This paper offers a global review of the environmental, economic, social, health and ethical impacts of meat consumption, including trends in consumption over the past few decades. It also explores how the sector can become more sustainable by changing both production and consumption practices.

This report by IPES-Food (the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems) scrutinises eight key claims about the future of protein (including livestock and alternative proteins), identifies five ways in which these claims result in oversimplified discussions, and sets out three recommendations to reframe discussions and reduce polarisation.

A new initiative, Good Dog Food, has been launched to develop “healthy, ethical, and sustainable” lab-grown pet food. The initiative is a joint venture between Scottish biotechnology business Roslin Technologies and venture capital firm Agronomics.

UK NGO Eating Better reports that the UK’s four biggest supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons) are using promotions such as multi-buy or price reduction to encourage meat sales. The report argues that this contradicts the climate commitments made by supermarkets.

This paper reviews the evidence on interventions that can increase or decrease consumption of animal-source foods. It finds that providing information on the environmental impacts of meat can reduce consumption, as can - to a more limited extent - providing information on health and animal welfare impacts, emphasising social norms such as trends towards plant-based eating, and reducing meat portion sizes.

This report from the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy looks at the emissions of the 20 largest meat and dairy companies based in Europe. These 20 companies combined are responsible for emissions equivalent to 131% of total emissions produced by the Netherlands, according to the report’s estimates. Only four of the companies report their total supply chain emissions, and only three plan to reduce their total supply chain emissions, although 10 have announced climate targets. 

This video from German animation studio Kurzgesagt takes a balanced look at the debates around the environmental impacts of meat. It draws on some TABLE resources including Grazed and Confused (our report on the question of soil carbon sequestration by grazing livestock) and our explainer Soy: food, feed, and land use change. Kurzegesagt’s video We lied to you… and we’ll do it again is also worth a watch for an overview of how they balance simplification and accuracy when communicating complex topics.

This report from Greenpeace Denmark identifies seven “myths” used in marketing materials from large meat companies. It assesses the imagery commonly used with each of the seven narratives using examples of real adverts, and argues that meat advertising should be regulated more closely.

This study, published by the Wellcome Trust-funded Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP) programme at Oxford, finds that average meat consumption per person in the UK has fallen from 103.7 g per day in 2008 to 86.3 g per day in 2019 (a 17% decrease). This encompasses a decrease in red meat consumption (13.7 g/day), a decrease in processed meat consumption (7.0 g/day) and an increase in white meat consumption (3.2 g/day).