Comparing meat alternatives for a sustainable food system

Area of Science:

• Sustainable food systems
• Alternative protein sources
• Comparative analysis

Background:

• Growing global population necessitates sustainable food solutions.
• Current food systems face environmental and ethical challenges.
• Alternative proteins are explored to mitigate these issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate four alternative protein sources: plant-based meats, cultivated meat, insects, and single-cell proteins.
• To assess their potential contribution to a sustainable food system.
• To compare these sources across environmental impact, scalability, consumer acceptance, and animal welfare.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review methodology.
• Holistic framework application for assessment.
• Multidimensional comparative analysis.

Main Results:

• Plant-based meats ranked highest due to established infrastructure, consumer acceptance, and environmental benefits.
• Single-cell proteins show potential but face scalability uncertainties.
• Cultivated meat encounters technical and economic hurdles.
• Insect-based proteins face challenges in environmental advantages and consumer acceptance.

Conclusions:

• Plant-based meats should be prioritized in policy and investment for sustainable food transitions.
• Critical research is needed for emerging alternatives like single-cell and cultivated proteins.
• Systematic head-to-head comparisons are valuable for resource allocation in sustainable food system development.