When Will Alternative Meats Go Mainstream?

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

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Summary

Humans eat more than 550 metric tons of meat and seafood a year — a number that’s steadily climbing, and expected to do so until at least 2050. At the same time, scientists are working to develop plant-based and cultivated meats that deliver the same experience with more nutrition and at a lower cost. We talk to Good Food Institute founder and president Bruce Friedrich about his new book, “Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity’s Favorite Food— and Our Future.” Is alternative meat in your future, or even a reality for you today? Guests: Bruce Friedrich, founder and president, The Good Food Institute; author, Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity's Favorite Food--and Our Future" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:44.0	Welcome to Forum. I'm Leslie McClurg. I'm in today for Mina Kim.
0:48.8	America has a meat problem. We raise billions, billions of animals every year, many of them in pretty grim
0:56.0	conditions. And the whole system is a major driver of climate change. But what if we could make
1:02.2	meat differently using science? So it tastes just as good, but doesn't cause so much harm.
1:08.2	That's the argument from Bruce Friedrich. He's the art author of
1:11.7	Meat, how the next agricultural revolution will transform humanity's favorite food and our future.
1:18.4	He's also the co-founder and president of the Good Food Institute. Welcome, Bruce.
1:22.5	Hey, thank you so much, Leslie. I'm delighted to be here. You make a pretty explicit point right from the top,
1:28.2	that this is not about inspiring us to eat more tofu instead of our filet mignons. But why not?
	...

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