Imagine, for a moment, that it is the year 2050, and you’ve walked into one of the most acclaimed restaurants of the age in the Netherlands, known for its delicious cuisine and outstanding view.

You look at the menu and find that most dishes are listed as plant-based: cucumber noodle salad, vegetable stir fry with cauliflower rice, veggie burger containing a mixed tofu/soybean patty and topped with fresh tomato and avocado, etc.

You then scroll down to look at the meat options on the menu and find labels such as “lab-grown” or “genetically engineered” beside many ludicrously high-priced meals compared to the vegetarian options.

What’s going on? Are the vegetarians taking over? No, not at all; it’s more so that the traditional idea of eating meat that is becoming less practical—at least in terms of environmental benefits. 

Currently, to sustain the world’s massive demand for meat products—chicken, beef, pork, lamb, etc.—agricultural industries’ livestock takes up at least 40% of arable land globally. Some of that farming land is on previously expansive forests or jungles, deforested or burnt away to create a more controlled landscape.

One of the most prominent examples is Madagascar, where a large proportion of their habitat is in danger of being destroyed completely due to the population’s demand for land to grow crops and raise livestock. 

And, with the amount of the human population projected to total around 11 billion by the year 2050, the sustainability of the livestock industry is being questioned, in turn, by environmentalists around the world.

After all, in the U.S., some rates show that one American citizen eats around 30-40 farm animals per year individually, and each farm animal needs about two acres in terms of productive pastures.

Scientists predict that, in order to create an environmentally sustainable future, humanity might need to switch to a more plant-based diet to revive lost habitats and stop major deforestation efforts caused by our incessant demand for meat.

However, not all is lost for the future of meat.

As mentioned above, scientists have recently begun to experiment with “lab-grown” meat, which is meat grown genetically in a lab rather than slaughtered in a factory.

This “lab-grown” meat is made through the process of taking adult animal stem cells and growing them slowly in bioreactors. After a week or two, the meat is harvested from the tank, fresh and ready to consume. 

Although the process cannot yet produce massive amounts of meat at a time, scientists still believe that this innovation might be the key to a better alternative for the meat-lovers and ultimately help lessen our environmental impact.

Whether you love meat or prefer to eat vegetables three times a day, it is certain that the future of our planet will inevitably fall on our diet and what we choose to consume.

Saving the planet doesn’t mean we have to give up on meat entirely, but perhaps it can slowly dull our impact over time by choosing to put a few tomatoes on our plates instead of meat.