Meat: The Next Agricultural Revolution

In Meat: The Next Global Agricultural Revolution, Bruce Friedrich confronts an undeniable truth: human beings love meat. The world now consumes more than 360 million metric tons of meat annually, and that number will be up at least 50 percent through 2050. We are not going to decrease the world’s demand for meat, but we can improve the way that meat is made. Meat examines the outdated, 12,000-year-old practice of cycling crops through animals to make meat - which has devastating impacts on climate, biodiversity, global hunger, and health crises like antimicrobial resistance and pandemic risk; it’s time for the next agricultural revolution. And here’s the good news: The inefficiency that causes meat production to contribute to hunger and environmental harms has a flip side: A massive economic and food security opportunity for the countries and corporations that lead the transition to a more efficient way of producing the meat that consumers love. Achieving this will require scientific breakthroughs and scaling, akin to advancements related to electric vehicles, drug development, and advanced chips for AI. This is a market-based solution that benefits everyone: consumers keep enjoying meat, farmers gain new opportunities to grow a more diverse variety of crops for human consumption, and countries the world over move toward greater food and water security. With rigorous research and deeply held optimism, Meat: The Next Global Agricultural Revolution envisions a future where meat is both a delight and a force for good. It demonstrates how science, policy, and industry can work together to meet soaring global demand while building a healthier, more sustainable world.