Meat: the Future Time for a Protein Portfolio to Meet Tomorrow’s Demand

The document examines the unsustainability of current global meat production systems and proposes a transition toward a diverse portfolio of protein sources, including plant-based, cultured, and single-cell proteins, to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.

• Global meat production is projected to increase from 263 million tonnes today to 445 million tonnes by 2050, driven by population growth and rising middle-class aspirations for protein.
• The current livestock industry is a major driver of antimicrobial resistance, with approximately half of all global antibiotic production used in livestock, often for growth promotion and disease prevention in healthy animals.
• Livestock production has severe environmental impacts, contributing 14.5% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, with beef cattle alone accounting for 6% of the global total.
• Meat production is a primary cause of deforestation and habitat loss, particularly in Latin America; cattle ranching has historically driven approximately 75% of forest clearing in the Amazon basin.
• The current protein delivery system is inefficient regarding grain use; between 760 million and 1 billion tonnes of the global grain harvest are used as livestock feed, which could otherwise feed between 3.5 and 4 billion people.
• Technological innovations offer sustainable alternatives, such as 'cultured' meat grown from starter cells, which could potentially use only 2% of the land and produce 4% of the GHG emissions of current industrialized cattle herds.
• Alternative livestock feeds are being developed to reduce emissions, including seaweed-based diets that can reduce methane levels in sheep by 50% to 70%.

APA

World Economic Forum (2018). Meat: the Future Time for a Protein Portfolio to Meet Tomorrow’s Demand. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Meat_the_Future_Time_Protein_Portfolio_Meet_Tomorrow_Demand_report_2018.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Meat: the Future Time for a Protein Portfolio to Meet Tomorrow’s Demand. 2018. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Meat_the_Future_Time_Protein_Portfolio_Meet_Tomorrow_Demand_report_2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Meat: the Future Time for a Protein Portfolio to Meet Tomorrow’s Demand |date=January 2018 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Meat_the_Future_Time_Protein_Portfolio_Meet_Tomorrow_Demand_report_2018.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2018meat, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Meat: the Future Time for a Protein Portfolio to Meet Tomorrow’s Demand}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = jan, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Meat_the_Future_Time_Protein_Portfolio_Meet_Tomorrow_Demand_report_2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }