Driving protein
diversity

Research by Oxford University shows that the world cannot meet its climate targets without shifting away from conventional animal agriculture. But in Europe, meat consumption is increasing.

Animal agriculture causes 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions – equivalent to all the planes, trucks, cars, trains and ships on Earth. But to date, protein diversification has received just a fraction of the public and private investment that has gone to other climate innovations such as electric cars and renewable energy, making this a particularly high-impact opportunity. Shifting to plant-based and cultivated meat could reduce climate emissions by up to 92% compared with farming animals – enabling people to eat their favourite foods without accelerating the climate crisis.

European leaders have set ambitious targets for expanding organic farming and restoring natural habitats to ensure food production works hand in hand with nature. But we simply don’t have enough land to satisfy growing demand for meat with these more extensive approaches – and Europe’s politicians don’t want to tell people to reduce their meat consumption. 

Because alternative proteins could use up to 90% less land to produce the same amount of meat, they can help satisfy demand within Europe’s borders, while creating the space farmers need to adopt extensive, organic and agroecological methods. Research shows that even a modest diversification of protein production could at least double the share of organically farmed land across 10 European countries.

Farmers will also play a key role in a diversified protein supply chain – producing high-quality and sustainable ingredients, and diversifying Europe’s crops to improve nutrition, reduce monocultures and safeguard local production. By putting the right policies, incentives and structures in place, European governments can help farmers to seize these opportunities.

Diversifying Europe’s protein supply is essential if governments are to address global public health challenges such as diet-related ill health, climate change, antimicrobial resistance and pandemic risk.

Initial studies suggest shifting from conventional meat to plant-based meat could reduce the risk of leading causes of death such as heart disease and bowel cancer, as well as improving gut health and helping people maintain a healthy weight.

Options like plant-based meat can offer consumers convenient foods that are easy to incorporate into their routines as they transition towards healthier diets, alongside existing initiatives to improve the availability and affordability of plant-based whole foods.

Alternative proteins can also be produced without antibiotics – so they can help to reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance, which causes an estimated 133,000 deaths per year in Europe. 

Using animals for food is also a key driver of pandemics. Options like plant-based and cultivated meat can help cut the risk of pandemics because they can be made without farming animals.