V.RMH.0081 - Comparison of the traditional and artificial beef production system

Summary

The plant-based 'alternate meat' industry has grown rapidly over the past several years but cell-cultured beef production at scale is still several years away. The artificial meat industry has its messaging, but industry growth relies heavily on consumer acceptance of its quality, labelling and price. More research is required to validate claims comparing the energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and land and water use between artificial and traditional beef production. The purpose of this study is to better understand the emerging artificial beef industry by characterizing plant-based and cell-cultured beef production processes.

Objectives

1. Specification of the production system architecture (production and processing) for Australian traditional beef production, and two artificial beef production systems (cell culture, plant-based), includes an initial SWOT analysis and literature review for clean/artificial meat production technologies and market positioning claims and forecasts.
2. Quantification of the environmental footprint of the Australian traditional beef production system, and two artificial beef production systems (cell culture and plant-based).

Key findings

From an environmental perspective, a comparison of artificial and traditional Australian beef LCA studies found that traditional Australian beef production can use similar or less energy than artificial beef production but emits more greenhouse gas emissions and uses more land and water. The review found that the size of some of the environmental benefits of artificial beef when compared with traditional beef appears overstated when taken within the Australian context.

Benefits to industry

For the beef industry, cell-cultured and plant-based meat alternatives are two such technologies attracting investment and steep cost reduction curves that could drive disruptive change. Proponents of these artificial meat production technologies aim to produce protein rich foods that look and taste identical to meat without the need for animals along the supply chain. Competitive pricing and consumer acceptance could drive rapid growth in market share for artificial meat.

Beef production, processing and consumption are central to Australian society. Beef production is a key driver of Australia's economy. Despite its importance, the Australian beef industry will not be immune from the trends that are driving the growth of new food technologies such as artificial beef. These global trends continue to strengthen in response to new technology, new markets and a growing focus on sustainability.

At the same time as the traditional livestock industry attempts to increase production, it is also having to respond to shifting consumer expectations regarding environmental, health and ethical issues. Plant-based 'meat' products have seen sustained growth, particularly in the past 2 years (prior to Covid'19). The plant-based meat industry targets consumers with emotive messages regarding the environmental, health and welfare benefits of plant-based foods.

MLA action

MLA will provide an online summary of this research.

Future research

This research project shows there is a clear need to undertake research from a whole-of-system perspective, using consequential LCA (life cycle assessment) and system dynamic modelling techniques, to clearly understand the impacts of a shift towards artificial beef production into the future.