Session 6
Social Implications and Career Opportunities
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When discussing the science behind alternative proteins, we sometimes lose sight of the significant cultural role that food plays in people’s lives. Is it more than just a case of “if we build it, they will come”? Other than flavour and cost, what other factors will play a role in consumer uptake of alternative proteins? Where might alternative proteins sit within religious or other cultural dietary practices?
Conventional meat production also has a huge impact on the lives of the millions of people that work in the industry. It is therefore necessary to consider the effect a change towards alternative proteins would have on the lives of these people. Would the alternative protein sector be able to support the same workforce as factory farming? What new skills might be needed and how could this transition be handled in a way that benefits the most people across all demographics?
The aim of this session is to get you thinking beyond the technological practicalities of alternative proteins and to consider the broader societal impact of meat. You will examine the socio-political and regulatory hurdles involved, as well as consider the parallels with another major food technology, GMOs, and the lessons we can learn from that industry.
Based on these insights, we encourage you to critically assess your fit in the alternative protein industry. What are the most exciting and impactful opportunities for you in the alternative protein space? Could you join an existing start-up, or even found your own? Would you direct your research towards this field, or might you want to work in alternative protein policy and regulation? The career resources outline some examples of people who have gone and done just that, as well as providing opportunities for you to do the same. Fortunately, the alternative protein industry is still incredibly nascent, and so there is enormous potential to make a huge impact however you see fit.
The reading for this week will be less structured than in previous weeks, and we will not have a discussion session. Instead, we ask you to tailor your reading around your individual interests and submit a short essay (max. 600 words) to your facilitator by the end of the week. The first half of the essay should debate the following statement:
“Ultimately, looking to biotechnology to solve ethical crises is fraught with danger and should be avoided.”
To answer this, go through the writing prompts and consider how different perspectives influence your stance on widespread adoption of alternative proteins.
The second half of the essay should focus on potential pathways for you into the alternative protein industry. You are welcome to explore the resources that most interest you, and have a think about your future career options. We will all come together one last time for a careers fair with talks from industry representatives.
Core Material
We expect that you will need ~1 hr and 10 min to go through these resources.
Career Pathways - Alt Protein Project Training
GFI (2020) - Video (55min)
Bringing cultured meat to market: Technical, socio-political, and regulatory challenges in cellular agriculture - Stephens et al. (2018) - Paper (20 min)
Social and Economic Opportunities and Challenges of Plant-Based and Cultured Meat for Rural Producers in the US
Newton et al. (2021) - Paper (30 min)
Cell-cultured meat: Lessons from GMO adoption and resistance
Mohorčich & Reese (2019) - Paper (40 min)
Writing prompts
General
Cultivated meat is only likely to enter the market in a substantial way a number of years after other alternative protein technologies do. To what extent do you think this will help public perception as they are accustomed to other novel foods entering the market?
Who do you anticipate being the winners and losers of the emerging alternative protein sector?
Envisage a future where cultivated meat is widespread:
Who will be producing the cultured meat? Farmers, agribusinesses, bioscientists, others?
Who is already enabled to adopt, and potentially profit from, this technology?
Where will production take place? Global North/South? On farms/in factories?
What are the associated social, political, environmental and ethical implications of these developments?
To what extent do you see uptake of alternative proteins causing a reduction in animal farming (substitution effect) vs adding to the total meat consumption as the demand for meat overpasses the supply from animal-farmed meat (addition effect)? How could we avoid an addition effect?
It is clear that the current set of cultured meat groups are motivated by altruistic, social and environmental goals and work to develop innovative approaches that maximise potential benefit. However, there is no guarantee that these motivations will be shared and pursued by future cultured meat producers. Do you think that the benefits are necessarily inherently embedded within the technology, or could it misfire in the wrong hands?
Of the opportunities listed for rural producers (below), which seem the most likely to materialise? Which seem the most profitable if they do?
Growing Ingredients for Plant-Based Meat
Growing Feedstock for Cultured Meat
Genetic Material for Cultured Meat
Bioreactors on Farms
Transition Into New Sectors
Regenerative Agriculture and High-Animal Welfare Farming
Jobs in Production Facilities
How do you assess the roles and relative importance of Government Agencies, Universities and NGOs in this potential alternative protein transition?
Comparison of Cultivated Meat to GMOs
GMOs are a novel food technology whose adoption has very publicly faced widespread resistance. Can you think of any other novel food technologies whose uptake has faced public resistance, as well as any that have not? Are there any distinguishing features between these two groups?
To what extent do you think that the current position of the cultivated meat industry is similar to GMOs in the 1980s and where do you think this analogy is less accurate?
Resistance to GMOs is not universal and varies between geographical regions. To what extent do you think acceptance/resistance to cultivated meat might follow a similar geographical pattern?
In what ways do you think cultivated meat companies can learn from the mistakes of GMOs and avoid those levels of public resistance?
Further Resources
General
Culture, meat, and cultured meat - Bryant (2020)
Raising the steaks: developing a market for alternative protein in the UK - Social Market Foundation (2021) [Briefing Paper]
FOOD 2030 Pathways for Action: Alternative Proteins and Dietary Shift - European Commission (2020)
What if all our meat were grown in a lab? - European Parliament (2018)
Consumer Acceptance
Consumer acceptance of cultured meat: A systematic review - Bryant & Barnett (2020) [Paper, 45 mins]
The Red to Green Podcast - Season 3: Promoting Alternative Proteins (2021)
The effect of information content on acceptance of cultured meat in a tasting context - Rolland et al. (2020)
Regulations
Alternative proteins and EU food law Lähteenmäki-Uutela et al. (2021) [Paper]
Food Made with Cultured Animal Cells - FDA (2020)
The Regulatory Environment of Plant-Based and Cultured Meat - Seehafer & Bartels (2019)
Cultured Meat: How to Regulate Alternatives to Farmed Meat - How to Regulate? (2020)
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