Humanity's favourite food: how alternative proteins could replace industrial meat by 2050

Bruce Friedrich argues in his book Meat that cultivated and plant‑based proteins, if they reach taste and price parity and receive government and private support, could replace much industrial meat by mid‑century.

Bruce Friedrich, head of the Good Food Institute, sets out in his book Meat an argument for replacing industrial livestock with like‑for‑like alternatives. He acknowledges meat as a longstanding human preference and notes that global meat consumption has risen steadily since records began in 1961. Friedrich argues the practical route is cultivated meat grown from animal cells and plant‑based meats that match taste and price, rather than asking people to stop eating meat. He says government funding and private sector scale‑up will be central to achieving that outcome. Key points: - Friedrich describes meat as "humanity's favourite food" and attributes continued demand to biological and cultural factors. - The article reports environmental and health harms linked to industrial livestock, and that global meat consumption has increased every year since 1961. - Friedrich advocates "like‑for‑like" replacements: cultivated meat produced from cells and plant‑based products designed to match conventional meat on taste and texture, and he emphasises the need for price parity. - Some analysts cited in the article, including McKinsey, Barclays and Credit Suisse, have estimated around a 50% market share for alternative proteins by mid‑century. - The piece notes examples of national and corporate activity: Israel and Singapore have supported cultivated meat, China is active on patents and policy, and major meat firms have invested in alternative proteins (the article says JBS invested $100m in a cultivated meat division in Brazil and bought the Vegetarian Butcher in 2025). Summary: If Friedrich's scenario unfolds, a large-scale shift to cultivated and plant‑based proteins could reduce several environmental and health pressures associated with industrial livestock. He and some analysts link the speed of change to achieving taste and price parity, public uptake, and stronger government and private investment; Friedrich suggests parity could be reached within a decade and that much industrial meat could be replaced by 2050. Timelines and outcomes remain debated and undetermined at this time.