Thanks for this comment, William. I think that your third point is especially strong.
While I’m not worried about the 140 million potential consumers for the reasons mentioned, and while I don’t think these bans indicate broad meat industry antipathy toward alt proteins (as discussed in the book), I have become convinced that I did not give enough weight to the potential chilling of public and private investment.
Often these bans are cited for the idea that the meat industry is mobilizing against alt proteins, but most of the meat industry opposes these bans. And the bans are cited w/​r/​t their impact on consumers, but production is going to be so low for quite some time that I’m not sure that’s especially meaningful. And as per your first point, yes, I would see bans in Calif., NY, NJ, Ill., or other first-adopter states as a very big deal—but I don’t think that’s at all likely.
But yes, I have come to understand the degree to which the bans can chill investor enthusiasm and perhaps also public investment, and I didn’t think nearly enough about those potential outcomes.
One final point: I do think it’s worth remembering that US politics are not global politics. On this point, the EU is worse than the US, and that’s a huge concern. The rest of the world is better than the US. Since science and engineering are global, that’s important to keep in mind, too.
I’m grateful to you for engaging with the book! For others, you can check it out at MeatBook.org/​​praise.
Thanks for this comment, William. I think that your third point is especially strong.
While I’m not worried about the 140 million potential consumers for the reasons mentioned, and while I don’t think these bans indicate broad meat industry antipathy toward alt proteins (as discussed in the book), I have become convinced that I did not give enough weight to the potential chilling of public and private investment.
Often these bans are cited for the idea that the meat industry is mobilizing against alt proteins, but most of the meat industry opposes these bans. And the bans are cited w/​r/​t their impact on consumers, but production is going to be so low for quite some time that I’m not sure that’s especially meaningful. And as per your first point, yes, I would see bans in Calif., NY, NJ, Ill., or other first-adopter states as a very big deal—but I don’t think that’s at all likely.
But yes, I have come to understand the degree to which the bans can chill investor enthusiasm and perhaps also public investment, and I didn’t think nearly enough about those potential outcomes.
One final point: I do think it’s worth remembering that US politics are not global politics. On this point, the EU is worse than the US, and that’s a huge concern. The rest of the world is better than the US. Since science and engineering are global, that’s important to keep in mind, too.
I’m grateful to you for engaging with the book! For others, you can check it out at MeatBook.org/​​praise.