13 March, 2025

This briefing is based on a webinar discussion with Lydia Collas (Green Alliance), Prof Tom MacMillan (Royal Agricultural University) and Stuart Roberts (livestock farmer and formerly vice president of the NFU), given to the AFN Network+ on the 11th September 2024.

It is written and collated by Nina Pullman, food system writer for AFN Network+, and edited by Jez Fredenburgh, knowledge exchange fellow for AFN Network+. The transcript has been lightly edited to paraphrase in parts. You can also watch the webinar.

More about the topic

Livestock production and alternative proteins are likely to sit side-by-side in the coming years, with alternative products taking greater market share than currently. But what might this mean for farmers? And how can we move the conversation forward productively and without negative polarisation in a way that benefits all?

Prof Tom MacMillan and colleagues from the Royal Agricultural University argue that we should be exploring this question around cultured meat (one type of alt. protein) more seriously, and that involving farmers as the industry develops could benefit everyone. In his recent report, he and colleagues argue that cultured meat may even present new income opportunities for some farmers, give ‘real meat’ a marketing edge, and that using agricultural by-products could make cultured meat cheaper and more sustainable.

Lydia Collas and colleagues at Green Alliance have mapped out how a ‘land dividend’, created by shifting towards more alternative proteins, could enable European farmers to sequester more carbon for the carbon market, create more space for nature, contribute towards greater national self-sufficiency, and expand agro-ecological farming. Read the Green Alliance report, and country profiles.

The briefing explores both reports and pushes the conversation beyond the often polarised debate around this topic.

Further reading on meat consumption trends and alternative proteins