Checklist: Evaluating Sustainable Meat Alternatives

David Bell
Jun 20
12 min read

Updated: Jun 28

Want to eat meat but care for our Earth too? Here's what to know:

Lab-grown Meat is real meat from animal cells, but no animals are hurt. It can cut gases that heat the Earth by up to 92% and use 90% less land than old-school beef. It's not sold in the UK yet, but it might be soon.
Plant-based Meat needs much less land and water than old methods. You can buy it in many UK stores, and it costs between £3 and £8 each pack.
Fermentation-based Proteins (like Spirulina and Chlorella) are full of good stuff and don't harm the Earth, but they are not easy to find in UK stores.

Things to Think About:

Animal Welfare: Lab-grown meat stops the killing of animals, and plant-based kinds don't use animals at all.
Climate Impact: Old beef makes 35 kg of CO₂ per kg, but lab-grown can drop to 3–14 kg with clean energy.
Use of Stuff: Plant foods need up to 99% less water than beef, and lab-grown needs 66% less water.
Eating Safe: New UK rules make sure lab-grown meat is safe to eat.
Cost & Can You Find It?: Lab-grown meat still costs a lot and isn't sold in the UK yet. Plant options are cheaper and easy to find.

Fast Look:

What We Check	Lab-Grown Meat	Plant-Based Meat	Fermentation-Based Proteins
Harm to Air	Up to 92% fewer bad gases	50% less than old way	Like plant-based
Use of Land	Up to 90% less than cows	Way less than old way	Very little
Use of Water	66% less than cows	Up to 99% less than cows	Small
How good is the Protein	Same as meat	High	Top-notch (PDCAAS ≃1)
Can you get it in the UK	Not yet	Yes, all over	Hard to find
Do people want it	34% might try it	60% might try it	Not many know it

Lab-made meat could be good for us later. But now, food from plants and stuff that comes from fermenting are good too. They help cut harm to our world and are kind choices for what we eat.

What to Look For in Meat Alternatives

When picking meat alternatives, it's key to look at many parts to make sure your choices fit your needs, especially in the UK.

Animal Care and Ethics

Worries about animal care drive many to choose meat alternatives. Usual ways of farming end in about 10 billion land animals dying each year in the USA alone [5]. The UK has the same issues with how animals are kept in farms.

Made meat is an option that makes real meat from animal cells without killing any animals. This starts with a safe cell test that does not hurt much [3]. It’s good to check if the animals live well and in nice places [3].

Some firms are finding ways to "thank" animals they use, like giving them food or other good things [3]. Yet, not all think made meat fixes all bad points. Ronald Sandler, a teacher of thinking at Northeastern University, asks a big question:

"If we think these practices are ethically problematic, why are we trying to approximate the product from these practices rather than just getting away from it?" [4]

Some might try to stop eating meat and not just find other ways to make it.

Now, we need to look at how these new ways hurt the environment.

Climate Impact

Climate change is big in the meat alternative talk. Old ways of raising cows add a lot to air pollution. Making one kilogram of beef might fill the air with the same bad stuff as 100 kilograms of carbon dioxide [6]. All animals raised for food make up 20% of the world's air pollution, and they give off almost 40% of methane in the US [7].

The harm from made meat depends on how it's made. Some ways might make 250–1,000 kg of CO₂-e for each kg of beef, but easier ways might only make 10–75 kg CO₂-e per kg. By 2030, made meat could make between 3 and 14 kg CO₂-e per kg, much less than normal beef [6]. To compare, beef makes 35 kg, chicken makes three kg, and pork makes five kg of CO₂ per kg [6].

The kind of energy used is key too. If made meat uses green energy, it could cut harm by 93% versus old beef, 53% versus pork, and 29% versus chicken [8]. The energy choice matters a lot.

Let's see how these products use earth's gifts.

Resource Use

Using water and land well is key. Old farming uses a lot of both. Plant-based meat, for example, can use up to 99% less water than beef, and made meat uses 66% less water [7]. Also, beef and lamb need 50–100 times more land per food unit than plant-based types [9].

Picking other proteins might free land as big as two times China and India combined [7]. With farming taking 70% of all fresh water and causing a lot of harm to nature, how well resources are used is big in choosing meat alternatives [7].

Some plants, like peas used in plant-based proteins, need less water and land. Look for marks or signs that show these savings when choosing products.

Food Safety and UK Regulations

Food safety is really important with new meat alternatives. In the UK, new foods like made meat must be checked well to make sure they're safe and are marked right. Worries about diseases from dirty, crowded farms make safer options stand out [2].

