Pink burgers without beef, sparkling chicken saté without chicken and neon kebab without kebab. Nowadays, we are living in a kind of boom of veganism. People are becoming more curious about it, while not long ago it was considered ‘weird’ or ‘extreme’. The concept of imitating meat is not a new thing. Thanks to developments in food technology, the difference with the new fake meat is that fake meat have become uncannily realistic in both appearance and texture (Forbes, 2017). The proliferation of plant-based and vegan business developments and stories that occurred during the past year demonstrate that this sustainable movement, where entrepreneurs are leading the way, is just getting started in making its mark. The vegan lifestyle is starting to become the norm, but how healthy is all of this pretty decorated fake meat actually?
Veganism is finally recognized for its positive impact on sustainability and animal welfare without sacrificing the taste or structure of actual meat (Forbes, 2017). Plant-based meat alternatives are made from protein concentrates of pea, soy, and wheat by extrusion or mixing and coagulation (der Weele et al. 2019). Food technology is even developing further and is moving to cell-based technology, where muscle for consumption as food is produced (Post, 2013). Both technologies create the same, structure, taste and smell as actual food, and besides having plant-based nutritions.
While some people think that vegan foods are extremely healthy, others might have a different opinion. Following Jenny Rosborough, who is a registered nutritionist worries about vegan “meats” being perceived as automatically being healthier. She points out that fake meat burgers contain on average more salt than real meat burgers, and that people also need to take in consideration what nutrients might then missing from your diet, such as B vitamins and iron (The Guardian, 2019). Also Renee McGregor, a registered dietitian, would not recommend a vegan sausage weekly due to the high salt content and most likely list of preservatives (The Guardian, 2019).
The questions about the future of vegan foods that raise are: Is it just a hype or will it stay in the long-run? Will it turn out to be really unhealthy or not? and, will you eat it?
References:
Forbes. (2017) Here’s why you should turn your business vegan in 2018. [Online] Available at:
Post, M. (2012) ‘Cultured meat from stem cells: Challenges and prospects’, Meat Science 92(3):23 297-301.
The Guardian. (2019). The trouble with fake meat. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/jan/27/the-trouble-with-fake-meat-beetroot-burgers-food-substitutes
Der Weele, C., Feindt, P., Van Der Groot, A.J., Van Mierlo, B. and Van Boekel, M. (2019) ‘Meat alternatives: an integrative comparison’, Elsevier.
