Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity's Favorite Food—and Our Future

by Bruce Friedrich, Caitlin Welsh - foreword

"This packed account makes food science feel like an urgent and essential undertaking." —Publishers Weekly (Top 10 New Release in Science)

Good Food Institute founder and president Bruce Friedrich offers a hopeful and rigorously researched exploration of how science, policy, and industry can work together to satisfy the world’s soaring demand for meat, while building a healthier and more sustainable world.

The human love of meat appears to be hard-wired. The world consumes more than 550 million metric tons of meat and seafood each year. That number has been climbing for decades and is expected to continue to rise through at least 2050.

What if we could give humanity the meat it craves, but produced differently? Plant-based and cultivated meat that are just as delicious as the meat you love, but more affordable and healthier.

Think it’s not possible? With examples ranging from the “horseless carriage” (car) to the smart phone in your pocket, Meat reminds readers that scientific innovations often move from disbelief or opposition to inevitability and ubiquity, much faster than almost anyone expects.

Envisioning a future where meat is both a delight and a force for good, Friedrich explores:
- Humanity’s 12,000-year-old practice of raising animals for meat, and why we need to figure out a better way.
- The science and scientists behind the efforts to create plant-based and cultivated meat that is indistinguishable from conventional animal meat, but less expensive, more nutritious, and safer.
- How plant-based and cultivated meat can preserve forests and biodiversity, mitigate climate change and ocean pollution, and lower antimicrobial resistance and pandemic risk.
- The economic and food security benefits of making meat more efficiently, which include trillions of dollars in economic output annually, tens of millions of good jobs, and the possibility of a revitalized farm economy.

Meat offers a vision of the next agricultural revolution that is optimistic, achievable, and delicious.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction

Audible Audio

Expected publication February 3, 2026

About the author

Bruce Friedrich is founder and president of the Good Food Institute (GFI), a global network of nonprofit science think tanks with more than 240 full-time team members across affiliates in the U.S., India, Israel, Brazil, APAC, and Europe. GFI is accelerating the science of plant-based and cultivated meat in order to bolster the global protein supply while protecting our environment and promoting global health.

Publishers Weekly included Bruce's forthcoming book Meat on its list of the 10 best new releases in science for Spring 2026.

Meat has also earned endorsements from:

- Harvard Medical School genetics professor George Church: “an engaging treatise on using science to make meat far more efficiently [that] includes fascinating observations in every chapter”

- The Ministry for the Future author Kim Stanley Robinson: "Friedrich’s presentation is clear, persuasive, and entertaining”

- Jane Goodall: “Please read this book: it is engaging, informative, and gives us hope for a kinder future”

- Nobel Laureate in economics Michael Kremer: "Alternative proteins offer a promising path to addressing global challenges including hunger, climate change, and pandemic risk. Meat highlights the case for how science, innovation, and smart policy can help bring these solutions within reach. It contributes to an important and timely global conversation"

- and more.

Center for Strategic and International Studies director of global food and water security Caitlin Welsh penned the foreword, writing that the book “explains the imperative to transform our food systems, and lays out a game plan to get us there…. as important as it is enjoyable.”

Bruce has written for The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Wired, Nature, and more. His TED Talk has been viewed more than 2.4 million times and translated into 30 languages. He has appeared on The Ezra Klein Show, TED Radio Hour, New Yorker Radio Hour, and Sam Harris’s Making Sense podcast.

Bruce graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown Law and also holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University, the London School of Economics, and Grinnell College (Phi Beta Kappa).

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruce Friedrich makes the case for alternative meats, with a modern take on ecological, economic, food safety, and even national security arguments for the products. Overall his case is well presented and the writing engaging and well organized. There is a lot of information that was new to me here, particularly within the ecological arguments.

The book presents information about both plant-based and cultivated meat options, as well as some lesser discussed alternative meat types like mycoprotein (my favorite). I found the chapters pertaining to cultivated meat especially interesting; for meat eaters who only want meat, not plant alternatives, there is particular promise for this technology.

I have been a vegetarian for over twenty years, so this means a couple of things: first, I am not the target audience of this book, as I require no convincing. And second, I have tried seemingly every plant based meat alternative, including the brands mentioned in this book. While I remain hopeful of plant based alternatives, and appreciate the author’s perspective on this products, I do think Friedrich underemphasizes some of their drawbacks. For instance, some of the plant protein alternatives (especially soy) cause digestive issues for a lot of people, and the bioavailability of the plant proteins are not always on par with real meat. And, the flavor, while much improved these days, is still like comparing artificial sweeteners to sugar… just, not quite the same (although again I am not the target audience). But as he says, the technology could continue to improve on all these fronts.

All this is to say that I do understand why meat eaters aren’t excited about the current array of plant based meats; even the best of these products has its drawbacks… but this is also why I am excited at the prospect of cultivated meat, for all the reasons explored in this book: food safety, ecological benefits, economic benefits, it really could change the world. This book has made me realize that meat alternatives could have much more far-reaching effects than simply another culinary options for vegetarians. I will definitely be thinking about the arguments and information presented in this book and keeping an eye out for new meat alternatives going forward!

I was sent the audiobook to review, and the narrator was great for this book. His diction was clear and had a pleasant voice to listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bruce Friedrich, and Brilliance Audio for sharing an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Greg Hawod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meat by Bruce Friedrich explores the global meat industry—how it developed, how it operates today, and the profound consequences it has on animals, human health, the environment, and food systems worldwide. Drawing on science, economics, and ethics, the book examines why meat consumption became so dominant and what alternatives may shape the future of protein, including emerging technologies.

As a review, the book stands out for being both clear-eyed and intellectually grounded. I especially appreciated its comprehensive exploration of cultivated meat, which is presented not as science fiction but as a serious, evolving solution with real-world implications. Friedrich balances data-driven analysis with thoughtful moral reflection, and the audiobook format adds clarity and momentum to the arguments.

[Gabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meat is a clear-eyed and provocative book that argues convincingly that reducing and ultimately replacing animal meat consumption will not come from moral persuasion alone, but from disruptive technological change. Bruce Friedrich, agricultural economist and founder of the Good Food Institute (GFI), draws on historical analogies of technological innovations, from cars replacing horses over artificial ice supplanting “natural” ice and the bumps in the road of bringing penicillin to the market. He shows how rational arguments, education, and ethical appeals rarely curb harmful or inefficient consumption patterns on their own. What does work, he argues, is making better alternatives cheaper and more attractive. Once alt meat will have the same taste, texture, and nutritional profile as animal meat (and Friedrich argues that this will happen within 10 years), the industry will grow exponentially.

Friedrich makes a strong case that alternative proteins are not just a moral necessity to reduce animal suffering, but also an economic, environmental, and food-security imperative. His appeal for collaboration between science, government, and industry is persuasive, as is his warning that climate goals are unattainable without a large-scale shift away from animal meat.

One caveat: The book is noticeably uncritical of American geopolitical interests, as well as of Israel‘s role as one of the two frontrunners in alt-meat technology (next to Singapore). This narrows an otherwise global and moral argument and leaves some important political and ethical questions unexplored.

Despite these limitations, Meat is an engaging, accessible, and ultimately optimistic contribution to the debate on the future of food—one that will resonate with anyone interested in animal welfare, climate action, innovation, and systemic change.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for early access to the audiobook.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a committed carnivore, I added this book to my list to learn more about synthetic meat. The author presents well-researched information and explores multiple perspectives on the growing need for synthetic meat. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in adjusting their diet to include synthetic meat.

Thank you NetGalley for an opportunity to read this ARC!