Will farming be finished in 50 years? Lab-grown food could replace traditional crops and cattle to save the planet, claims George Monbiot documentary

  • George Monbiot will set out ideas on how the world could 'do away' with farming
  • Environmentalist fronts new documentary called Apocalypse Cow, airing tonight
  • In the show, Helsinki scientists create a pancake made from bacteria and water 
  • Monbiot claims process could feed 10 billion people, ending traditional farming 

Food grown inside a laboratory could eventually bring around the end of traditional farming methods across Britain, a new documentary will claim tonight.

A Channel 4 show fronted by the vegan environmentalist George Monbiot will set out drastic ideas on how the world could 'do away with agriculture as we know it'.

In the documentary Apocalypse Cow, Monbiot visits a team of scientists in Helsinki who reveal their process for creating food made out of just bacteria and water. 

The researchers create a synthetic flour that they then mix with oak milk to cook a pancake, which is served to Monbiot who exclaims: 'That is lovely!'

Monbiot claims the rise of farm-free food could end meat and crop production yet 'still feed 10billion people [to] bring the world back from the point of collapse'.

A Channel 4 show fronted by the vegan environmentalist George Monbiot (pictured) will set out drastic ideas on how the world could 'do away with agriculture as we know it'

In the documentary Apocalypse Cow, Monbiot visits a team of scientists in Helsinki (pictured) who reveal their process for creating food made out of just bacteria and water

In the documentary Apocalypse Cow, Monbiot visits a team of scientists in Helsinki (pictured) who reveal their process for creating food made out of just bacteria and water

In the documentary Apocalypse Cow, Monbiot visits a team of scientists in Helsinki who reveal their process for creating food made out of just bacteria and water. The scientists, working for a company called Solar Foods, created a protein known as Solein via a four-step process

In the documentary Apocalypse Cow, Monbiot visits a team of scientists in Helsinki who reveal their process for creating food made out of just bacteria and water. The scientists, working for a company called Solar Foods, created a protein known as Solein via a four-step process 

The Helsinki scientists, working for a company called Solar Foods, claim their method would be able to supply protein to explorers in the Arctic and even in space.

The firm now hopes to open its first commercial factory at some point next year, where the process could be used to create a variety of diet stables.

This type of protein is also known as Solein, which its creators believe could one day be mass-produced with nearly zero carbon emissions.

The process sees bacteria from soil placed in liquid and fed with carbon dioxide and hydrogen bubbles that are released from the water through electricity.

The living micro-organisms then create protein, which can be dried into a powder - similar to whey protein.

While 15,000 litres of water is required to produce a single kilogram of beef, just 10 litres of water can produce a kilogram of Solein, Solar Foods claims. 

Monbiot claims that 51 per cent of the UK's surface is used for grazing livestock and growing grass,while just over 5 per cent accounts for urban sprawl.

He points to how sheep and cattle use over half the UK, while trees cover just over one tenth.

Monbiot goes as far as to ridicule what Britons think of as the UK's most beautiful landscapes, such as the Peak District, describing them as treeless 'sheep-wrecked deserts'.

Writing in the Guardian, Monbiot points out how their man-made flour could replace the fillers now found in 'thousands of food products'.

He added: 'When the bacteria are modified they will create the specific proteins needed for lab-grown meat, milk and eggs. 

The new documentary suggests that food grown inside a laboratory could eventually bring around the end of traditional farming methods across Britain

The new documentary suggests that food grown inside a laboratory could eventually bring around the end of traditional farming methods across Britain

'Other tweaks will produce – goodbye palm oil – and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids – hello lab-grown fish.

How do scientists create food from 'nothing but air'? 

In the documentary Apocalypse Cow, Monbiot visits a team of scientists in Helsinki who reveal their process for creating food made out of just bacteria and water. 

The scientists, working for a company called Solar Foods, claim their method would be able to supply protein to explorers in the Arctic and even in space. 

This type of protein is also known as Solein, which its creators believe could one day be mass-produced with nearly zero carbon emissions.

The process sees bacteria from soil placed in liquid and fed with carbon dioxide and hydrogen bubbles that are released from the water through electricity.

The living micro-organisms then create protein, which can be dried into a powder - similar to whey protein.

