Why Now?
The animal protein feed-to-conversion ratio is unsustainable — meaning for every food calorie generated, animal-based protein requires significantly more resources than alt-proteins and disproportionately contributes to global crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and antibiotic resistance.
Climate Change
Factory farming is the second largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter, accounting for 20% of global emissions.
The scientific community agrees climate change cannot be successfully addressed without changing our food system — and yet the world is on the exact opposite trajectory, with demand for animal-based foods only growing, particularly among developing countries.
Consumer preferences have proven to be largely intractable and therefore presenting consumers with alt-protein products that mimic the products they enjoy, but surpass them on healthfulness, price, and convenience is our best solution available.
20%
of GHG emissions come from factory farming; the second largest emitter
75%
of agricultural land is used for livestock, yet it provides only one-third of the world’s protein
Resource Use
Globally, 75% of agricultural land is used for raising and feeding livestock, yet it only provides one third of the world’s protein supply. On top of this, animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation: nearly 70% of all cleared lands in the Amazon — the largest remaining tropical rainforest in the world — are used as cattle pastures.
Additionally, animal agriculture uses large fractions of water and leads to disproportionate water contamination; 29% of the average global consumer’s water footprint is from meat and milk products.
Biodiversity Loss
Global biodiversity is under threat, and the earth’s animal biomass is wildly out of balance. Due to over-exploitation, agriculture, and other human drivers, we’re losing species at a much faster rate than anticipated.
Agriculture is the main risk driver for 62% of endangered species globally. Ocean biodiversity is also at significant risk, with as much as 38% of global mangrove forest loss attributable to shrimp farming.
Food Security Risk
Currently, two billion people globally are facing food insecurity, and valuable plant-based foods are being used for animal feed: 77% of soy is fed to farm animals while only 5% is used for tofu, tempeh, and plant-based meat.
By 2050 we’re projected to reach a global population of 10 billion, meaning our current food systems will not be able to scale to meet the additional dietary requirements of our population. With the amount of remaining arable land we have, there is an expected food production gap of 56% by 2050.
Antibiotic Resistance
Described by experts as “as big a threat facing humanity as climate change,” the high volume of antibiotics in food-producing animals contributes to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and superbugs in humans that cannot be killed by standard antibiotics.
Animals in the U.S. consume twice as many medically-important antibiotics as humans do, and based on current trends, 10 million annual human deaths are expected from antimicrobial resistance.
Zoonotic Disease & Pandemic Risk
Intensive livestock farming increases the interfaces that drive zoonotic disease emergence and spread, increasing global vulnerability to future pandemics given persistence of potential pathogen spillover at the livestock-human interface.
This not only affects humans who come in contact with these diseases, but also impacts the stability of the food supply chain since these diseases regularly require the culling of millions of animals who can not then quickly be replaced.
Worker Safety & Environmental Justice
Animal industry jobs including slaughterhouse lines are among the most dangerous jobs and often are accompanied by significant psychological effects both in workers, and in their family and communities.
The presence of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which are typically located in lower income areas, cause a myriad of negative health outcomes for surrounding communities through water and air contamination.