Session 1
Motivating the case for alternative proteins
Embedded Files
Industrial animal agriculture lies at the intersection of some of the most pressing issues in the world today: climate change, zoonotic pandemics, antibiotic resistance, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, and animal suffering on an extraordinary scale.
Although flexitarian diets, vegetarianism, and veganism are becoming more mainstream, global demand for meat continues to rise. One way to induce mass changes in consumer behaviour is the provision of better alternatives.
The first session explores the dominant arguments in favour of reducing traditional meat consumption and introduces the three main pillars of alternative proteins: plant-based, fermentation, and cultivated meat technologies. You are encouraged to consider the issues with factory farming and draw your own conclusions as to the extent to which alternative proteins would be an impactful way to mitigate each of these.
Core Material
You are required to read/watch these and think about the discussion prompts ahead of the discussion session each week.
We expect that you will need ~30 min to go through these resources.
The next global agricultural revolution | Bruce Friedrich
TED - Video (6 min)Is Meat Really that Bad?
Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell - Video (12 min)Factory farming: what it is and why it's a problem
The Humane League (2020) - Article (10 min)
Exercise
Think about alternative proteins that you have consumed already.
Which type of meat were they imitating, and how well did they manage to do so? Please take some notes and bring a link, picture, or the actual product to the session and briefly introduce the product to your cohort, outlining what you think is already good and where you still see room for improvement.
We expect that you will need 10 min to complete this exercise.
Core Discussion Prompts
Consider the issues discussed in the core resources (animal suffering, climate change, zoonotic pandemics, and antibiotics), and for each of these issues, think about the following:
Core Discussion Prompts
How 'bad’ is this issue? (Left deliberately vague - interpret this however you would like)
To what extent does factory farming contribute to this issue?
To what extent would widespread production and consumption of alternative proteins mitigate this issue? What further information would you like to know about alternative proteins to help you answer this question?
How likely is the widespread production and consumption of alternative proteins? How might we be able to increase this likelihood? What further information would you like to know about alternative proteins to help you answer this question?
The following weeks will provide you with additional information to help you better answer the final two questions. It would be beneficial to keep these questions in mind as you progress through the program.
Debate
In most weeks, there will be short debates on relevant topics. Your facilitator will pick groups of participants to argue for and against. You will have ~10 mins in breakout rooms in your teams to prepare your arguments before beginning the debate. This week's debate will be for/against the impact an individual can have:
“As an individual, I can make a difference by changing my meat consumption towards alternative proteins.”
Additional Discussion Prompts
What other issues associated with meat eating should we consider? Impact on human health etc. (the EAT-Lancet report in the further resources digs into this).
Do you feel that rearing livestock for food is an issue in general? Or only when it is done intensively on factory farms? Why?
What other strategies can you think of to help tackle the impacts of animal agriculture? (e.g., organic farming, social activism, policy change). How effective do you think these strategies are relative to the development of alternative proteins? How can they be used most effectively in combination?
Why do you think factory farming still exists and continues to grow globally, despite the rising public awareness of the issues? (Money/political power of large agri-companies, government subsidies, consumer demand etc.)
What are your thoughts about alternative protein start-ups partnering with large meat companies? (E.g., through investment, strategic partnerships) Is it necessary to gain traction in this industry? What issues might this present?
Do you agree that consumers will switch to alternative proteins provided they taste the same or better, and cost the same or less? Do you think there are other factors at play that cannot be replicated using cell cultures or plants? (e.g. status signalling, masculinity, culture, religion etc.)
Further Resources
These are not mandatory, but they provide some additional context/information if you would like to find out more:
General
Good Food Institute MOOC Lecture 1: Reimagining the protein supply to feed 10 billion video and slides [Lecture, 30 mins]
Why Meat is the Best Worst Thing in the World - Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell (2018) [Video, 9 mins]
UK National Food Strategy: The Evidence - NFS (2021) [Report]
The EAT-Lancet Commission Summary Report - Eat-Lancet (2019) [Report, 45 mins]
Expanding our moral circle
Should animals, plants, and robots have the same rights as you? - Samuel (2019) [Article, 30 mins]
Radical Empathy - Karnofsky (2017) [Blog Post, 20 mins]
Animal Welfare Globally
Why the future of animal welfare lies beyond the West - Gunther (2021) [Article]
UK Factory Farming Map - Compassion in World Farming [Interactive Map]
Climate Change
Emissions Impossible: How Big Meat and Dairy are Heating Up the Planet - Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy [Report, 30 mins]
Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods - Xu et al. (2021) [Article]
Meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gases from food production, study finds - The Guardian (2021) [Article, 5 mins]
Antibiotic Resistance
The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) - O’Neill (2016) [Report]
How Drug-Resistant Bacteria Travel from the Farm to Your Table - Moyer (2016) [Article, 30 mins]
Zoonotic Disease
We have to wake up: factory farms are breeding grounds for pandemics - Foer & Gross (2020) [Article, 10 mins]
Geographical and Historical Patterns in the Emergences of Novel Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5 and H7 Viruses in Poultry - Dhingra et al. (2018)
Zoonosis emergence linked to agricultural intensification and environmental change - Jones et al. (2013) [Paper, 30 mins]
Arguments for Factory Farming
Note that most of these examine the benefits of factory farming relative to less intensive animal agriculture (rather than compared to alternative proteins). The main arguments against alternative proteins (cost, energy efficiency, and consumer uptake) will be examined in week 6. Consider how important these points are, especially in the newer context of alternative proteins, and how you might challenge them.
13 Factory Farming Pros and Cons - Gaille (2017) [Blog Post]
In defence of cheap chicken - Brian (2008) [Article]
Sure, it might be cruel, but intensive farming saves lives - Rayner (2008) [Article]
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