Molly Anderson

October 25, 2017

COM 312

Something to Chew On: Why We Need to Start Thinking About the Future of the Livestock
Industry

I am here today to talk to you about one of the biggest problems facing humanity, and

what could become one of humanity’s most significant revolutions. It’s time to face facts: right

now, there is a single industry that is currently the leading contributor to deforestation, droughts,

greenhouse gas emissions, ocean dead zones and is even playing a part in the largest mass

extinction in the past 65 million years. It’s not the automotive industry. It’s not even

manufacturing. It’s meat.

Unfortunately, that Chick-Fil-A sandwich you had for lunch costs more than just $3.50.

This might be hard to swallow, but factory farming might be causing irreversible damage to our

planet. The UN reports that the livestock industry accounts for roughly 18% of global

greenhouse gas emissions. That’s more than all the world’s trains, planes and automobiles

combined. What’s more, 30% of the earth’s ice-free land is dedicated to raising livestock, and a

lot of this land is quickly becoming infertile and drying into desert. That’s even more

problematic when you consider the fact that factory farming is simultaneously using 70% of the

world’s freshwater. It takes 4,000 liters of water to produce a single kilogram of chicken (that’s a

little over 35 fluid ounces for those of us who are accustomed to the imperial system). To put

things into perspective, your Chick-Fil-A Spicy Deluxe sandwich used a little over 450 liters of

water before you even took your first bite.

 I could sit here and rattle of facts and statistics about the damage the caused by factory

farming until the cows come home (that is, as long as they’re not eaten first). There are other

ways in which the meat industry is affecting our planet as well, but my goal here isn’t to convert

you all to vegetarians and get you to march on down to your local PETA chapter and pledge your

loyalty. What is more important now is that we recognize the damage and look towards options

for the future.

Most people are aware that the earth’s population is increasing exponentially, but many

fail to realize how serious the consequences could be for humanity. More people means more

food, which means increasing meat production, which means more water and land will be needed

and more greenhouse gasses will be emitted. According to a report released by the UN, meat

consumption is expected to rise as much as 70% by 2050. At the current level of demand, we

only have enough resources to meet the needs of 2 billion people. The top three resources that

are being depleted at the highest rate are water, oil and forest land. Factory farming continues to

use more water than every other industry by more than double. What’s more, as of 2016, an area

roughly the size of France has been lost to deforestation, much of which has been dedicated to

factory farming. We now are faced with the dilemma of feeding the growing population of 7.5

billion people without causing further damage to our environment.

So where do we go from here? The answer may seem simple: let’s all become

vegetarians! How romantic and, even more so, how unrealistic. The problem is that people have

both an emotional connection and a nutritional need for meat. Let’s face it; most people find

meat to be delicious, and it also accounts for the vast majority of consumable protein. Who could

imagine a Fourth of July barbecue without sizzling hamburgers and hotdogs? Meat is too much a
part of our everyday life and culture to quit cold turkey. This makes it seem like it is practically

impossible to replace meat. But thanks to technology, scientists are coming up with new ways to

give people the meat they crave. One of the most exciting developments as of late is the progress

being made in the production of lab-grown meats.

I know what you’re thinking: this is some sci-fi mumbo jumbo and that there’s no way

eating a product that is made entirely by genetic engineering is safe, but the research would

suggest otherwise. The process is relatively simple: stem cells are harvested from cows, the cells

are then cultured to become muscle cells. These muscle cells multiply to become muscle tissues

that eventually grow to produce muscle strand which can then be formed into things like burgers

and meatballs. Scientists are also beginning to find ways to synthesize both pork and chicken. At

the moment, this process is too expensive to be a realistic way to feed people of average means.

As time goes on, the technology will be made more advance, and meat production will require

less time and money which could help the lab-grown meat industry outpace traditional meat

production. In fact, many scientists project that lab-grown meat could quickly become cheaper

than traditionally produced livestock. When it was first released in 2013, a single lab-grown

burger cost a mind-boggling $325,000, but just four years later, this same burger costs only $11,

and the price is continuing to drop.

One of the leaders in the “clean meat” movement is Memphis Meats. Founded in 2014,

Memphis Meats has grown from a small startup producing astronomically expensive burgers to

developing ways of producing lab-grown steaks, chicken fingers, and fish for sushi in what they

believe to be “one of the biggest technological leaps for humanity.” In August of 2017, with the

help of Draper Fisher Jurvetson Memphis Meats was able to complete a $75 million Series A
fundraising round. Investors include Richard Branson, Bill Gates and food industry leaders

including Cargill Inc., the largest privately held corporation in the U.S and one of the biggest

producers of traditional livestock. People realize that this is the future and that there is a lot of

money to be made.

In theory, lab-grown meat could have a massive impact on the way humans utilize

resources going forward, but it won’t be easy. The biggest obstacle is going to be changing

perception. Genetically modified organisms, or GMO’s, are one of the most recent hot-button

topics regarding the food industry, which makes it fair to assume that people might not be totally

sold on the idea of eating meat that was grown in a petri dish. I believe that soon, we might not

have another option. The population is growing, the earth heating up, and pollution levels are

rising and we can no longer afford to continue down the path we’re on. So it might be time for

the industrial farmers to eat their hearts out and think about investing in the meat of the future.

Thank you.

To be presented at a Draper Fisher Jurvetson industry event for potential investors

To be presented by Andreas Stavropoulos, head of the venture team at DFJ