- Animal Agriculture Produces 15% to 20% of Green House Gas Emissions, More than Cars, Motorcycles, and Passenger Light Vehicles Put Together
- In 2023, 18% of Car Sales Were Electric Vehicles
- Plant-Based Meat Accounts for Only 1% of Meat Dollar Sales in US Retail
- The Alternative Protein Industry Received $635 Million in Government Support in 2022, Compared with $40 Billion for Electric Vehicles
BOSTON—Growing the share of alternative proteins to half of the global protein market, including dairy, would reduce agriculture and land use greenhouse gas emissions by almost a third by 2050. It would mitigate 5 gigatons of CO2 equivalents annually, the equivalent of taking 50% of gas-fueled cars off the road. However, while the electric vehicle industry grew from 0.2% of total new car sales in 2012 to 18% in 2023, the alternative protein share of the protein market remains relatively small. Plant-based meat has hovered around 1% of total meat dollar sales in US retail for the past five years. These are among the findings of a new report being released recently by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), The Good Food Institute (GFI), and Synthesis Capital titled What the Alternative Protein Industry Can Learn from EV Companies.
Animal agriculture produces 15% to 20% of greenhouse gas emissions, compared with 10% for passenger road transportation. But the alternative protein industry received only $635 million in government support in 2022, compared with roughly $40 billion in direct purchase subsidies for electric vehicles. This public commitment to electric vehicles has also stimulated significant private investment. By contrast, alternative protein companies raised one-eighth of the private capital of the electric vehicle industry from 2017 to 2023.
“Achieving mass adoption of alternative protein is an opportunity we can’t afford to miss in the drive to cut emissions and combat climate change,” said Elfrun von Koeller, BCG partner and managing director, and coauthor of the report. “There are many lessons that the industry, as well as governments and regulators, can learn from the successful electric vehicles sector, which also faced early hurdles to consumer adoption and expansion. If private companies, governments, and investors come together, they can lay the foundation for a food system that is more sustainable, as well as more secure.”
Emma Ignaszewski, Senior Associate Director, Industry Intelligence & Initiatives at the Good Food Institute, said, “Electric vehicles are a powerful climate solution that doesn’t require consumers to make significant behavioral changes. They simply offer a more sustainable swap-in for gas-powered cars. Alternative proteins offer a strikingly similar promise: enjoy your burger, but produced with far lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional meat. Securing public funding—which has been instrumental for EV innovation—is critical for alternative proteins to scale and compete with conventional meat on taste and price. And competing on these drivers of consumer choice is the blueprint for alternative proteins to help decarbonize the food sector, just as electric vehicles can help decarbonize the transportation sector.”
Rosie Wardle, co-founder and Partner at Synthesis Capital, said: “Government support for alternative proteins is gaining momentum, with policymakers across the globe recognizing the potential of the sector to generate significant benefits, including achieving climate commitments, ensuring food security, mitigating environmental damage, and boosting economies. However, much more support is needed for the sector to deliver on its potential. This new report offers insights into how stakeholders can advance the industry, in order to create a future where these products are no longer ‘alternative.’”
The study lists several lessons that the alternative protein industry can learn from the electric vehicle sector, including:
- Innovating to achieve parity with animal proteins: Alternative protein producers must innovate to create products that match animal proteins in taste, texture, price, and convenience, making alternative proteins a choice rather than a compromise. Similarly, successful electric vehicle makers have made their vehicles competitive with gas-powered cars on price, range, and model selection.
- Building a supportive public sector: Government measures can include setting ambitious targets for carbon reduction in the food system, enacting regulations to aid companies in bringing innovative proteins to market, and funding open-access research to help alternative protein makers collectively achieve scale.
- Boosting public and private investment: As alternative protein companies seek to secure funding, they can apply lessons learned from the earlier experience of the electric vehicle industry. These range from investing to build resilient supply chains to securing both public and private funding to conduct high-risk, early-stage research.
Download the publication here.