For made meat, clean places, strict rules for ingredients, and deep checks are how safety is kept. When these goods finally are sold in the UK, they must meet the usual high standards of other foods, with clear marks showing what's inside and how they're made.

Cost and Availability

In the UK, price matters a lot for many buyers. Right now, fake meat costs more than real meat, but this may change as more is made. It's key to think about the good for the earth and what is right when looking at the price.

You can find plant-based food in most UK stores, usually costing between £3 and £8 per pack, based on the type. Lab-grown meat isn't here yet, but it might be pricier when it arrives.

Where you are can change what you can buy. Big cities have more to pick from, but web shops can help those in the countryside. Even just sometimes swapping real meat for fake can help your money and the world a lot.

Grown Meat: Key Points and Upsides

Grown meat is a new way to make real meat from animals with no need to kill them. This method fits well with plans to have a kinder, lasting way to get our food, and deals with big issues of old ways to make meat.

How Grown Meat is Made

The make of grown meat begins with animal cells. These cells go into big tanks, where they get food and air. As time goes on, they turn into muscle, fat, and other tissues. By changing what the cells get and how they sit, they form into kinds of tissues. Once grown, the cells are taken, made into meat, and wrapped. The whole thing is fast, taking about two to eight weeks [1].

This quick way of making meat is not just fast, it also has big pluses for the Earth and is fairer too.

Help for the Earth and Fair Points

Grown meat can cut down what it does to the Earth a lot. When put side by side with old meat making, it can cut gas that warms the Earth by up to 96%, use 45% less power, and need 99% less land. This matters a lot since animals raised for meat add 14.5% to the world's gases that make the planet hot [11].

On the fair side, grown meat ends killing animals, lowers the chance of bad stuff in meat, and cuts out drugs and growth boosts often used in old farms [10]. It also makes better use of what we have to give more food.

As Linus Pardoe from the Good Food Institute Europe says:

"Cultivated meat could play a key role in boosting food security, driving growth and helping us hit our climate targets." [12]

The field is growing fast, with over 175 firms on six lands and more than £2.4 billion put in by 2024 [1]. This rise has led the UK to set up clear rules to keep the market safe and going strong.

UK Rules for Made Meat

In the UK, made meat must clear tough safety tests to be sold. Products face independent safety reviews and need a full okay under the UK’s new foods plan. Both the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) help firms with this step. Right now, the FSA is looking at at least four asks for made meat goods [13].

To make okay times faster, the UK leaders have made a rule sandbox for made meat, with £1.6 million in help. This act aims to cut the usual okay time from 2.5 years to 17 months, the FSA’s set goal [13]. Professor Robin May, Chief Science Guy at the FSA, talks up the need for this plan:

"Ensuring consumers can trust the safety of new foods is one of our most crucial responsibilities. The cell cultivated products sandbox programme will enable safe innovation and allow us to keep pace with new technologies being used by the food industry to ultimately provide consumers with a wider choice of safe foods." [13]

In July 2024, Meatly, a UK firm, was the first in Europe to get the OK for a made chicken item for pet food. This big step shows the rules work well and sets the path for more OKs for human food in the days ahead.

Firms that want to send in forms should work well with the science folk and the FSA to look at key parts like tags and clean rules. The FSA might ask for more tags to keep buyers safe [13][14].

Looking at Other Meat Choices

Let's check out other choices for meat and see what's good and bad about them.

What the Table Shows

This table talks about what's up with lab-grown meat, things made from plants, and stuff made by fermenting, for those who buy food in the UK:

Criteria	Cultivated Meat	Plant-Based	Fermentation-Derived
Climate Impact	Up to 92% less gas from greenhouse than beef [1]	50% less harm to the earth than normal meat [15]	Like plant-based, changes with how it's made
Land Use	Uses up to 90% less land than normal beef [1]	Needs much less land than normal meat [7]	Very little land needed
Water Use	66% less water than normal beef [7]	Up to 99% less water than normal beef [7]	Uses little water
Protein Quality	Same good food value as normal meat [1]	Good food value [16]	Top protein build (PDCAAS ≃1) [16]
UK Availability	Not yet okay for people to eat	Easy to find in stores	Not much in stores yet
Consumer Acceptance	34% of UK people may try it [17]	60% of UK people might try [17]	Not many people know it
Processing Level	Needs some making	From little to a lot of making	Needs some making

This chart shows you a good way to pick what works best for you, based on what you care most about, like being eco-friendly, how it feeds you, or how easy it is to get.

Proteins made through fermentation are good for you. Take Spirulina – it's over 60% protein when dry. Chlorella has about 50-60% protein. These are good picks for those who want all kinds of amino acids.

