Let’s hit you with a statistic straight away today. Animal agriculture is estimated to produce up to a fifth of planet-warming emissions. A 5th? 20%!
Hmm, that’s enough to make us all think about a vegetarian or vegan diet. However, giving up meat completely can seem like a very big ask. What will you eat instead? We would always encourage you to start by making small changes. Most of us eat three meals a day, so we have plenty of opportunities to make a tweak here and there, and we know that all those little tweaks really add up.
Where to get our protein then. Yes, the supermarkets offer plenty of plant-based alternatives in their chillers and freezers, but how healthy are those processed products? If you’re thinking of the health of the planet as well as your own health, you need to consider the resources that go into making and storing those vegeburgers and the like.
Enter the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre. It has just received a funding boost to enable it to drive research and innovation in the UK’s alternative protein sector. Turns out this country is a leader in this rapidly expanding global market (because, of course, we will need international collaboration to ensure a more sustainable and secure food future for all). According to analysis by Green Alliance, the UK alternative proteins industry could be worth £6.8 billion a year and create around 25,000 jobs by 2035.
So, in the coming years we could be tucking in to lab-grown meat, protein rich algae, insect based proteins and proteins made by fermentation.
Bon appetit!
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