The beef and dairy industries will be “all but bankrupt” by 2030 as new technologies in cellular agriculture and fermentation take center stage, according to a new report.

Independent think tank RethinkX has released a 76-page report titled “The Second Domestication of Plants and Animals, the Disruption of the Cow, and the Collapse of Industrial Livestock Farming”.

It gives a comprehensive analysis into the reasons the meat and dairy industries are facing a drastic decline.

The report explains that food innovations, technology and new business models are paving the way for an imminent downfall of traditional agriculture and farming practices for the first time in recorded history.

Disruption

Report co-author Catherine Tubb states: “We are on the cusp of the deepest, fastest, most consequential disruption in food and agricultural production since the first domestication of plants and animals ten thousand years ago.

“Technology we call precision fermentation and a new production model called Food-as-Software are dramatically driving down the costs and driving up the quality of manufactured proteins.

“The industrial livestock industry is one of the oldest, largest, and most inefficient food-production systems in the world.  Modern ingredients and the foods are about ten times more efficient across the board – from land and water use, to feedstock consumption and energy use.” 

Macro-organisms vs microorganisms

The report highlights that humans mastered macro-organisms by domesticating animals and plants.

However, now the focus has shifted to mastering micro-organisms with pioneer technologies such as cellular agriculture and precision fermentation.

With further development these will become more efficient in terms of land, feedstock, time and water conservation and will produce less waste, making animal-free products superior, cheaper, healthier and  more sustainable.

According to RethinkX by 2030:

• The number of cows in the US will drop by 50 % and revenue generated by the beef and dairy industries will dip by at least 50%
• The demand for ground beef will have reduced by 70%, steak market by 30% and dairy market by almost 90%
• The U.S. dairy and cattle industry will be washed out.

The report states: “The beef and especially, dairy industries operate on extremely thin margins, with high operating and financial leverage, and are propped up by government subsidies.

“Both are already hanging in the balance and just a small drop in demand will send them spiraling towards bankruptcy.”

The report further adds that by 2035, 60 percent of land in the US currently used for animal rearing will be free for other uses. This equals around 485 million acres of land.

The report pointed out: “Product after product that we extract from the cow will be replaced by superior, cheaper, modern alternatives, triggering a death spiral of increasing prices, decreasing demand, and reversing economies of scale for the industrial cattle farming industry, which will collapse long before we see modern technologies produce the perfect, cellular steak.”

• Read: Leading animal farmers admit production is set to drastically fall

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