Good Meat vs. Sustainable Meat: What should we really be eating?

We, and our ancestors, have been consuming meat for over 3 million years; however, its production has increased rapidly over the past 55 years. Due to many reasons, including social, economic, health, environmental and animal welfare issues, the topic has been one of the most popular debates across the world.

Good meat is considered to be meat from animals that have been humanely raised and treated. Meaning, along with not being manhandled and not being raised in “acceptable” conditions, they’re also not given antibiotics or additional hormones. Technically, it also has a low environmental footprint and is scalable, as it is not mass-produced.

In contrast, Sustainable meat has become more of a trend as it is ethically raised to high standards and of high quality. According to a US-based meat production company, it is “real meat made without tearing down a forest or taking a life, Meat without slaughter” (GOOD Meat, 2016).

The question, however, remains: is “good meat” sufficient to achieve sustainability goals, or does “good” need to be redefined?

What is Good Meat?

The best way to describe good meat is when it is compared to bad meat. This comparison can be assessed based on factors including quality, freshness, safety, ethics, environmental impact, and nutritional value. In the UK, this often means local sourcing, high welfare standards, organic or pasture-fed practices and traceability.

To put it in another way, it means that meat travels fewer kilometres from the farm to the kitchen and eventually to the plate, minimising carbon footprint and supporting the local farmers. Their natural impulses are embraced because they are raised in larger spaces. In contrast to animal cruelty, they are handled and cared for properly and have access to pasture. There is no involvement of synthetic pesticides and antibiotics, as they are mainly on grass-based diets. To ensure that the aforementioned is accurate, it is also possible to monitor the entire meat production process, which is confirmed by certifications such as Red Tractor, RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Assurance, and Soil Association Organic.

Together, these characteristics make up what we have traditionally termed “good meat”- the type that makes us feel better about consuming it. The question is whether “good” is still sufficient in light of climate change and growing demand?

What is Sustainable Meat?

Sustainability in meat has a very similar concept to good meat, as it also revolves around being environmentally conscious, meaning there are low emissions, efficient use of land and natural resources, and protection of biodiversity.

But the main thing that distinguishes good meat from sustainable meat is that while good meat focuses on how the animal was raised, sustainable meat is more about planetary ethics. In modern times, cultivated meat and plant-based alternatives are options that do not require any animal involvement in the process.

• Plant-based alternatives include imitation meat that is created to mirror the taste and texture of real meat by using plant-based or vegan ingredients.

• Cultivated meat is technologically created from the cells of animals, which means there is no harming or killing of animals involved.

• Hybrids that are a mix of cultivated and plant-based ingredients are created to meet the nutritional value, taste, texture and cost of regular meat, while reducing our dependency on animals directly.

These meat substitutes also favour the environment, as they require less land, water, and release far fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional meat farming, thereby decreasing the pollution and carbon footprint of the industry. According to the Good Food Institute, new studies suggest that cultivated meat has massive environmental benefits and could be cost-competitive by 2030. The idea could be improved upon even further if renewable energy were introduced in the production process, which is said to be crucial to realise the full potential of cultivated meat.

Meating the UK

 The concept of flexitarianism has gained huge popularity in the UK lately. A flexitarian diet prioritises plant-based meals with little to no meat. Some even call it "flexible" or "part-time vegetarianism", and others call it a "modest dietary shift in meat eating".

While flexitarianism continues to expand and supermarket shelves are filled with plant-based options, traditional meat still holds cultural and dining clout in the UK, where meat consumption is evolving but not disappearing. However, domestically, where the UK and EU remain sceptical of embracing the new change, cultivated meat is to be regulated despite being allowed in Singapore and the US.

In the capital, vegan restaurant chains are increasingly portraying themselves as convenient, affordable and inventive, serving food that isn't just for vegans. Brands like Mildred's, Purezza, and Temple of Seitan exhibit and serve to an increasing appetite for plant-based alternatives.

These restaurants are devoted to serving taste and sheer creativity, qualities that market themselves, encouraging a newer clientele to try plant-based meals. While keeping the base consumers satisfied, they are introducing newness in the dietary habits in the marketplace.

Even though certain experts wonder if innovation can entirely replace the traditional function of meat, poultry and animal products in British diets, start-ups including Hoxton Farms claim that cell-cultured fat and protein could be essential in establishing a balance between tradition and climate responsibility.

Good Intentions, Hard Questions

Technology and innovation have collaborated yet again to create something practical and helpful, which leaves us humans with no more excuses to put a pause on animal breeding and slaughtering. Cultivated meat and Plant-based foods are capable of providing an escape from these ethical conundrums; however, are they practical? Accessibility and affordability remain an issue since the current options are pricier than conventional meat, and cultivated meat has not yet been approved for human consumption (but your pets can have it!)

The real test is scaling up to feed eight billion people by producing at an industrial scale without compromising on sustainability. The debate remains over this tension: alternatives can foster climate-conscious dietary habits, but how quickly can they actually move from being mere experiments to being part of consumer plates?

Conclusion

“Good meat”, while being majorly about animal welfare, now also includes the ability to feed the masses responsibly and save the planet. Plant-based, cultivated and hybrid alternatives offer a tangible route to a climate-conscious future. However, the issue of scalability, the emissions, and water usage that would be involved with their production are some other points to rethink, ahead of ways to make them more accessible and affordable. After all, redefining “good” isn’t limited to how meat is raised, but also to our choices, which will affect our present and our future as a planet.

References

1.    GOOD Meat. Newsroom. https://www.goodmeat.co/newsroom

2.    Vegconomist. Cultivated meat approvals and prohibitions since Singapore’s pioneering step in 2020.https://vegconomist.com/cultivated-cell-cultured-biotechnology/cultivated-meat-approvals-prohibitions-since-singapores-pioneering-step-2020/

3.    World Resources Institute (WRI). Better meat sourcing: climate and environmental impacts.https://www.wri.org/insights/better-meat-sourcing-climate-environmental-impacts

4.    FoodPrint. Eating meat sustainably. https://foodprint.org/eating-sustainably/eating-meat-sustainably/

5.    Our World in Data. Less meat or sustainable meat. https://ourworldindata.org/less-meat-or-sustainable-meat

6.    Knowable Magazine. How sustainable are “fake meats”? https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/food-environment/2022/how-sustainable-are-fake-meats

7.    YouTube. Can fake meat save the world? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa6SWm99_rY

8.    Fat Gay Vegan. Vegan restaurant chains in the UK. https://fatgayvegan.com/2025/07/23/vegan-restaurant-chains-in-the-uk/