Cleaning our hands of dirty factory farming: The future of meat production is almost here

Nowadays, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a trendy cafe or restaurant that offers mushroom risotto as its sole vegan option. Veganism appeals to a generation of health and ethically conscious millennials, particularly in an era where self-identity is often expressed via and (more importantly influenced by) social media. Celebrities, body builders, social media influencers and animal activists alike have all helped move plant-based diets beyond a health fad and into the mainstream.

As someone who has tried to go vegan, then vegetarian, then flexitarian, then ‘meatless Mondays’, the potential for an ethical, sustainable, eco-friendly meat alternative seems like the only way.

However, I could never go vegan. Meat is still too cheap, convenient and delicious for me to completely give up, despite the countless documentaries I’ve watched and articles I’ve read exposing the inhumane, wasteful and environmentally unsustainable industry of modern day factory farming and animal agriculture. And I am not alone – global meat production has increased by 15% in the last ten years in response to both the growing world population and increased consumption of meat per capita, and there are no signs of this demand for meat waning.

It is clear that the current ways of producing meat and dairy products are unsustainable and inefficient. Twenty-six percent of Earth’s habitable land is already used for livestock grazing, and a third of croplands are used