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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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George Monbiot

‘Let them eat lentils’ won’t save us from animal farming – we must embrace meat substitutes

Plant-based vegan meat, produced by Israeli start-up Redefine Meat, Paris, October 2022.
‘The new products are not aimed at vegans, but at the far greater number who like the taste and texture of animals.’ Plant-based vegan meat, by Israeli start-up Redefine Meat, Paris, October 2022. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

Do you hate the idea of animal-free meat? Many people do. Unsurprisingly, livestock farmers are often furiously opposed. More surprisingly, so are some vegans: “Why can’t people eat tofu and lentils, like me?” Well, the new products – plant-based, microbial and cell-cultured meat and dairy – are not aimed at vegans, but at the far greater number who like the taste and texture of animals. Many others instinctively recoil from the idea of food that seems familiar, but isn’t.

So here’s a question for all the sceptics. What do you intend to do about the soaring global demand for animal products, and its devastating impacts?

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