Summary
Should we eat meat, eggs, dairy and other animal-sourced foods? If so, how should we produce them and how much should we eat? If not, what should we eat instead? These are just some of the more contentious debates about the future of food systems. This short briefing paper summarises some of the key debates about livestock and its alternatives and describes both the arguments and the evidence underpinning different points of view. We look both at foodstuffs (meat, fish, plants and new foods based on cells grown in bioreactors) and farming methods (both intensive and extensive) with regards to discussions about their environmental, health and social impacts. In so doing, we explore the assumptions and values that often lead stakeholders to differing conclusions about what a sustainable food system looks like.
Outcomes reported
Source report: Diets & Regenerative Agriculture: Can Regenerative Agriculture support food security and diet goals? (2025); Diets & Regenerative Agriculture (2025) File: Diets and Regenerative Agriculture.pdf Ref#: Diets and Regenerative Agriculture.pdf #9 Original: Cusworth G and Garnett, T. (2023). What is regenerative agriculture? TABLE Explainer. TABLE, University of Oxford, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Wageningen University and Research. Doi.org/10.56661/2caf9b92; Cusworth G and Garnett, T. (2023). What is regenerative agriculture? TABLE Explainer. TABLE, University of Oxford, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Wageningen
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