The future of cultured meat between sustainability expectations and socio-economic challenges

A global perspective on a new paradigm shift in bio-based meat alternatives for healthy diet

A meat analogue is a casserole in which the primary ingredient is something other than meat. It goes by various other names, such as meat substitute, fake meat, alternative meat, and imitation meat. Consumers growing interest in improving their diets and the future of the planet have contributed to the move towards meat substitutes. This change is due to the growing popularity of low-fat and low-calorie diets, the rise of flexitarians, the spread of animal diseases, the loss of natural resources, and the need to cut down on carbon emissions, which lead to greenhouse effects. Plant-based meat, cultured meat, algal protein-based meat, and insect-based meat substitutes are available on the market with qualities like appearance and flavor similar to those of traditional meat. Novel ingredients like mycoprotein and soybean leg haemoglobin are mixed in with the more traditional soy proteins, cereals, green peas, etc. Plant-based meat is currently more popular in the West, but the growing interest in this product in Asian markets indicates the industry in this region will expand rapidly in the near future. Future growth in the food sector can be anticipated from technologies like lab-grown meat and its equivalents that do not require livestock breeding. Insect-based products also hold great potential as a new source of protein for human consumption. However, product safety and quality should be considered along with other factors such as marketability and affordability.

Consumer perception of "artificial meat" in the educated young and urban population of Africa

African's population is expected to grow especially in cities to reach about 2.5 billion in 2050. This will create an unprecedented boom in the demand for animal products over the coming years which will need to be managed properly. Industry stakeholders worldwide have been touting the potential benefits of "artificial meat" in recent years as a more sustainable way of producing animal protein. "Artificial meat" is therefore moving into the global spotlight and this study aimed to investigate how African meat consumers of the coming generations perceive it, i.e., the urban, more educated and younger consumers. Three surveys were conducted with more than 12,000 respondents in total. The respondents came from 12 different countries (Cameroon, Congo, -DRC Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal South Africa, Tanzania and Tunisia). Respondents in this survey prefered the term "artificial meat". This term was therefore used throughout the survey. "Artificial meat" proved to be fairly well known in the surveyed countries as about 64% the respondents had already heard of "artificial meat." Only 8.9% were definitely willing to try "artificial meat" (score of 5 on a scale of 1-5) mostly males between 31 and 50 years of age. Furthermore, 31.2% strongly agreed that "artificial meat" will have a negative impact on the rural life (score of 5 on a scale of 1-5) and 32.9% were not prepared to accept "artificial meat" as a viable alternative in the future but were still prepared to eat meat alternatives. Of all the results, we observed significant differences in responses between respondents' countries of origin, age and education level with interactions between these factors for willingness to try. For instance, the richest and most educated countries that were surveyed tended to be more willing to try "artificial meat." A similar pattern was observed for willingness to pay, except that gender had no significant effect and age had only a small effect. One major observation is that a large majority of respondents are not willing to pay more for "artificial meat" than for meat from livestock.

The social impact of cultivated and plant-based meats as radical innovations in the food chain: Views from Brazil, the United States and Europe

Cultivated and plant-based meats have been recognized as radical innovations that may revolutionize food production worldwide. Despite potentially being more sustainable than conventional meat, little is known about the consequences these innovations can bring to society. To help to clarify this topic, we studied the social impacts that cultivated and plant-based meats may bring to Brazil, the United States and Europe. Based on the perspective of 136 experts, our results are divided into market expectations, consumer access, consumer acceptance, impacts on farms, and business opportunities along the new chains. Experts generally predicted an optimistic picture of the social effects with several opportunities as alternative meats become available. However, the consequences for animal farmers seemed worrying in the experts' views. Overall, the opinion of Brazilian and American experts seemed more optimistic than that of Europeans. Our findings may be helpful for practitioners and people involved in rural policy interested in better guiding this transition process in the food production chain.