A Migros-funded research institute in Zurich has called for Switzerland to stop eating meat by 2050, to help prevent human-made climate change. The Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute said that traditional sources of meat will become obsolete and that international companies and businesses in Switzerland should switch to producing synthetic meat as soon as possible.

Traditional meat could become a thing of the past in Switzerland

"Meat from conventional production will one day be for our grandchildren what the audio cassette is for us today: a relic that has fallen out of time," the institute said in the report. They concluded, "We can no longer afford our current meat consumption if we want to achieve our climate goals."

The Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute is one of the most prominent think tanks in Switzerland and gets most of its funding from one of the largest meat sellers in the country: Migros. The report is part of a wider study released by 10 major think tanks, who all call for Switzerland to be “meat-free” by 2050.

"Meat production is one of the biggest environmental sins," said spokesperson Alain Egli. To him, it is not a case of whether conventional meat will be replaced by alternative protein sources, but when.

Industrialised synthetic meat needed to cope with demand

Meat consumption is already falling in Switzerland, with people in Swiss cities and cantons consuming 5 kilograms of meat a year less today than they did in 2010. However, the group of think tanks said that this will not be enough and that industrialised “cellular agriculture” or synthetic meat production is needed to replace meat completely.

In response, Migros spokesperson Patrick Stöpper said that the supermarket was following vegan and meat-free trends closely. “Plant-based products are on the rise. The demand for our vegan products is constantly increasing, which is why we are constantly expanding the range,” he noted.