Holy shit! They want to use phosphate in batteries that is the most insane thing i have heard in a long time. The use of industrial N-P-K fertilizer (the P stands for Phosphorus) is the only reason we have seen the worlds population grow at this rapid rate and and it is also resposible for the increase in meat production you also mention. Phosphorus is essential for all life, including plants, animals and bacteria–it is a fundamental component of DNA, RNA and ATP. There is no substitute for phosphorus in crop growth and therefore in food production. The main way we get phosphate today is mining phosphate rock that is very scarce. Useing the element that is one of the limiting factors for life on our planet to make car batteries seems like the the most short sighted solution anyone could come up with.

We need to realise that the earths resources are like bitcoin there is only a finite amount. Shit is not gonna hit the fan when we run out of a resource its gonna happen way before that. We live in a economic system that is build debt and extracting natural resources at an increasingly exponential rate. As soon as the extracting peaks and starts to slow down just a little, the system we have build is in big big trouble and i dont see technology fixing this at best it is gonna delay it. Saying that peak oil/food is wrong since called the date to early dose not make theory irrelevant.