Meat: The Future

The report argues that the current global protein system cannot scale to meet the projected doubling of meat demand by 2050 while remaining sustainable. It identifies three interconnected pathways for change: accelerating alternative proteins, advancing current production systems, and driving consumer behavior change. To achieve this, the document outlines four key strategies: highlighting multi-dimensional societal benefits, pursuing cost parity through policy and investment, using evidence-based narratives to manage the cultural transition, and creating regional innovation ecosystems.

• Current global livestock systems are incompatible with climate and environmental targets, with total emissions representing 14.5% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and acting as the primary driver of deforestation.
• Alternative proteins can provide significant public health benefits; replacing one daily portion of beef with alternatives like beans or nuts could reduce diet-related mortality in high- and upper-middle-income countries by up to 5%.
• Cost parity is a major barrier to the adoption of alternative proteins, as current prices for these options are not competitive with beef and pork, which occupy the lowest pricing bands.
• Technological interventions in current livestock production can reduce environmental impacts, such as a novel feed compound that reduces enteric methane in cows by at least 30%.
• In developing economies, livestock is critical for livelihoods, and solutions must be tailored to avoid harm; for example, converting cassava peel into feed in Kenya could produce 5 million tonnes of high-quality feed annually.
• The transition to sustainable protein requires a 'Transition Decade' (2020–2030) using narratives to address the cultural and emotional nature of food, as market and policy solutions alone may be insufficient.

APA

World Economic Forum (2019). Meat: The Future. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_White_Paper_Roadmap_Protein.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Meat: The Future. 2019. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_White_Paper_Roadmap_Protein.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Meat: The Future |date=January 2019 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_White_Paper_Roadmap_Protein.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2019meat, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Meat: The Future}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_White_Paper_Roadmap_Protein.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }