But there are plenty of solutions that leverage our natural resources, like forest preservation, bioplastics, and carbon-sucking algae.

But the most obvious low-tech way to reduce emissions might be changing our diets.

Food accounts for around 25 to 30% of our greenhouse gas emissions.

Now, don't worry, I'm not gonna try to convince you to survive on tofu smoothies and protein vapor.

I love food, and I don't wanna live in a world where I can't eat a deep-fried Oreo and immediately regret it.

But modern farming generates emissions in all sorts of ways,

like land use, fertilizer production, transportation, and⏤famously⏤cow burps.

So, if we're going to get serious about bringing down emissions, we'll need to make some big adjustments.

At the individual level, one of the most impactful choices we can make is to eat less meat.

14.5% of our total emissions come from livestock alone.

That's around 7 times the emissions from air travel.

The world produces around 360 million tons of meat a year⏤that requires slaughtering over 70 billion animals.

Now, if that makes you uncomfortable because you've completely dissociated where your food comes from,

you can throw on some camo, grab a hunting knife, and truly embraced your inner carnivore.

Or you can substitute animal meat with plant-based meat.

It's usually a combination of soy or pea protein, and it's gone from being a novelty to being everywhere.

Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger have exploded in popularity.

Burger King has announced plans to roll out its Impossible Whopper, the McPlant.

It's a plant-based vegetarian patty co-developed with Beyond Meat.

Sales of plant-based meat grew 53% in 2020; products expanded into pork, bacon, and chicken.

I mean, these things actually tasted good; people liked them.

Cows were giving each other high hooves⏤the future was here!

And then, suddenly, it stopped.

Growth dropped to 1% in 2021, and in 2022, sales actually started declining.

So, what happened?

Why hasn't plant-based meat broken through?

Well, it could partly be due to economics.

Recent inflation could make it a tougher sell, with flexitarians, semi-vegetarians who, I guess, like to show off their biceps.

But the biggest hurdle might not be economic.

Our eating habits are deeply ingrained in our culture.

Change is uncomfortable, and when it comes to certain people in America, this particular change makes them very uncomfortable.

Now, Cracker Barrel's new meatless sausage patty is creating quite the online debate.

The online announcement was flooded with comments.

One person even commenting, quote, "Don't ever try to push that crap in my direction."

Sorry I didn't give you a trigger warning before showing those.

If you're feeling faint, you can try to hold some beef jerky under your nose like smelling salts.

Look, part of the issue here is, obviously, cultural, right?

Most of us have been brought up to see meat as a critical part of our diet.

We've been socialized to think that we couldn't possibly live without it.

And, of course, that culture has been shaped and encouraged by businesses and lobbyists that make money off of meat,

and ignore the fact that we've had thousands of years of civilizations that have been vegetarian.

All that PR makes a real difference.

A recent study by Deloitte found that, regardless of the facts,

many people don't even believe that plant-based meat is healthier or more sustainable than animal meat.

At the end of the day, whether any meat alternative prevails will come down to time and money.

The EV revolution shows that a cool, new product can spark change but doesn't happen overnight.

Electric vehicles were around for a century before they really caught on.

Hopefully, it doesn't take that long for plant-based meats.

And if their price relative to animal meat drops,

we could see a huge spike in demand and angry Cracker Barrel diehards in the coming years.

Of course, meat isn't the only food deeply ingrained in our culture that turned out to have a negative impact on the climate.

Another one is palm oil.

Palm oil is cheap, versatile, and in thousands of everyday products.

It's also a major driver of deforestation, which is a major driver of climate change.

Our team traveled to Indonesia to try to understand the challenges of producing palm oil in a sustainable way.

We also spoke to scientists in the UK working on alternative climate-friendly substitutes.

But not on the same day; they're really far apart.