The food systems are responsible for about 30% of the current anthropogenic GHG emissions, and animal products account for almost 60% of those emissions. There is a need to change the way we produce and consume the food we eat, because of its growing impact on the triple planetary crises. While many approaches are available to address the adverse impacts of animal agriculture, this report looks specifically at novel alternatives to conventional animal source food.
This special issue of the Frontiers Report focuses on the potential environmental, health, social and animal welfare implications of the uptake of novel meat and dairy alternatives, in particular novel plant-based, fermentation-derived and cultivated products. A team of interdisciplinary experts has assessed the available evidence on the impacts of these alternatives in comparison with their conventional counterparts, identifying pertinent considerations for policymakers involved in regulating, investing in or providing other support for novel meat and dairy products and highlighting research gaps.
This special edition of UNEP’s Frontiers report explores the available evidence on novel plant-based foods, cultivated meat and fermentation-derived products as alternatives or complements to conventional meat and dairy that could potentially leave a much smaller environmental footprint. The report provides an overview of scientific knowledge of these novel alternatives as elements of…
Emerging novel alternatives to animal products such as meat and dairy may contribute to significantly reducing the environmental footprint of the current global food system, particularly in high- and middle-income countries, provided they use low-carbon energy.
As the world’s population grows, so does the demand for animal-sourced foods like meat and dairy. The challenge: animal agriculture can be environmentally destructive, worsening the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