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'The carbohydrates that remain when proteins and fats have been extracted could replace everything from pasta flour to potato crisps.' 

Last month, scientists warned humans needed to drastically reduce the amount of meat they consumed over the 10 years to prevent climate change spiralling out of control.

In an open letter sent to the prestigious Lancet journal, a team of academics from around the world call on 'high and middle income countries' to hit 'peak meat' by 2030 as it is 'necessary' in order to halt the climate emergency.

This would mean that, by the end of the incoming decade, the number of livestock around the world should have peaked and started to decline.

The letter sets out a four-part plan, which scientists say will greatly help meet climate targets outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

They believe that within the next 10 years it will become essential for humanity to move away from eating animals and rely more on vegetarian alternatives.

Animal agriculture is one of the fastest growing contributors to global warming due to two factors - the carbon dioxide they emit and the forests being destroyed to create space for expanding farms.

In an open letter sent to the prestigious Lancet journal, a team of academics from around the world say hitting 'peak meat' by 2030 is 'necessary' to stop the climate emergency (stock)

In an open letter sent to the prestigious Lancet journal, a team of academics from around the world say hitting 'peak meat' by 2030 is 'necessary' to stop the climate emergency (stock) 

Of all farmland used to grow both crops and animals, more than 80 per cent of it is dedicated to livestock, but it produces only 18 per cent of the calories.

Cutting down on animal protein and dairy, especially red meat, would drastically reduce CO2 emissions and allows for trees to be planted to absorb some of the excess carbon dioxide in the air.

Scientists' four-step plan to hit 'peak meat' by 2030

1.  Declare a timeframe for peak livestock—ie, livestock production from each species would not continue to increase from this point forward.

2. Within the livestock sector, identify the largest emissions sources or the largest land occupiers, or both, and set appropriate reduction targets for production. 

3. Diversify food production by replacing livestock with foods that simultaneously minimise environmental burdens and maximise public health benefits—mainly pulses (including beans, peas, and lentils), grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

4. When grazing land that is not suitable for crop farming or horticulture in no longer required, repurpose it as a carbon sink by restoring native vegetation cover to absorb as much carbon as possible.  

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The letter has received the support of more than 50 leading academics around the world, including Professor Pete Smith, at the University of Aberdeen.

'Ruminant meat is 10 to 100 times more damaging to the climate than plant-based food,' he told The Guardian.

'As a planet, we need to transition away from a dependence on livestock, just as we need to to transition away from fossil fuels, if we are to have any chance of hitting the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

'Livestock numbers need to peak very soon and thereafter decline substantially.'

In the letter, penned by Dr Helen Harwatt, a fellow at Harvard Law School, it states: 'To help reduce the risk of global temperature rising beyond 1·5°C or 2°C, we call on high-income and middle-income countries to incorporate four measures into their revised commitments to meeting the Paris Agreement, from 2020 onwards.

'First, declare a timeframe for peak livestock—ie, livestock production from each species would not continue to increase from this point forward.'

The other three measures for wealthier nations are: set targets to reduce the largest emissions sources in the livestock sector; swap from livestock to eco-friendly, crops such as peas, lentils, beans and nuts; and turn reclaimed farmland back to its native vegetation cover.

'Food demand is expected to increase massively as our population expands toward 10 billion,' Professor Matthew Betts at Oregon State University, another letter author, told The Guardian.

Apocalypse Cow: How Meat Killed the Planet airs tonight at 10pm on Channel 4

THE PARIS AGREEMENT: A GLOBAL ACCORD TO LIMIT TEMPERATURE RISES THROUGH CARBON EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS

The Paris Agreement, which was first signed in 2015, is an international agreement to control and limit climate change.

It hopes to hold the increase in the global average temperature to below 2°C (3.6ºF) 'and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C (2.7°F)'.

It seems the more ambitious goal of restricting global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) may be more important than ever, according to previous research which claims 25 per cent of the world could see a significant increase in drier conditions. 

The Paris Agreement on Climate Change has four main goals with regards to reducing emissions:

1)  A long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels

2) To aim to limit the increase to 1.5°C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change

3) Governments agreed on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognising that this will take longer for developing countries

4) To undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science

Source: European Commission 

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