3D printed meat, is the future of meat meatless?

Livestock farming contributes significantly to global warming through releases of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 to 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It contributes more to greenhouse gas emissions than the global transportation sector and almost 30% of the planet’s ice-free surface is used for this purpose. It is the top contributor to deforestation, land degradation, water pollution and desertification. On top of this, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has estimated that demand for meat will increase by 70% by 2050.

If these reasons are not enough to rethink our current consumption of meat, there is also the public health and animal welfare impact. Food contamination and antibiotic resistance are just two examples of issues arising from livestock farming. And finally, the conditions animals are raised in pose a serious ethical problem – in a year alone, it’s 56 billion land animals that are raised and slaughtered for food according to the FAO and their living conditions are for the most part extremely poor. Is there a solution to these threats? Can we explore different ways of producing meat for those who wish to consume it?

What is 3D printed meat?

One way to fight these environmental issues is to stop consuming meat, or at least as much as current rates. However, many people are not ready or willing to change their ways for reasons that go beyond the purpose of this article. Even though we have seen a shift in recent years, vegan and vegetarian populations only represent a minority in Western societies, anywhere between 1 and 10% in European countries, between 5 – 7% in the US and 9.5 % in Canada. For cultural reasons, countries such as India count a very large vegetarian population, estimated to represent between 30 and 40% of their total population. Meat substitutes represent an alternative for people who wish to continue eating meat but wouldn’t mind having a product that doesn’t come from an animal. Given this fact, what can we create with the technologies that exist today? Just as they have infiltrated and disrupted almost all sectors, 3D printing technologies can greatly benefit this industry and enable the production of a new meat category. 3D printed plant-based meat will be environmentally friendlier, customisable, more affordable and positive for animal welfare.