Protein Without Livestock: The Future of Food

image: Harsini, Mishra & McCord. Design updated for clarity by VeganEasy

As concerns grow over a rapidly changing climate, global health, and food sustainability, it is increasingly evident that animal agriculture cannot realistically be part of a better future for all.

A recent article published in The Biochemist makes a compelling case for rethinking the role of animal agriculture in our global food system. Rather than focusing on technological fixes or marginal improvements to existing systems, the authors – Dr. Faraz Harsini, Dr. Vandana Mishra and Dr. Jon McCord – take a broader view, examining ethics, public health, environmental risk, and scalability. They explain:

This analysis is particularly relevant as consumers and institutions are encouraged to support so-called “better” animal products, labelled as free-range eggs, pasture-raised beef, or ‘humane’ dairy, under the assumption that these systems meaningfully address environmental, health, and ethical concerns. The evidence suggests otherwise.

Animal Agriculture: Environmentally Unsustainable

image: Harsini, Mishra & McCord. Design updated for clarity by VeganEasy

Livestock occupy roughly 80% of agricultural land but provide less than 20% of global calories, making the system inherently inefficient.

Converting plant energy into animal tissue results in large energy losses, and producing one kilogram of beef can require several kilograms of grain that could feed people directly.

Animal farming is also extremely resource-intensive, requiring far more water than plant-based or cultivated alternatives, and generates far more greenhouse gases than plant-based foods do for the same nutritional output.

Together, livestock, fisheries, and associated land use account for over half of global food-related emissions. Even grass-fed or “regenerative” systems, often marketed as more sustainable, can produce higher emissions per kilogram of meat due to slower growth rates and greater land requirements.

Factory farming dominates globally: over 90% of meat, eggs, and dairy come from intensive systems. At current consumption levels, scaling pasture-based or regenerative systems is not feasible without massive increases in land conversion.

image: Harsini, Mishra & McCord. Design updated for clarity by VeganEasy

The Ethical Problem at the Heart of Animal Agriculture

above: A mother pig confined in a farrowing crate, a common practice for rearing pigs. image: Animal Liberation Victoria

At its core, animal agriculture is built on the routine exploitation of sentient beings. Mammals, birds, and fish are scientifically recognised as capable of experiencing pain, stress, and fear. Yet modern food systems continue to rely on practices that cause extreme suffering, often hidden from public view. Some examples:

• Eggs: Even cage-free systems involve killing male chicks, selective breeding that compromises hen health, and early slaughter when productivity declines.
• Dairy: Cows are repeatedly impregnated, separated from their baby calves, and slaughtered when milk yields fall.
• Fish: Largely absent from ethical discussions, fish experience prolonged stress, injury, and overcrowding in commercial fishing and aquaculture.

From an ethical standpoint, a system that depends on breeding, exploiting, and killing sentient beings for food raises unavoidable moral questions. Animal agriculture is fundamentally flawed and an unnecessary system, particularly given that protein alternatives capable of feeding everyone already exist.

Zoonotic Disease and Antibiotic Resistance: A Structural Risk

Animal agriculture is inherently linked to zoonotic disease emergence and the spread of antibiotic resistance. Crucially, this risk is not confined to industrial mega‑farms.

All forms of animal farming – large or small, intensive or pasture‑based – increase opportunities for pathogens to evolve and transfer between animals and humans. High animal densities, genetic uniformity (meaning, it reduces adaptability and increases vulnerability), close human‑animal contact, and global supply chains create ideal conditions for disease spillover.

Similarly, antibiotic use is widespread across animal agriculture, with 70% of global antibiotics used in livestock. This fuels antibiotic resistance, undermining the effectiveness of life-saving medicines. These risks are structural and cannot be solved by marginal reforms.

Greenwashing and ‘Humane Washing’ in the Animal Industry

The animal agriculture sector has become adept at rebranding harmful practices. Terms such as “free‑range,” “grass‑fed,” and “humane” are widely used to reassure consumers, but they do not eliminate the ethical, environmental, or health harms of industrial animal farming. The authors of the article highlight the importance of government regulation to prevent misleading labelling and consumer confusion.

