Volts Can fake meat help solve climate change?
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Feb 18, 2026 
Bruce Friedrich, founder of the Good Food Institute and author on the future of meat, explains why plant-based and cultivated alternatives matter. He discusses meat’s huge environmental and health costs. He maps the tech and policy landscape, the science behind cultivated meat, market dynamics, and practical steps to scale better meat alternatives.
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Demand Won't Drop; Technology Must Step In
- Meat consumption rises with economic development and population, making demand-reduction campaigns historically ineffective at large scale.
- Therefore scalable technological substitutes (plant-based and cultivated meat) offer a market-based path like renewables did for energy.
Governments Should Invest Strategically
- Governments should fund R&D, infrastructure, and manufacturing for alternative proteins to reach taste and price parity.
- Treat alternative proteins like strategic industries (chips, biopharma) to spur an S-curve of adoption.
Public Science Momentum Despite Market Lull
- The sector sits in a 'trough of disillusionment' with private investment down, yet public R&D, papers, and scientists working on it are increasing each year.
- This suggests strong public-sector momentum despite private-market headwinds.
