Plants

Plants are a far more sustainable source of protein than meat, and a cornerstone of any sustainable diet. Only a fraction of the protein livestock eat ends up in the meat we eat. Per 100 g of protein, beef from beef herds uses about 164 m² of land, peas about 3.4 m² and tofu about 2.2 m² (Our World in Data, from Poore & Nemecek 2018). In measured UK diets, vegans’ food has about a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions and land use of high meat-eaters’ (Scarborough et al., 2023).

Crops do still need farmland, often with fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, some of which run off into rivers. They also depend on weather and season. There are already populated places where crops are hard or impossible to grow, which is where other forms of sustainable protein can add to what plants provide.

Farming keeps improving. The Land Institute is developing perennial grain crops, and many farmers and growers are raising yields while cutting their environmental impact.

Plant-based meat

Tofu and tempeh are ancient meat alternatives, bean burgers and veggie burgers took them into fast food, and companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have made plant-based meat a supermarket staple.

Sadly the market has cooled. Beyond Meat’s sales fell through 2025 and it had to restructure its debt (Green Queen). The reasons usually given are price (many products still cost more than the meat they replace), taste and texture that don’t yet match expectations, and worries about processed food. Getting the market growing again will take products that cost the same as or less than meat, that taste at least as good, and clearer information about their health and environmental benefits.

We aren’t working on plant-based meat ourselves, as others are much better placed to, but we very much hope it thrives.