Reducing the amount of meat in our diet would have major environmental benefits including
reducing greenhouse gas emissions pollution deforestation and biodiversity loss. Moreover
it would have wide-ranging ethical benefits by decreasing the huge number of livestock animals
confined and killed each year for food. For consumers there may also be health benefits from a
meat-less diet provided it was carefully planned. Advances in modern science and technology
including plant-based microbial lab-grown and insect meats are revolutionizing the food
industry and making it easier for consumers worldwide to maintain a meat-less diet.In Meat
Less: The Next Food Revolution I outline my own journey as a food scientist who became a
vegetarian in solidarity with my daughter. In writing this book I take the viewpoint that there
are no easy answers and that everyone must make the decision to eat meat or not based on their
own values. The first chapters examine the impact of meat consumption on the environment human
health and animal welfare including the important questions of how much does eating meat
really contribute to greenhouse gas emissions pollution and biodiversity loss what are the
ethical implications of raising and killing animals for food and the impact of reducing meat
consumption on human nutrition and health. I then discuss some of the new technologies that are
being developed to create alternatives to meat including plant-based meat cultured
(lab-grown) meat microbial meat and insect meat. I present the science behind these new
technologies and their potential for making a difference to climate change and human health. In
the final chapter I discuss why I remain a vegetarian and have decided to dedicate the rest of
my scientific career to finding sustainable and healthy alternatives to meat presenting my
vision of the human diet in 2050.
