Beef is a major climate burden, and a new category of "blended meat" products is aiming to help people eat less of it. In the fall of 2025, Jeff Dodge, a consultant with K–12 Food Solutions, ran a taste test in the cafeteria of Cane Bay High School in Summerville, South Carolina, for 50/Cut, a product from the company Joyn. The blend of meat and mushrooms was served as meatballs, and few students could identify the vegetable mixed into the meat. A survey showed that 92% of those who tried the meatballs wanted them on the menu, and they were approved for the 2026–2027 school year.
The stakes are high. Livestock production accounts for roughly 10% to 20% of greenhouse-gas emissions linked to human activity, and nearly two-thirds of that comes from ruminants like cows. Beef herds produce four times the emissions of dairy herds per kilo of food, and ruminants generate about 30% of the methane tied to human activity, a gas with 28 times the global-warming potential of carbon dioxide. Unlike electricity or transportation, cattle farming offers little room for a big technical fix, and efforts to curb cow burps have yet to scale.
Researchers say diet change is essential. Fredrik Hedenus, a professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, warns that agriculture alone could push the planet past 2 °C of warming by 2070 even if fossil fuels stopped tomorrow. A 2024 Harvard survey of more than 200 climate scientists found that most consider cutting livestock emissions important to meeting climate goals.
Changing habits is difficult. Many people enjoy meat, and in much of the world it is linked to status, with global meat production quadrupling between 1961 and 2022. Vegetarianism in the US has stayed near 4% since 1999. That is why advocates see a carbon-light, delicious meat substitute, such as blended products, as a possible way to shift consumption without requiring a full cultural turnaround.
Source: MIT Technology Review · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing