Not a victory lap, a systems episode. Sean A. Russell imagines a world 20 years out where plant-based food is the default, and walks through five shifts that would follow.
Food systems normalize first, plant-based becomes the default comfort food rather than a special order. Environmental recovery follows as land and water pressure eases and ecosystems get room to rebuild. Healthcare costs bend as chronic, diet-related disease rates drop. Animal agriculture does not vanish overnight, it consolidates and shrinks, and a genuinely ethical version of that transition includes retraining and support for the workers whose livelihoods depend on it today. Capital relocates into plant-based innovation, local and regional food systems, and a wellness economy built on outcomes rather than trends.
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