Gradually replacing 20 percent of global beef and lamb consumption with meat-textured proteins also known as ‘Faux Beef’ could cut agriculture-related CO2 emissions and deforestation in half by 2050, a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) reported.
Faux meat derived by culturing microbial or fungi-based cells undergoes a fermentation process, analogous to that for wine or beer. The cells feed off glucose -- from sugar cane or beets, for example -- to produce proteins, which means some cropland is needed for production, but far less than for red meat, according to the study published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.
