These offerings, among other new energy and protein sources that seek to remove animals from the production process, may signal the beginning of a new, more sustainable food future. Consider: Already we raise 70 billion animals a year globally for food. If the human population inflates to 9.6 billion by 2050, as expected, and demand for meat continues to grow, we'll need to commensurately increase the number of animals. That's an awful lot of slaughter, not to mention methane. Thus, protein alternatives may not be merely an option for the health conscious but a necessity for the hungry.