The State of the Environment Report calls for more plant based food innovation - does that mean more ultra-processed burgers?
The latest State of the Environment (SoE) report was a totally depressing read was it not?
Our biodiversity is declining, and the number of threatened species is increasing. Competition for land and its resources is growing. Native vegetation is still being cleared, invasive species are increasing, and climate change is compounding the effects of these pressures.
Growing profits from agriculture, forestry and mining are driving up land clearing rates that result in deforestation and loss of native vegetation.
Within the agriculture sector, industrial livestock farms contribute more than their fare share to national deforestation and land clearing.
Research from the Wilderness Society in 2019 on land clearing in NSW and QLD is insightful. This Guardian article, documents the Society’s use of spatial data analysis over the Great Barrier Reef catchment area to track purposes of land-clearing. They discovered that 94% of land cleared in the area over a five-year period was attributable to the beef industry.
Land clearing not only effects biodiversity; cutting down trees also affects water availability. According to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, 75% of the world’s accessible fresh water arises from forested watersheds. Other impacts of industrial animal agriculture include climate change ( cows burp out huge levels of methane speeding up climate change), high pollution and water use to name a few.
Plant-based food innovation
Echoing the IPCC report released in April this year, the SoE report calls for plant-based food innovation to address land pressures created by our unsustainable food system. The SoE authors recognise that whilst the animal agricultural sector may innovate to reduce harm, such as by reducing emissions from cows, or improving water efficiency - “this is just part of the solution – alternative human diet choices such as plant-based protein may be driven more by environmental impact concerns than for health reasons. Innovative new protein sources may increasingly be a pathway to improved environmental outcomes by reducing the pressure on production landscapes”.
Should we all panic?
The notion of ‘alternative proteins’ and ‘food innovation’ often leads to a collective panic - what about those ultra processed meat alternatives????? Is that where we are headed?
Let’s be clear - Innovation in plant-based proteins does not necessarily equate to ultra processed food. Innovators like Paul W Thomas, (Honorary Professor Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling), provide some insight into potential innovations - “instead of having farming and forestry in direct conflict, we could develop a system that allows food production and forest on the same parcel of land.”
His research (documented here) explores opportunities to develop mushroom farms in forest settings - working with blue milk caps that that grow in partnership with trees, in a mutually beneficial arrangement. High in dietary fibre, protein and essential fatty acids, this edible mushroom is easy to identify safely and may also kill cancer cells.
Thomas explains the land use and environmental benefits of adding in mushrooms farmed in this way into our diet (in place of animal protein): “The agriculture on cleared forested land is dominated by pastoral beef production where around 4.76-6.99kg of protein per hectare per year is produced. But, if this system was replaced with planting trees hosting the milk cap fungus, the same parcel of land could produce 7.31kg of protein every year. The mushrooms can be consumed fresh, processed or the protein content can be extracted to produce other food items. This would lead to more food production, with all the benefits forests bring and without the environmental burdens of intensive farming such as fertiliser, water use or the growing of additional feed”.
“Beef farming contributes to climate change by emitting greenhouse gases, but as these fungus-inoculated trees grow, they draw down carbon from the atmosphere, helping in our fight against the climate crisis. So, as well as producing more food, the process can also enhance biodiversity, aid conservation, act as a carbon sink for greenhouses gases and help stimulate economic development in rural areas.“
What about existing whole-food plant based proteins?
Whilst we all love innovation - let’s not forget the humble plant based proteins already on the market - lentils, chickpeas, quinoa, nuts, beans, buckwheat, tofu, tempeh and so on. Switching some of your meals to plant based proteins we already know how to grow can drastically change land use and the environmental impact of agriculture.
According to data from 2021 (see: https://ourworldindata.org/land-use-diets), only 48% of the cereals grown in the world are eaten by humans, with 41% eaten by farmed animals and 11% used as biofuel.
Crops actually need MUCH less land, water and other resources than animals. According to Our World in Data, if we all switched to a plant based diet we'd use 75% less land to grow the same amount of protein.
Perhaps we should look towards these old proteins to address some of Australia’s land use and other environmental concerns. We could apply some of our innovative thinking and budgets to reducing fertiliser and pesticide use, improving soil health, and developing innovative alternatives to intensive monocultures towards more sustainable veg, grain and legume growing practices.
what can we do to support innovation and better environmental outcomes?
Consider:
Increasing plant-based proteins in your diet
Supporting innovation in plant-based proteins with your pocket and your voice.
Trying new plant-based proteins and cheeses already on the market - see here for some examples of minimally processed options.
Coming to our events and learn to make plant-based cheeses and other dishess.
Reducing the quantity of meat you are eating - or removing it from your diet all together
Not eating meat that’s been intensively farmed.
Supporting farms that use regenerative soil management practices.
Choosing meat produced to higher welfare standards. This includes local, grass-fed and higher welfare meat like organic.
Come and volunteer with Veg Action or come to our events.
The environment will thank you for it (and your belly too).
Join us in creating positive change in our food system.
Get in touch with Veg Action by email: veg@mrsg.org.au or check out our socials for more info