Climate scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research simulated four future scenarios in which people replace either 0%, 20%, 50% or 80% of red meat in our diet with microbial protein, which is low calorie, high protein and high fiber fermented product that is already an ingredient in some commercial alt-meats, including Quorn and Nature’s Fynd. The researchers then looked at how this dietary change could affect the world’s forests by 2050. Currently, the planet is losing about 10 million hectares of forest annually, of which an estimated 95% is rainforest and 75% of which is due to agricultural expansion, specifically cattle ranching and soybean plantations for animal feed. Deforestation contributes to climate imbalances, desertification and water scarcity, greenhouse gas emissions, flooding and erosion, and the destruction of biodiversity, including vital crop pollinators. But replacing just 20% of meat with microbial protein could more than halve the rate of deforestation and reduce carbon emissions associated with cattle farming by 2050, according to the study. Microbial foods dramatically outperform “staple crop cultivation in terms of calorie and protein yields per land area,” write the authors of a separate 2021 study on food source efficiency. In contrast, livestock occupy almost 80% of the world’s agricultural land, while producing less than 20% of the world’s calories, a highly inefficient system. The science suggests that these mushroom-adjacent proteins could play an important role in addressing the intertwined challenges of climate change and food security as the population grows to 9.7 billion people by 2050. Encouragingly, meat substitutes – including those made from lab-grown animal cells, plants and microbial proteins – are already proving quite popular with the general public. The market for meat substitutes is projected to grow dramatically from $4.2 billion in sales in 2020 to $28 billion in 2025, according to IPES-Food. And several new companies, like Colorado-based Meati and California-based Prime Roots, are betting that fungus-based savory meats are the future. If “microbial proteins” don’t sound appetizing to you, the good news is that any reduction in red meat in our diet is a net positive, regardless of which vegetarian option we replace it with. Already, a growing number of us are changing our diets. the percentage of people practicing flexibility increased from 28% in 2017 to 39% in 2019, according to market research. Indeed, scientists decided years ago that if we all just stick to our basic dietary recommendations, which for us in the developed world means mostly eating more plants and less meat, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 29% by 2050 . However, while cutting down on red meat sounds simple enough, getting millions to change their eating habits can be a bit complicated. A recent Ipsos survey found that although 68% of adults in 31 countries feel “concerned” about climate change, only 44% said they were likely to reduce meat consumption by replacing meat with alternative protein sources. This reluctance suggests both the power of the conventions and the widespread belief that it is the responsibility of businesses and governments to handle climate crises. The latter is certainly true – after all, business and government must do more to support a climate-safe future, and world leaders pledged to end deforestation by 2030 at COP26. But a similar commitment made at the 2014 summit failed. and with 65% of Americans saying they feel the federal government is doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change, it can be effective and encouraging for individuals to make simple, green lifestyle changes to mitigate climate change change, while continuing to demand large-scale action from leadership.
