What’s Cooking at COP28: Assessing novel alternatives to animal-sourced foods

Today’s consumers have access to increasingly more novel meat and dairy alternatives. These foods, which often look and taste like livestock-derived meat (for example, imitating the sensory profile of a burger with processed pea protein), frequently differentiate themselves with claims about a lower environmental footprint. But what does the science show?

A report released during this week’s climate conference by The UN Environment Program (UNEP) titled “What’s Cooking? An assessment of the potential impacts of selected novel alternatives to conventional animal products” compiles evidence, including CGIAR research from ILRI and the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, to further a balanced understanding of how these alternatives can help transform food systems.