On the other hand, how things are made affects the planet. For example, making soy patties sends out from 0.06 to 0.19 kg of CO₂ [15]. This shows that how things are made can change how green they are.

This look at different choices takes into account things like how animals are treated, how much we use up, and how safe things are. As Professor Robin May from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) says:

"Our priority is to protect consumer interests by ensuring food is safe and what it says it is through a robust scientific process. We recognise the potential of alternative proteins for improving dietary health and as part of a sustainable food system." [17]

In the UK, when people buy food, they think about what they can get today and what might be good later. Plant-based food helps the earth now, while lab-grown meat may soon taste and feed like old-style meat.

Tips for UK Shoppers

Choosing the right meat swaps means knowing what the labels say and matching what you buy with what you believe in. Here's a way for UK shoppers to get through this new field and make smart picks.

Checking Labels and Certifications

As new meat products show up on UK shelves, knowing your labels will help you choose better. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) may ask for clear labels on these items to show what they are and keep shoppers safe [14]. Look for words like or on boxes.

Also, look for UK official signs that check the make and safe rules of the product. By law, any changed genes must be easy to see on the label [14]. This lets you pick based on your views on gene changes and other points.

Knowing labels is just one part of it - how much it costs and if you can get it matter too in getting these items.

Local Costs and How to Get Them

In the UK, new meat is starting to show up, but only in small places for now. For example, Meatly's "Chick Bites" pet food costs £3.49 for a 50 g pack. Right now, these items cost a lot, but it's thought that making them will cost less - from £30/kg to £5 to £10/kg as they make more [20].

The UK is ready to start using new meat. About one-third of UK shoppers want to try it [19], and with many vegans, veggies, and flexitarians, the area looks good for growth [18]. Fun fact: Professor Andrew Knight from the University of Winchester says that 20% of all meat in pet-heavy countries like the UK is used by pets, not people [21]. So, pet food is a smart first step for new meat items.

As more is made and prices drop, you'll find it easier to buy what matches your beliefs.

Picking Based on Your Beliefs

Let your beliefs lead when looking at meat swaps. If you care most about animal well-being, new meat lets you have real meat with no killing, while plant stuff doesn't use any animal parts. Both cut down on land and water more than old meat, but new meat tastes and feels like the real thing.

If you worry about the earth, both new and plant meat are better than old meat. Fermented proteins are also good for you, though they're hard to find in UK shops now.

For those who like less made-up food, note that some plant items are highly made-up, while new meat is made in clean places. Looking at what's in them can tell you how much they are changed.

Professor Robin May, the FSA’s head science guy, says picking what to buy is key:

"There is lots of potential here for all sorts of benefits in terms of welfare, sustainability, health, and just consumer choice." [18]

The UK government has put £1.6 million into making sure new foods, like lab-grown meat, are safe. This shows they care about giving us safe and new food choices. Still, it will take around 18 months before lab-grown meat gets the green light [22].

For now, foods made from plants or by fermentation are great choices too. They match many good values. Keep an eye on how things with lab-grown meat move forward, and be open to trying them when they're ready.

Wrap-Up

This list shows key points to think about when picking between normal meat, plant stuff, or lab-grown meat. It's all about choosing smart, fitting what you care about, and picking food that's good for the earth and animals.

Lab-grown meat, if it runs on clean power, could cut down gas that warms the air by up to 92% and use less land by up to 90%. With over 175 firms and £2.5 billion pushed into this area, things are speeding up [1]. The UK is seeing good steps forward, making buyers more sure. As stated by Claire Bomkamp from the Good Food Institute, lab-grown meat is “the same as normal meat” just made without the animal [23].

If your main goals are looking out for animals, cutting your own part in air changes, or just wanting more types of food, there’s a straight way to go. The Cultivarian Society sees a future where meat comes without killing animals, fixing bad things about how we get food and still tasting great.

As Inger Andersen wisely states:

"New food alternatives will offer a broader spectrum of consumer choices and lessen pressures on agricultural lands and emissions" [24].

The picks you take now shape what we eat later. With this thought, you're set to make calls that show what you stand for and hope for.

FAQs

What should I think about with health and food when I pick meat alternatives that help the Earth?

When picking meat in other ways with an eye on helping the Earth, it's good to look at what they have in terms of food value and health perks. Take grown meat, for one - it can be made to have just the right mix of protein and fat, giving a balanced and made-to-fit source of key food bits.

A big plus is that it can avoid a lot of the bad stuff often found in old-style meat, like drugs or harmful bugs. Also, the fat part can be changed to add better fat types, which may help with good overall health. These points make grown meat a good choice for those who think about both food value and health in what they eat.