Health Outcomes: Replacing All Animal Proteins Matters

image: Harsini, Mishra & McCord. Design updated for clarity by VeganEasy

A key insight from the study is that reducing only processed meat is insufficient. Replacing all animal proteins – including all land-animal meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy – with plant-based sources delivers the greatest health benefits.

A substantial body of epidemiological evidence links diets rich in whole plant foods to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, several cancers, and all‑cause mortality. These benefits are observed not merely from avoiding processed meats, but from systematically shifting protein intake away from animal sources altogether. Legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and soy foods provide adequate protein while also delivering fibre, phytonutrients, and other protective compounds absent from animal products.

The Solution: Alternative Proteins

above: A delicious burger made with adzuki beans. image: Vegan Easy

In their discussion of alternative proteins, the authors deliberately broaden the conversation beyond technological advancements to include what already works at scale: plant-based proteins rooted in whole foods and long-standing food traditions.

Plant-based proteins are the most established and widely consumed animal-free protein sources globally. Foods such as tofu, tempeh, seitan, lentils, beans, chickpeas (including hummus and falafel), nuts, seeds, and nut butters have nourished populations for centuries. They provide high-quality protein alongside fibre, antioxidants, and phytonutrients that actively support long-term health. Whole plant foods are already the cheapest, healthiest, and most scalable way to reduce reliance on livestock, improve public health, and strengthen food system resilience.

Plant-based meat alternatives build on simple, familiar processes such as fermentation, heating, shearing, and extrusion – techniques comparable to those used to produce common animal-based foods like sausages or burgers. Advances in protein biochemistry, flavour chemistry, and lipid encapsulation now allow plant-based foods to closely replicate the texture, aroma, and juiciness of meat, using crops such as soy, peas, wheat, and mycoprotein.

Precision fermentation uses safe microorganisms to produce specific animal proteins – like whey, casein, or egg albumin – without using animals. The resulting proteins are structurally identical to their animal counterparts and can improve digestibility, texture, and flavour. This method is already used to produce plant-based cheeses, meats, and heme proteins that give some alternatives their colour and taste.

Cultivated meat involves growing meat or seafood directly from animal cells in bioreactors. Recent advances – like serum-free media and stable cell lines – have made production more scalable and cost-efficient, though reaching price parity with common meats like chicken is still challenging. Cultivated meat can replicate the taste, texture, and function of conventional meat while eliminating the ethical and environmental impacts of animal farming and reducing risks like antibiotic resistance. Regulatory approval exists in several countries, including the US, Singapore, Israel, and Australia.

Both precision fermentation and cultivated meat reduce the vulnerability of our food system to disease outbreaks, like bird flu. These technologies strengthen food system resilience, lower public health risks, and support national and global stability.

Final Thoughts

The authors’ central message is clear: incremental reforms are insufficient. Ethical concerns, zoonotic disease risks, antibiotic resistance, environmental pressures, and public health outcomes all point to the same conclusion.

Moving to a food system that phases out dependence on animals and centres on plant foods is the most evidence‑based, scalable, and ethically defensible path forward. Shifting to plant-based diets is about practical, immediate impact. Whole-food plant proteins, complemented by precision fermentation and cultivated meat, offer solutions that are ethical, better for health, and environmentally sound.

Every meal is an opportunity to reduce harm to animals, lower chronic disease risk, and contribute to a resilient, sustainable food system. The evidence is clear: the future of protein lies not in trying to make animal agriculture “better,” but in moving beyond it altogether.

Read the original article

By Dr. Faraz Harsini, Dr. Vandana Mishra, Dr. Jon McCord; “Better proteins beyond livestock: food without the footprint.” Biochem (Lond) 22 December 2025; 47 (6): 12–19. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bio_2025_205

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