**History and Types of Meat Alternatives**:
– Tofu invented in China around 200 BCE.
– Wheat gluten documented in China since the sixth century.
– Meat substitutes developed in China due to Buddhist dietary laws.
– Popular in Medieval Europe during Lent.
– John Harvey Kellogg developed meat replacements in the late 19th century.
– Types include seitan, rice, mushrooms, legumes, tempeh, and tofu.
– Some alternatives use modified defatted peanut flour, yuba, and textured vegetable protein.
– Mycoprotein-based alternatives like Quorn are available.
– Single-cell protein-based alternatives like Calysta are produced.
– Various flavors mimic chicken, beef, lamb, ham, sausage, and seafood.
**Production and Composition**:
– Two approaches: bottom-up and top-down structuring.
– Ingredients: soy, wheat gluten, pea protein, and mycoprotein.
– Precision fermentation used for specific proteins.
– Cultivated or lab-grown alternatives based on tissue engineering.
– Ingredients for meat substitutes include high-protein bacteria and mycelium of fungi.
– Soy protein isolates and gluten commonly used as foundations.
**Companies, Products, and Commerce**:
– Startup companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat popularized plant-based substitutes.
– Nestlé, Kellogg’s Morningstar Farms, and Burger King introduced plant-based products.
– World retail value of meat substitutes was 10.9% of the combined market in 2020.
– Global market forecasted to reach $140 billion by 2029.
– Sales of plant-based meats in the US were $895 million in 2018–19.
**Health and Environmental Impact**:
– Consumed by vegetarians, vegans, and flexitarians for dietary protein.
– Help reduce environmental impact of meat production.
– Plant-based proteins gaining popularity for health benefits.
– Global demand for sustainable diets increasing popularity.
– Plant-based meat production significantly reduces water, land, and greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional meat.
**Cultured Meat, Flavoring, and Future Projections**:
– Cultured meat made using bottom-up strategy.
– Flavoring techniques involve Maillard reaction and lipid oxidation.
– Sales of plant-based meats increased during the COVID-19 epidemic.
– Market for plant-based meats growing rapidly.
– Predictions of a shift to plant-based and cultured meats by 2100.
A meat alternative or meat substitute (also called plant-based meat, mock meat, or fake meat sometimes pejoratively), is a food product made from vegetarian or vegan ingredients, eaten as a replacement for meat. Meat alternatives typically approximate qualities of specific types of meat, such as mouthfeel, flavor, appearance, or chemical characteristics. Plant- and fungus-based substitutes are frequently made with soy (e.g. tofu, tempeh, and textured vegetable protein), but may also be made from wheat gluten as in seitan, pea protein as in the Beyond Burger, or mycoprotein as in Quorn. Alternative protein foods can also be made by precision fermentation, where single cell organisms such as yeast produce specific proteins using a carbon source; as well as cultivated or laboratory grown, based on tissue engineering techniques.
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Meat alternatives are typically consumed as a source of dietary protein by vegetarians, vegans, and people following religious and cultural dietary laws. However, global demand for sustainable diets has also increased their popularity among non-vegetarians and flexitarians seeking to reduce the environmental impact of meat production.
Meat substitution has a long history. Tofu was invented in China as early as 200 BCE, and in the Middle Ages, chopped nuts and grapes were used as a substitute for mincemeat during Lent. Since the 2010s, startup companies such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have popularized pre-made plant-based substitutes for ground beef, patties, and vegan chicken nuggets as commercial products.