In response to the environmental impacts of traditional protein production, stakeholders are increasingly optimistic about the role of alternative proteins – such as vegan and vegetarian options, cultivated meat, and milk substitutes – in shaping future food security. As food systems evolve, it is essential to critically assess the true environmental benefits of these alternatives and their potential impacts on local farming and food sovereignty. This theme issue examines how various actors, including scientists, industry experts, lobbyists, and artists, envision equitable food production, exploring whose interests these new systems might serve. Contributors investigate diverse protein alternatives and the infrastructures and contexts that support them. While focusing on biotechnologies in cell agriculture, the issue also considers farming technologies and regulatory frameworks influencing food production's future. Through socio-technical imaginaries, we aim to highlight both the creative and the practical aspects of these innovations and their potential for societal transformation and new social arrangements.