“Paint a picture of the American dinner plate in 2030,” suggested moderator Caroline Bushnell of the Good Food Institute to her fellow panelists.
All three panelists replied similarly, saying it will be largely the same, with one exception: We will have far more choices when it comes to clean meat and plant-based alternatives. Notably, all three panelists are CEOs in the alt-meat realm.
Thomas Jonas of Nature’s Fynd, a Chicago-based factory producing proteins utilizing a combo of fermentation and microorganisms (fungi) discovered in Yellowstone, said, “Think of what we’re eating now as the iPhone 1.” Christie Lagally of Rebellyous Foods, a company focused on improving popular foods like chicken nuggets and making them accessible, agreed: “The plate of 2030 will reflect our evolving values. The story will be what’s behind the meal, not just what you take a picture of. But it’ll still be tasty.”
More and more consumers pair a recognition of the subpar standards (for animals and workers) and the catastrophic effects of the industrial meat industry with a financial ability to actually change their shopping, but far more folks are experiencing firsthand the devastation of climate change and a decreased ability to jump on trendy bandwagons. Lagally touched multiple times throughout the panel on how critical it is to not only develop and improve alt-meats, but to make them affordable enough for everyone to adopt new eating habits.
Dr. Uma Valeti, a cardiologist-turned-CEO of Upside Foods, is working on growing “real meat” from animal cells taken via biopsy, and he said the numbers are “mind boggling” when it comes to both people who are willing to taste the new meats and those who actually enjoy them and purchase. “It’s a magical moment for consumers.”
So although plant-based meat options have been available since 1899 or so (Kellogg’s was an early market player), the “intense desire to mitigate the harms of industrial meat production is a catalyst for major changes,” said Lagally. “What you eat makes a lot of difference because it affects everybody. It really, really matters. We must put our energy into alternatives.”
This article appears in March 18 • 2022.