In a report published this morning (September 6), British think-tank, Social Market Foundation, has urged supporting the development and sale of alternative meat products as a way to address climate change.

Politically, it said, encouraging the consumption of alternative proteins that do not come from animals would be easier than taxing traditional meats.

It suggests that the UK government could recoup a wide array of benefits by supporting alternative proteins, including opening up a green export opportunity for British businesses, reducing the risk of zoonotic diseases, and improving animal welfare. The report points to government strategic and financial support for other markets associated with the net zero transition and said, alternative proteins deserved similar attention. The UK has committed £90 million to support new alternative protein research, but the Social Market Foundation said that figure should rise to avoid Britain being left behind in a "global race to develop alternatives to meat".

Last year, Singapore became the first country to give approval for the sale of lab-grown chicken meat.

Animal agriculture accounts for 14.5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The official Committee on Climate Change has said the amount of meat consumed in the UK needs to be reduced by more than a third by 2050.

The Social Market Foundation report indicated that meat consumption in the UK is not falling quickly - it consumes just 6% less meat per capita in the home than in 1974.

In the UK, the political conversation has, so far, focused on the prospect of taxing people into reducing meat consumption. But, politically, there is reluctance to do so.

Consumer choice

The report says: “The rapid expansion of the alternative protein market offers a way to reduce meat consumption through consumer choice."

The paper’s author, Linus Pardoe, Social Market Foundation research associate, said:

“A greener world will mean eating less meat, but politicians cannot expect consumers to easily stomach a tax which raises the price of meat.
Early skirmishes suggest a so-called ‘meat tax’ could descend into an unconstructive cultural debate.
“A better solution would be to help consumers transition to more sustainable dietary habits by expanding the range of alternative protein products on the market. "We can only expect consumers to switch from eating meat if product offerings are high-quality, affordable and easily accessible."