No doubt some of you have already seen the news that Bill Gates is advocating plant-based “meat” alternatives as a solution to the environmental drain on resources by the global production of animal products. If you haven’t seen it, you can see the snazzy slideshow here. On GatesNotes.com, the Future of Food is pitched in these terms:
“Meat consumption worldwide has doubled in the last 20 years, and it is expected to double again by 2050. This is happening in large part because economies are growing and people can afford more meat. That’s all good news. But raising meat takes a great deal of land and water and has a substantial environmental impact. Put simply, there’s no way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people. Yet we can’t ask everyone to become vegetarians. We need more options for producing meat without depleting our resources.
Over the past few years I’ve come across a few companies that are doing pioneering work on innovations that give a glimpse into possible solutions. To be sure, it’s still very early, but the work these companies are doing makes me optimistic. I wanted to share with you a look at their work on creating alternatives to meat and eggs that are just as healthful, are produced more sustainably, and taste great.
Read on to learn how their work can benefit everyone.” SOURCE
On the surface, this all sounds pretty great — or at least not bad. Economies are growing. People are making more money and can afford more “meat.” “Meat” consumption is skyrocketing, which is not sustainable. But not to worry — there’s a technological fix for the problem. There are corporations working to find innovative solutions to animal-derived food products so that all 9 billion people on the planet can eat “meat” if they choose to. Afterall, “we can’t ask everyone to become vegetarians!” The approach here is appealing in part because it’s pragmatic. Gates is acknowledging the problem that vegans have long been aware of — that animal products are wholly unsustainable. And he’s offering what appears to be a ‘rational’ solution (make more sustainable “meat” out of plants)!
Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that Gates may be hopping on the plant-based bandwagon. The more the merrier and the better for the animals who are not raised, slaughtered and eaten because of it. However, I think we should think carefully and critically about what this kind of move entails. I’m just going to share a few of my thoughts on the matter and I would love to hear your perspectives on this initiative in the comments below! There is so much more to say about this and I can already tell I’m not even going to scratch the surface.
The Techno-Fix
Gates states, “The meat market is ripe for reinvention.” He shares with us that, in addition to companies developing “meat” and egg replacements, spices are being reinvented to taste salty, but with very low sodium. These technological developments are supposedly going to be better for everyone — they are supposedly healthier, they are supposedly better for the environment, and they will supposedly get plant-based protein sources to people living in poverty around the globe. It’s the “people around the world are starving and this one technology could feed the world!” discourse. Sound familiar? It’s been used again and again. And connected specifically to Gates, this is the language that has been used to justify the production, promotion and distribution of genetically modified (GM) seeds (a topic for other posts). And while these technologies may be taken up uncritically by the corporate philanthropy industry, they have been rejected by local communities around the globe.
I think at the heart of this problem of the techno-fix is the way the accumulation of capital is tied up in discourses of philanthropy, which is a classic problem of the uncritical adoption of development projects around the world. It makes it more difficult to argue with a company like Monsanto when they are promoting powerful discourses of “feeding the world” and “ending world hunger,” no matter how different the reality might be. These complex techno-fixes (e.g., GM seeds) intentionally obscure simpler solutions in order to protect the interests of those who gain (billions $!) from the production of patented commodities.
The Vegan Avoidance
Another thing that bothers me about the discourse in the Future of Food slideshow is the upfront assumption that “we can’t ask everyone to be vegetarian.” Gates is taking this classically pragmatic approach that says, “listen, guys, obviously, it’s irrational to expect anyone to be vegetarian, so let’s find another solution.” The implicit assumption is that vegans (and those who advocate widespread veganism) are irrational and/or unpragmatic. But isn’t it a bit irrational to be so attached to the taste of “meat” that you’re willing to go to great lengths and expense to develop fake “meat” products when there are simpler and tasty plant-based whole foods.
To be honest, I’m not really sure what Gates is trying to say about vegetarianism. He is advocating the production of plant-based “meat” products, but he is also saying that we can’t expect the world to be vegetarian. But, if he got his way and these plant-based “meats” were adopted worldwide, wouldn’t that be making the world vegetarian (or at least heading in that direction)? Or is he advocating adoption of plant-based “meats” for those living in poverty around the world and those who can afford the “real thing” can continue to buy “meat” with a clear conscience now that we’ve taken care of those who are newly able to afford “meat”? Does he envision these “meats” replacing animal proteins entirely, or just supplementing animal proteins so that the global elite can avoid being inconvenienced by the impending ecological crisis caused by their consumption practices?
