Original title: Future Protein Supply and Demand: Strategies and Factors Influencing a Sustainable Equilibrium
As the population grows and diets change, demand for protein is expected to rise. Producing animal-based protein can use more land and water and create greenhouse gas emissions, so the paper considers both improving existing sources and developing new ones. It compares these options across nutrition, environmental effects, technology, cost, and consumer acceptanceWhether people are willing to buy and eat a product.. The authors warn that a new protein source is not automatically greener; fair comparisons depend on how it is made.
Imagine choosing what to cook for a large family as more people arrive. One dish may be familiar and easy to serve, but take a lot of water and space to make; another may seem gentler on resources, yet cost more or be hard to prepare for everyone. In this paper, the dishes stand for protein sources, and the cook’s challenge is to balance resources, nutrition, cost, and what people will eat before deciding which can feed more people sustainably.
People need enough protein, but producing food also uses land and water and can generate greenhouse gas emissions. The paper explains why food producers and policymakers must weigh environmental effects against nutrition, cost, safety, and whether people will actually eat the food.
The abstract describes selected sources and potential demand scenarios, but gives no quantitative estimates or specific comparisons. It does not establish which protein source is best overall, or that any novel source will deliver environmental benefits. Its conclusions concern the factors that influence sustainability and the need for valid comparisons and wider stakeholder involvement.
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Future Protein Supply and Demand: Strategies and Factors Influencing a Sustainable Equilibrium — Maeve Mary Henchion, María Hayes, Anne Maria Mullen et al. — Foods — doi:10.3390/foods6070053
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.