{"id":18319,"date":"2019-10-21T01:16:03","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T01:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=18319"},"modified":"2019-10-23T07:12:33","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T07:12:33","slug":"americans-especially-millennials-are-embracing-plant-based-meat-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/americans-especially-millennials-are-embracing-plant-based-meat-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans, especially millennials, are embracing plant-based meat products"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sheril Kirshenbaum<\/a>, Michigan State University<\/a><\/em> and Douglas Buhler<\/a>, Michigan State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

By 2050, many scientists estimate that the world food supply will have to increase sharply from today\u2019s level<\/a> to meet anticipated demand from a global population of 9 to 10 billion people<\/a>. Meanwhile, the coming decades are expected to bring higher and more variable temperatures, increasingly severe droughts, floods and storms, and conditions that will make achieving food security more complicated<\/a> and uncertain than ever before.<\/p>\n

Emerging biotechnologies are opening new niches in the food landscape that can help feed the world\u2019s burgeoning population with fewer resources in more extreme and unpredictable environments. With debate over the impacts of meat production<\/a> intensifying, we have been tracking U.S. attitudes related to plant-based alternatives through Michigan State University\u2019s Food Literacy and Engagement Poll<\/a>. The results reveal a growing appetite for plant-based meat among consumers, especially millennials and Generation Z.<\/p>\n

A meat-loving nation<\/h2>\n

Many scientists and advocates recommend eating less meat as a way to make modern lifestyles healthier<\/a> and more sustainable<\/a>. Most recently, the widely publicized EAT-Lancet Report<\/a>, produced by an international team<\/a> of health, agriculture and sustainability experts, recommended consuming less than half an ounce of red meat per day.<\/p>\n

Americans are among the world\u2019s top meat consumers. The World Economic Forum estimates<\/a> that in 2016 Americans ate an average of 214 pounds of meat per person. By contrast, Argentinians averaged 190 pounds and Europeans averaged 152.5 pounds per person.<\/p>\n