Even in spite of my questions about this initiative, I will be interested to see how it develops and how Gates’ involvement evolves (e.g., will the Gates Foundation take this project on or will this be more of a personal project?). It certainly is a powerful statement for Gates to advocate plant-based eating!
Thoughts? I’d love to hear your ideas/reactions to this on both ends of the spectrum! Happy Friday, by the way!
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Katie,
Thank you for sharing this post with us. I am impressed that Mr. Gates is exploring the alternatives to our meat production/consumption and its lack of sustainability. The potential solutions to many of our major issues, including hunger and climate change, are so complex and clearly still evolving; I think we need many ideas and Gates is trying to find his own way to intervene. I do share the concerns that you have, and my guess is that Gates himself is still evolving in his own thinking.
One of the things I enjoy and respect about your blog is that you are willing to examine what lies beneath the surface of what we say and do. This blog is a great example of critical thinking; how can we make informed decisions if we do not look closely at our own and other’s ideas and assumptions? The more ideas that get expressed the better we will be able to find solutions. Thanks again, Katie, I am happy to know that someone as powerful and intelligent as Bill Gates has this on his radar!
Thanks for such a lovely comment! That is a really important reminder that Gates is evolving in his thinking. Sometimes, with these public figures, I think we can expect them to have it all figured out. I just hope he continues on this path!
I think the more ‘meat-replacers’ the better – i recently read an article on the BBCUK that went a completely different way for tackling the impending “meat crisis” by actually growing cow muscle tissue in a lab… apparently there was some problem with the way it tasted due to a lack of fat content. Now they are working on growing fat! It seemed like they were addressing the ethics of eating lab grown meat as being ‘vegetarian friendly’.
There was some (so-called) grey area with the fact that they were essentially taking grafts from live animals… still using animals for consumption at the base but not killing them, just cutting them up a little every so often.
I’d much rather someone like Bill Gates dump a boatload of money into developing plant-blased alternatives regardless of what his intentions or politics are about it than get into some sort of Dr. Who scenario where lab techs are harvesting chunks of meat from a live animal. That’s just me though
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17113214
Found the article!
Lucy — You just gave me shivers thinking about that Doctor Who episode. That was so awful. I defintely agree that plant-based “meat” alternatives are a better alternative to grafting cells/tissue from live animals. But I also wonder about the healthfulness and practicality of advocating a processed, plant-based food over whole plant foods… Especially when we’re talking about poverty alleviation. Where are people living in poor, rural places around the world going to acquire these plant-based “meat” products and how much are they going to cost? Lots of questions! Thanks for posting the link the BBC article. Very interesting and disturbing stuff.
After I viewed the snazzy slideshow I was left with a feeling of, “so what now?”. Was this just an infomercial for Beyond Meat and Beyond Eggs? Are the Gates going to start a new initiative related to plant based meat alternatives? What was the point of the slideshow? I’m confused.
As for the sustance of the slideshow I am with you. I think it is great, on the surface, but I also am skeptical. Right off the bat I took issue with the statement about how absurd it would be to ask everyone to be vegetarian. I consider myself to be of average intelligence and I’ve made that decision based upon learning facts about where my food comes from. Why is it ridiculous to assume other people would make the same choice?
I appreciate your review and insight. You are a really good writer!
Great points, Holly! It did seem slightly odd how the slideshow seemed to be advertising these specific companies. I’ll be really interested to see if the Foundation takes this up as a project they’re working on.
Thanks for the great comment and I’m looking forward to talking about this more with you over some plant-based dumplings sometime soon! 🙂
We don’t need to ask people to become vegetarians. All that needs to happen is that the government needs to stop issuing subsidies for cattle and dairy so that the REAL price of meat production will take place which will decrease the amount of consumption. A REAL price of a steak should be more like $40-$50 which will make it so that meat eating will be done more as a side note rather than a 3 meal a day event. I hate it that my salad can cost as much as a steak in many places only because the government pays the farmers in order to keep meat prices low:-(
Excellent point, Beckie! Thanks for pointing out the issues of subsidies and the true cost of animal products. A great reminder of the ways in which new government policies could make a difference depending on who and what is subsidized. Thanks for commenting!