In late September, 11 Republican members of Congress wrote to the directors of national intelligence and the Department of Agriculture’s Office of Homeland Security to warn of the latest threat emerging in China. They said China seeks to become the world leader in [the] production of meat alternatives — part of a “targeted attempt to dominate global food supply chains” that could pose an urgent threat to the food security of the United States and its allies.
China is serious about achieving breakthroughs in so-called future foods, which include lab-grown, plant-based, and other alternative meats. As China’s appetite has grown, the government in 2021 made the creation of domestic alternative protein industries part of its national economic development strategy. It’s become a central component of wide-ranging plans to achieve food security, and funding is pouring into new research initiatives.
Sure, the geopolitical rivalry with the United States is almost certainly part of what is motivating China; it wants to become self-sufficient in food in case tensions with the United States worsen to the point of war.
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