In environmental modeling, replacing beef with mycoprotein is expected to do what over thirty years if 20% substitution occurs?

• A. Increase deforestation.
• B. Cut deforestation by half.
• C. Increase deforestation by 25%.
• D. Completely eliminate deforestation.

Answer: (B)

Replacing beef with mycoprotein reduces the land needed for meat production because mycoprotein is produced through fermentation and uses far less land than cattle farming, which relies on large pasture areas and feed crops. With 20% of beef demand shifted, the pressure to clear forests for grazing and for growing cattle feed drops, so the amount of deforestation over time decreases. In this modeling, that reduced land-use pressure accumulates to a substantial decline—about half—over thirty years. It’s not zero, since other drivers of deforestation still exist, and it’s not an increase or a smaller change, so the best-fit outcome is a roughly 50% reduction.