Host David Roberts speaks to Bruce Friedrich about how fake meat, plant based or lab grown, can reduce our land use substantially, reduce emissions substantially, and end or reduce the cruelty of animal agriculture. Notably, Friedrich contends that fake meats could end up on a learning curve to bring down the price of these meat alternatives to be cheaper than the real stuff. Much in the same way that we got better at making solar panels and flat screen TVs to the point where those items are magnitudes cheaper than they were just 10 years ago.
Friedrich, a vegan himself, chooses to lump plant based imitations together with the more controversial (but possibly more marketable) lab grown animal tissues for purposes of conversation, particularly when it comes to the economics.
Note, this is primarily an environmental tech podcast. And while the host, David Roberts, wishes he had it in him to go vegan, he has had to settle for reducitarian as he, like many, is weak. Much of the conversation is through the environmental lense, but the content is still valuable to this community.