This is promising! A recent poll run by the Sentience Institute, a new non-profit think tank, in collaboration with Ipsos Group, found that the majority of Americans DISAPPROVE of slaughterhouses! In fact, the poll found that 47 percent of U.S. adults Support a BAN on slaughterhouses. The poll also found that 53 percent would PREFER to eat clean meat (lab-grown cultured meat) instead of animal-based meat if the price was competitive.

“We hope to conduct this survey every few years so we can see how U.S. attitudes are changing, especially given the growth of the plant-based foods sector and the scientific work being done to create real animal products from animal cells and proteins, without animal slaughter. Clean meat could be the tipping point that will shift the U.S. food system in line with public values,” said Jacy Reese, Sentience Institute’s Research Director.

Sentience Institute surveyed 1,094 U.S. adults in October of 2017 and was census-balanced to represent age, sex, religion, ethnicity, and income. The 17 questions focused on animal farming and animal-free food. To view the full report, click here.

Sentience Institute’s survey results are promising considering we are reaching a time where the question of how we are going to feed a growing population that is set to reach nine billion by 2050 cannot be ignored. Demand for protein in the developed and developing world is at an all-time high, with the average person in the U.S. consuming 103 grams per day, around double the actual recommended amount. The animal agriculture system already covers over 45 percent of the world’s land mass, uses a majority of finite freshwater water resources, and is responsible for rampant air and water pollution – not to mention is the largest singular source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Even with all the resources that this industry uses, nearly one billion people still go hungry.

Studies show that one-third of Americans are leaving meat off their plates more frequently, and the plant-based protein market is booming. The global plant-based meat market is projected to reach $5 billion by 2020 and plant-based protein could represent one-third of overall protein by 2054. Considering these plant-based alternatives – and clean meat – do not come with the same health and environmental concerns that meat does, it’s pretty clear that animal-free protein will be the way forward.

According to Nil Zacharias, Co-Founder of One Green Planet, “innovations in the plant-protein space have the power to transform food as we know it and write the story of the future of food.” Simply put, if we hope to feed the growing demand for protein, we need to move into the future with more plant-based options and it seems like the majority of Americans already understand this.

To learn more about the environmental impact of our food choices as well as trends and developments in the plant-based food space, check out our podcast #EatForThePlanet with Nil Zacharias.

Image Source: KSRE/Flickr