Goat Water Off Limits! Should we give Plant-based Meat alternatives a chance? (Food 4 Thought @ Harvard Part 2)

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Food 4 Thought Festival at Harvard, which showcased emerging technologies to help combat the emissions associated with the food production industry.

As Caribbean islands, it might be tempting to believe that our small-scale agriculture does not contribute to greenhouse gases and thus has no relation to us. However, our reliance on food imports makes the opposite true.

In times of global scarcity, the Caribbean region faces compounded struggles due to supply chain and food cost inflation. Even our emissions associated with single food import islands are inflated, as carbon emissions are usually tracked from the farm to our tables without accounting for the additional leg of the journey, which involves additional energy use from freight, refrigeration, and other factors.

In part one of this essay, I discussed what plant-based meat alternatives are, the challenges and benefits of their adoption for the environment, and my personal experiences sampling some products at the Food 4 Thought festival food fair.

In this second instalment, I will explore what I believe is the most compelling argument for taking these new technologies seriously as a solution despite the barriers associated with their adoption. Although the short-term implementation of these technologies might not be feasible, I believe that they have the potential to unlock better health outcomes for the people of our islands and other food-insecure places across the globe.

Childhood Nutrition and Alternative Proteins Panel - Food 4 Thought Festival

Child Obesity and Malnutrition in the Caribbean

According to a UN report published in 2023, the Caribbean has higher levels of overweight and obesity than the global average in addition to elevated levels of malnutrition. The report which also talks about rising food insecurity mentioned that

The report said that one barrier to adequate nutrition is the high cost of a healthy diet. According to the report, the Caribbean has the highest healthy diet cost worldwide and has been increasing.

Another report published by the Caribbean Public Health Agency in 2016 points to the replacement of unprocessed food with processed imports. According to the report, health impacts for young Caribbean children include: hypertension, fatty liver, asthma, and sleep apnea in addition to psychological difficulties with low self-esteem and depression.

While there haven't been many studies on the impact of plant-based meat alternatives on addressing malnutrition and obesity, studies elsewhere in the world have shown that replacing high-fat meat consumption with plant-based foods rich in vitamins and fibre can offer health benefits.

The BBC podcast All Consuming explores the benefits of plant-based diets, emphasising that this is nothing new and that people have been using proteins from plant sources to substitute meat for centuries, for example, in the form of soy and seitan.

Professor Chris Bryant acknowledged that, due to its processed nature, people naturally doubt that anything processed can be healthy; however, the opposite is true for these products, which tend to be low in fat and cholesterol while high in vitamins and minerals.

The World Cancer Research Fund tempers this enthusiasm with a healthy scepticism that these foods are highly processed as they are healthy. Compared to other highly processed foods that we choose to eat, which often lack accompanying benefits, plant-based meat alternatives do not pose a significant risk to our health. Instead, they recommend plant-based diets that include fresh, unprocessed food.

The reality is, however, that not everyone has access to fresh, unprocessed food all the time. This reality was echoed by one of the panellists, who firmly believed that we must end the wealth and class gap between those who can and cannot afford healthy food. In a world where these plant-based meat alternatives become price comparable to meat, I believe that they can be a solution.

One path to healthier eating

Food security, healthy diets, childhood nutrition and public health should be at the very top of the list of priorities for Caribbean countries. Without healthy people, there is no workforce to support healthy economies.

Reducing meat consumption and replacing it with vegetables, legumes, nuts, and other unprocessed foods is the most effective path to this goal. However, as science shows, tastes are formed as young as three years old, and as it stands, for countries reliant on food imports, a purely organic diet is not doable.

Plant-based meat alternatives can supplement a transition to healthier diets. Plant-based burger patties and chicken nuggets can be an occasional alternative to meat. There are also local and indigenous substitutes to meat such as ...

The shift to plant-based meat alternatives in approaching and adjusting our attitudes to trying new foods is uncomfortable, but might bring with it needed health benefits. What do you think? For the sustainability of our environment and our health, should we give them a chance?