-based alternatives accountable to ensure that they are being as climate conscious as they claim to be. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering a rule that would require companies to report all of their emissions. This, or similar rules, would increase transparency and consumer confidence that the food they are eating is, in fact, better for the environment in the long run.
Check out Elina’s article to learn more about ways to eat sustainably.
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