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How the Meat and Dairy Sector Resists Competition From Alternative Animal Products
The summertime barbecue – an American tradition synonymous with celebrating freedom – may be tainted by a decidedly unfree market. A new Stanford study reveals how meat and dairy industry lobbying has influenced government regulations and funding to stifle competition from alternative meat products with smaller climate and environmental impacts. The analysis, published Aug. 18 in One Earth, compares innovations and policies related to plant-based meat alternatives and lab-grown meat in the U.S. and European Union. Its findings could help ensure legislation, such as the $428 billion U.S. Farm Bill set to expire Sept. 30, levels the food industry playing field.
"The lack of policies focused on reducing our reliance on animal-derived products and the lack of sufficient support to alternative technologies to make them competitive are symptomatic of a system still resisting fundamental changes," said study lead author Simona Vallone, an Earth system science research associate in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability [stanford.edu] at the time of the research.
[...] The researchers reviewed major agricultural policies from 2014 to 2020 that supported either the animal food product system or alternative technologies, and compared government spending on both systems. They also looked at related lobbying trends.
They found that governments consistently devoted most of their agricultural funding to livestock and feed production systems, avoided highlighting food production sustainability dimensions in nutrition guidelines, and attempted to introduce regulatory hurdles, such as narrow labeling standards, to the commercialization of meat alternatives. Major U.S. meat and dairy companies actively lobbied against environmental issues and regulations to tip the scales in their favor.
[...] To ensure a fair marketplace for alternative meat products, policymakers should craft legislation that ensures meat's price reflects its environmental costs, increases research on alternative meat and dairy products, and informs consumers on alternatives to meat via dietary guidelines, according to the researchers.
"It's clear that powerful vested interests have exerted political influence to maintain the animal-farming system status quo," said study senior author Eric Lambin [stanford.edu], the George and Setsuko Ishiyama Provostial Professor at Stanford and senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment [stanford.edu]. "A significant policy shift is required to reduce the food system impact on climate, land use, and biodiversity."
The press release comes with a 2-minute video [youtube.com] for those who prefer the spoken word.
