About a third of global greenhouse gas emissions come from our food systems, and livestock production is a big part of that. Experts largely agree that one of the biggest actions individuals can take to lower emissions is to eat less meat.

But that's a hard sell for a lot of consumers. Americans have actually been eating more meat in recent years, and sales of plant-based meat alternatives have dropped.

There are a lot of companies out there trying to innovate climate-friendly meat and alternatives for the future.

For our podcast "How We Survive," Marketplace's Amy Scott visits a lab at Columbia University where researchers are figuring out how to make a more convincing and enjoyable fake meat.

More on this

The Uncanny Valley of Meat - from How We Survive

Meat Is Back, on Plates and in Politics - from The New York Times

Plant-based meat by numbers: Grim reading for the US retail market, brighter spots in foodservice and globally - from AgFunderNews