Billionaire and investor Jim Mellon says he is absolutely certain that the future will be absolutely devoid of the meat and dairy industries. Here because.
Let's take a little step back if you want to know who this gentleman is.
The 64-year-old Brit has helped create and support huge biotech companies, some of which aim to extend the longevity of human life. Mellon is also the largest shareholder of Agronomics, an investment firm focused on expanding “modern foods” (read: cell-cultured meat). His book Moo's Law provides an “investor's guide to the new agrarian revolution”.
The forecasts in detail
As mentioned, Mellon predicts the meat, fish and dairy food industry is set to see some big changes over the next decade. The views were shared in a TikTok video on Dubai Future Foundation. But the tycoon also spoke to a number of media outlets.
First, he says, dairy products will disappear as they are today. The dairy industry as we know it (in summary: cows produce milk), he says, “will be gone,” he says.
This is because the alternative plant milk, born from almond and soy, will take over. Not only products to drink: mozzarella, fresh cheeses and other dairy products will also be in vegetable versions. Or, it will be grown in the laboratory (I talked about it here). Or again, made using precise fermentation: a technology that uses microbial hosts as cell factories, in order to create an identical protein.
Second, Mellon focuses on meat. And he predicts the meat industry will collapse. As with dairy products, says the tycoon, meat will also be made up of plant-based foods or foods produced using cellular agriculture.
Not just meat and dairy products: fish too
As mentioned, it's not just cellular meat and dairy that are on the rise. “Cellular” seafood brands are also increasing production across borders. It's a trend followed by a number of celebrities supporting marine health, who are increasingly concerned about overfishing and the health of the oceans.
E this is Jim Mellon's third prediction: is half of the world's fish will be produced in factories by 2040.
We already have the products. All we need is a scale, money and willpower.
Jim mellon
A cell factory
I take Mellon's predictions on meat, fish and dairy products as "provocative": but the direction in which he is looking seems exactly the right one.
Cellular technology is widely seen as an answer to ending factory farming and destructive animal agriculture. Technological research in this field has expanded enormously, also given the growth of "veganism" in recent years. Several listed companies are leading the way, and large-scale retail trade is contributing to the increase in customer demand.
Changing perspectives on the environment are causing people to rethink their food choices like never before. Large investments are becoming more frequent in vegan giants, allowing more funds to be funneled into product development. We are undoubtedly on the eve of a reversal.
Thanks to these factors, "vegan" meat, fish and dairy foods they will reach full price parity with traditional ones by 2035. By then, at least 11% of traditionally animal-based products will come from alternative protein technologies.
Not everything goes smoothly
Despite this, many vegans remain conflicted about it. Since meat is made from animal cells, some disagree because they believe it is unethical. Others are worried that he is “playing with nature”. Either way, cell cultured meat and dairy appear to be here to stay.
