The Science of Alt Protein: Accounting for land dictates the climate effects of alternative proteins

Tim Searchinger

SENIOR RESEARCH SCHOLAR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR FOR AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, & ECOSYSTEMS AT WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE

Tim Searchinger is a Senior Research Scholar at the School of Public and International Affairs of Princeton University. He is also a Senior Fellow and the Technical Director for Agriculture, Forestry & Ecosystems at the World Resources Institute. Searchinger’s work today combines ecology, agronomy and economics to analyze the challenge of how to feed a growing world population while reducing deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. His publications include many papers in Science and Nature addressing the greenhouse and other environmental implications of agriculture, bioenergy, forestry, and nitrogen pollution. He is also the lead author of several major reports, including Creating a Sustainable Food Future, a comprehensive report addressing these issues published in 2019 by WRI, the World Bank, and the United Nations. His research ranges from global analyses to projects in countries around the world, including Colombia, Rwanda, Zambia, Vietnam, and Denmark, and focuses both on issues of science and public policy. For the first part of his career, Searchinger worked as an environmental attorney, primarily at the Environmental Defense Fund, where he directed its work on agricultural policy, wetlands, and restoration of several major aquatic ecosystems. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School.