Dietary habits have a substantial influence on both planet and individual health. High intake of animal products has significant negative effects on the environment and on human health; hence, a reduction in meat consumption is necessary. The transition towards plant-based meat (PBM) is one of the potential solutions for environmental and health issues. To achieve this goal, it is important to understand the dietary habits and demands of consumers. This review was designed with a focus on PBM alternatives, dietary shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic, the drivers of consumers’ perceptions in various countries, and the measures that can promote the shift towards PBM. The PBM market is predicted to grow with rising awareness, familiarity, and knowledge in the coming years. Companies must focus on the categories of anticipated benefits to aid consumers in making the switch to a diet higher in PBM alternatives if they want to win over the target market.

The present study describes the production of biosurfactant from isolate B. licheniformis Ali5. Seven different, previously-reported minimal media were screened for biosurfactant production, and two selected media were further optimized for carbon source. Further, various fermentation conditions such as (pH 2–12, temperature 20–50 °C, agitation speed 100–300 rpm, NaCl (0–30 g·L⁻¹) were investigated. The partially purified biosurfactant was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS) and found a lipopeptide mixture, similar to lichenysin-A. Biosurfactant reduced surface tension from 72.0 to 26.21 ± 0.3 and interfacial tension by 0.26 ± 0.1 mN·m⁻¹ respectively, biosurfactant yield under optimized conditions was 1 g·L⁻¹, with critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 21 mg·L⁻¹ with high emulsification activity of (E24) 66.4 ± 1.4% against crude oil. Biosurfactant was found to be stable over extreme conditions. It also altered the wettability of hydrophobic surface by changing the contact angle from 49.76° to 16.97°. Biosurfactant efficiently removed (70-79%) motor oil from sand, with an efficiency of more than 2 fold as compared without biosurfactant (36–38%). It gave 32% additional oil recovery over residual oil saturation upon application to a sand-packed column. These results are indicative of potential application of biosurfactant in wettability alteration and ex-situ microbial enhanced oil recovery.