{"id":776210,"date":"2024-08-05T08:39:18","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T12:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=776210"},"modified":"2024-08-05T09:33:05","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T13:33:05","slug":"cultural-crossfire-what-is-standing-in-the-way-of-plant-based-meat-receiving-government-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=776210","title":{"rendered":"CULTURE CROSSFIRE: What is standing in the way of plant-based meat receiving government support?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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For the U.S. to back plant based meat in the same way it has helped to spur the adoption of EVs would require a political sea change. Fears of climate policies eliminating meat from the American diet loom large. It means 'sacrificing' a way of life, especially for men who view eating meat as a tenet of masculinity. <\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

FRIDA GARZA:<\/strong> Just a few years ago, the alternative protein industry promised to revolutionize the way people eat burgers: They would still sizzle and bleed, they\u2019d taste great, but they wouldn\u2019t actually contain any meat. Today it seems that, if that revolution is still coming, its arrival has been more than a little delayed. Sales of plant-based meat and seafood have fallen over the last two years, and a recent bevy of headlines suggest that this latest wave of imitation meat was just that: a passing fad.<\/em><\/p>\n

A new report suggests that if the alt protein industry has any hope of scaling, it will take robust funding from a number of different sources \u2014 including, crucially, the public sector. The report compares plant-based meat imitations to electric vehicles, a powerful climate solution that has benefited from government support, such as direct purchase subsidies.<\/em><\/p>\n

But like the EV industry before it, alternative meat has a culture war problem to sort out before it can grow \u2014 with or without government investment. Despite some obvious differences, there\u2019s a major parallel between electric cars and alternative meat: They\u2019re designed to be a one-to-one replacement for their predecessors. Buying an electric vehicle \u201cdoesn\u2019t require consumers to make extensive behavioral changes\u201d like forgoing a car completely, said Emma Ignaszewski, one of the authors of the report.<\/em><\/p>\n

Similarly, consumers can simply choose to buy burgers that aren\u2019t made from animal protein rather than burgers that are. \u201cYou can enjoy your burger, but it can be produced with far lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional meat is,\u201d said Ignaszewski, who is a senior associate director at the Good Food Institute, or GFI, a think tank that promotes alternative proteins.<\/em><\/p>\n

Research has shown that animal agriculture is responsible for 11 to 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. The development of plant-based foods \u2014 meat substitutes that don\u2019t contain meat \u2014 could help reduce these emissions and lead to less deforestation and land degradation. One study found that a vegan diet produced about 75 percent less planet-warming gas emissions than meat-rich diets…<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2022, the alternative protein industry received $635 million in government support globally. The Environmental Working Group, or EWG, found last year that, since 2001, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has only put $124 million towards subsidizing alt proteins. By comparison, the USDA gave at least $59 billion in various subsidies to livestock operators from 1995 to 2023…<\/em><\/p>\n

For the U.S. to back alternative proteins in the same way it has helped to spur the adoption of EVs would require a political sea change. Fears of climate policies eliminating meat from the American diet loom large over the conservative movement. A 2023 study found that Republicans said they were less likely to vote for a hypothetical candidate who said, \u201cIt\u2019s time for us to work together as a nation to reduce our reliance on meat and dairy and focus on solutions like plant-based foods and artificial meats instead.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2018, Senator Ted Cruz memorably warned that, \u201cIf Texas elects a Democrat, they\u2019re going to ban barbecue across the state of Texas.\u201d He later explained it was a joke, but the message was instantly clear: Climate action means sacrificing precious ways of life, especially for men who view eating meat as a tenet of masculinity. This fear has resulted in a backlash against alternative proteins: In May, Florida and Alabama banned the manufacture and sale of lab-grown meat.<\/em><\/p>\n

Crafting an effective narrative to counter entrenched beliefs about meat versus plant-based foods will be key to the industry\u2019s success, said Samantha Derrick, the founder of Plant Futures, an interdisciplinary program at UC Berkeley that aims to train students for careers in alternative proteins. \u201cI think, as well organized as Big Ag is, even though they have a lot of money and resources, there\u2019s a lot of potential on the alt protein side,\u201d said Derrick. And she believes that the generation of entrepreneurs entering the workforce now can help develop a new, more compelling narrative. SOURCE…<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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