Primed for power: a short cultural history of protein

Abstract

Protein has a singularly prominent place in discussions about food. It symbolises fitness, strength and masculinity, motherhood and care. It is the preferred macronutrient of affluence and education, the mark of a conscientious diet in wealthy countries and of wealth and success elsewhere. Through its association with livestock it stands for pastoral beauty and tradition. It is the high-tech food of science fiction, and in discussions of changing agricultural systems it is the pivotal nutrient around which good and bad futures revolve. There is no denying that we need protein and that engaging with how we produce and consume it is a crucial part of our response to the environmental crises. But discussions of these issues are affected by their cultural context—shaped by the power of protein. Given this, we argue that it is vital to map that cultural power and understand its origins. This paper explores the history of nutritional science and international development in the Global North with a focus on describing how protein gained its cultural meanings. Starting in the first half of the 19th century and running until the mid-1970s, it covers two previous periods when protein rose to singular prominence in food discourse: in the nutritional science of the late-19th century, and in international development in the post-war era. Many parallels emerge, both between these two eras and in comparison with the present day. We hope that this will help to illuminate where and why the symbolism and story of protein outpace the science—and so feed more nuanced dialogue about the future of food.

Regenerative Cattle Farming in Latin America and the Caribbean, Far beyond the Oxymoron

“…Animals raised on well-managed pastures with high nutritional value emit less greenhouse gases than animals raised in confinement, mainly due to the variation in enteric fermentation of the diet and the reuse of manure in soil fertilization [76][77][78][79]. Beef production systems in areas with diversified and well-managed pastures can reduce the area needed for animal husbandry by up to seven times [13,80].…”

“…The average stocking rate of pastures in the Brazilian Amazon, for example, is 0.73 animal units per hectare, when the average potential is 2.5 for cattle grazing in the region [29]. Köberle et al (2023) [13] point out that increasing beef cattle productivity is already widely recognized in Brazil as having great potential for the sector to increase production and, at the same time, reduce the pressure to expand into new areas of land.…”

“…The most important thing is that this is moderate intensification [13,111], whose costs tend to be accessible to family farmers and whose implementation does not require sophisticated technological skills. It is an activity that benefits from the abundance of solar energy and rainfall in the region and relies fundamentally on renewable and abundant resources.…”

“…It is only in sub-Saharan Africa that there will be a significant increase in per capita beef demand. But since the starting point for consumption is very low and since the main research organizations are committed to increasing the region's food sovereignty by strengthening crops adapted to its ecosystem conditions [10][11][12][13], the much-vaunted explosion in demand for animal proteins is increasingly distant from what the most balanced forecasts [14] point to.…”