Hybrid animal-plant foods: Reducing the public’s consumption of animal proteins

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• December 14, 2021

Insight summary

The global trend of reducing meat consumption has led to the rise of hybrid animal-plant foods, which blend meat with plant-based ingredients to offer a sustainable alternative. This flexitarian approach encourages gradual lifestyle changes and is seen as a more feasible and impactful solution for environmental conservation than strict vegetarianism or veganism. The shift toward these hybrid foods brings about various implications, including the potential for job creation in biotechnology, the need for new regulatory frameworks, and possible socio-economic challenges in communities dependent on traditional farming.

Hybrid animal-plant food context

Lowering the consumption of meat is a growing trend followed by environmentally and health-conscious people globally. However, going completely meat-free is arguably unsustainable for a significant percentage of the world’s population due to cultural, health, and plain preference reasons. Meeting this trend halfway is the growth of hybrid animal-plant processed food options that involve mixing meat with plant-based ingredients and sustainable protein sources. 

The US Food and Drug Administration predicts a rise in global food requirements by 70 to 100 percent by 2050. To accommodate this massive growth, it’s critical to introduce sustainable food options that consumers can widely incorporate into their typical diets. Many scientists believe that it’s more beneficial to provide consumers with the opportunity to reduce their meat consumption rather than give it up entirely. That’s because it’s easier to maintain small changes in lifestyle instead of complete overhauls as strict vegetarianism or veganism suggests.

Experts believe that a flexitarian approach encourages more people to gradually adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle that might significantly impact the environment more than rigid approaches. Early research has noted that hybrid meats taste better to most survey participants than entirely plant-based products, which is a crucial factor in keeping consumer interest. According to a 2014 survey, five out of six people who adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet eventually go back to eating meat. The survey authors proposed that a moderate reduction in meat consumption across entire populations, as opposed to complete avoidance by a minority, might yield better results for the environment.

Disruptive impact 

Up to 38 percent of consumers (2018) are already actively avoiding meat on specific days of the week. And with food processors gradually offering more hybrid meat options, this percentage will likely increase during the 2020s. Major food processing companies are picking up on the public interest in lowering meat consumption by introducing new hybrid products, like The Better Meat Co’s chicken nuggets mixed with ground cauliflower.

Larger meat companies are also pushing for broader acceptance of hybrid alternatives to create a new market for their products. There is also ongoing research on developing meat from cells and plants as an alternative protein source. So far, consumers have shown mixed opinions about new these hybrid products, but several products have been successful due to their niche marketing.

Companies will likely spend more capital on researching optimal animal-plant meat ratios. Future marketing campaigns may also shift consumer attitudes and make subsequent hybrid product launches more successful. Of note, hybrid processed foods (once production lines are fully scaled) will eventually become significantly cheaper to produce than traditional meat options due to their higher percentage of plant content. The higher potential profit margins may act as a further incentive for food processors to invest in and market hybrid alternatives to the public.

Implications of hybrid animal-plant foods

Wider implications of hybrid animal-plant foods may include: 

• Creating more research positions for the development of hybrid animal-plant meats and other processed foods, as consumer interest rises. 


• Encouraging more people to adapt to environmentally conscious diets by providing accessible low-meat options.


• Allowing food processing corporations to reduce their carbon footprint by producing foods with higher plant vs animal profiles.


• The development of new food categories and specialty recipes only possible with hybrid food ingredients.


• A reduction in the reliance on traditional livestock farming.


• New job opportunities in the biotechnology sector, contributing to economic growth and workforce diversification.


• New regulatory frameworks, potentially leading to political debates and controversies over food safety and bioethics.


• Job losses and socio-economic challenges in rural communities heavily dependent on conventional farming.


• Concerns about biodiversity loss and ecological imbalance, requiring rigorous environmental impact assessments and careful monitoring.

Questions to consider

• What do you think are the market prospects for hybrid processed foods?


• Do you think hybrid animal-plant foods may help more people gravitate to vegetarian or vegan diets?