Over the last decades, animal production has transitioned from small-scale farming activities to large-scale industrial systems. The sharp increase in the number of farmed animals and the higher density at which they are kept, amplify risks for zoonoses —diseases and infections that are transmitted between animals and humans. Governmental policies and producers mainly focused on increasing biosecurity and biocontainment. These measures, however, have not proved to be a viable solution. As the emergence of zoonoses increased alongside increased demands for animals and their products, a solution lies in transitioning the animal industry to substitutes that are being increasingly made available through breakthroughs in food technology: plant-based and cultured meat options. Citizens are open to this protein transition, but experience barriers to change their behaviors. To reduce these barriers, governments should encourage alternatives to slaughtered meat and animal dairy by 1) removing the direct and indirect system of subsidies of the animal industry, 2) subsidizing the development and promotion of plant-based and cultured meat products, and 3) providing basic zoonotic information, including removing barriers that prevent the public and scientific scrutiny of the externalities in these production systems and making the link between animal product consumption behaviors and its effect on personal and global health clear.

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Link: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10393-022-01605-8.pdf