Precision fermentation uses microorganisms to produce proteins identical to those found in animal products. This technology could decouple animal-identical products from animal farming at scale.
Precision fermentation has the potential to fundamentally disrupt the welfare mathematics of food production. If dairy proteins, egg proteins, and eventually meat proteins can be produced without animals, the welfare argument for maintaining large farmed animal populations becomes unsustainable economically. The technology is advancing rapidly and products are already in retail markets. Cost parity with conventional animal proteins — which precision fermentation is approaching — could enable scale that eliminates the welfare harm of large-scale animal farming for the same products. Supporting development and market access for precision fermentation products is a high-leverage welfare intervention.