Food sustainability, food security and the environment

Sustainable development requires a deliberate choice in the direction of societal transition, but the options are narrowed down by the obligation to feed a growing world population. At present sufficient food is produced, but large differences exist in per capita supply. Poverty prevents many people from attaining a sufficient diet, while growing economic welfare pushes meat consumption conversely. To meet the increasing demands for agricultural products, at least two options are apparent: either to expand and intensify agriculture, which already appropriates significant amounts of nature's resources or to change from resource‐intensive meat consumption to more vegetarian diets. The latter option is studied by PROFETAS, which focuses on the environmental sustainability, the technological feasibility and the social desirability to partially replace animal proteins with plant protein products. The Western consumption pattern is a suitable candidate for such a transition, which would benefit the environment as well as human health.