These changes have led many experts to actively campaign for more sustainable agricultural practices as a means to a healthier future for humanity and for the planet.

One of the most popular “fake meat” manufacturers in the world, Beyond Meat.

Half a century ago, the “Green Revolution” saved developing countries from South Asia to South America from widespread starvation as Nobel Peace Prize Winner Norman Borlaug introduced “disease-resistant” varieties of wheat to farmers.

The new crop produced higher yields than traditional varieties, helping countries like Pakistan and Mexico to become self-sufficient nations.

The phenomenon led to more scientists in Southeast Asia to develop something similar for rice, leading countries in the region to likewise become self-sufficient. It’s one of the great moments in history when science and technology became the driving forces in solving some of the world’s biggest problems — food security and economic self-sufficiency.

And it’s a good remembrance of how the same forces could be the ones to save humanity from its disastrous practices once more, with climate change today threatening the world’s food supply.

In August 2019, the United Nations released a scathing report, warning governments that the “risk of multi-breadbasket failure is increasing,” as more intense heat waves and flash floods caused by the increasingly hotter Earth have destroyed ecosystems in different parts of the world.

The phenomenon has flooded many coastal cities prompting massive migrations and decreasing viable soils for crop production in some countries.

production of its burger patties only generates a tenth of the greenhouse emissions otherwise caused when producing quarter-pound beef burger patties.

These changes have led many experts to actively campaign for more sustainable agricultural practices as a means to a healthier future for humanity and for the planet. And many believe this means leading a more plant-based diet.

Why so? Simply put, raising cows take more energy, water and other supplies than developing plant-based meats.

According to a study commissioned by one of the most popular “fake meat” manufacturers in the world — Beyond Meat — the production of its burger patties only generates a tenth of the greenhouse emissions otherwise caused when producing quarter-pound beef burger patties.

Experts also say OECD countries, or markets that generally consume more beef than the global average, may provide significant relief to the world’s carbon footprint if they cut their meat intake collectively.

This recent collective realization has prompted both long-established food manufacturers and startups like Beyond Meat to develop alternative meat products as it hopes to develop more sustainable choices for the more conscious consumer. And for good business, of course.

According to Reports and Data, the global meat substitutes market is set to reach $7.6 billion in value by 2026, a 50 percent jump from its value in 2018 at $4.47 billion.

In the Philippines, for example, one of the longest-running, fast-moving consumer goods company, Monde Nissin, quietly acquired UK-based brand Quorn in 2015, as it takes a bet on the growing affinity of developed markets for plant-based meats.

The British food brand has been in business since the 1960s, but it’s only grown popular in the 21st century, as it expanded beyond vegetarian circles, with meat-eaters beginning to complement their diets and consume Quorn’s goods.

Foodtech and innovation isn’t exclusive to those vying to capture the more conscious eaters. Foodtech companies investing in advanced farming solutions are also growing in number as they aim to be more efficient in production processes.

British online supermarket Ocado, for example, has invested in a string of tech companies that specializes in “vertical farms” to cut costs of production and for faster deliveries.

Plant-based diets mean to a healthier future for humanity and the planet.

The investment would allow the company to grow herbs like basil and parsley near its warehouses as they are housed indoors and powered by renewable energy.

The companies adopting similar smart solutions and developing alternative meat products for the conscious consumer are growing and multiplying so much that there’s now an investment portfolio dedicated for the industry.

Online investment platform eToro launched this year its “foodtech” portfolio, allowing retail consumers to take a stake and bet on the sunrise industry and perhaps even a major future trend.

Hopefully, the new foodtechs blaze the trail and show the way for the bigger FMCGs to start becoming more conscious in their production methods and craft wider-ranging alternative and more sustainable food products.

The pressures and constraints that challenge our earth and human civilization are now realities that we are all staring in the eye.

And as history has shown, world problems are only better addressed if solved collectively, humankind rising to the occasion once more, wielding our scientific and technological tools and our great advancements therein.