Meat alternative

"Vegetarian meat" redirects here. For cultured meat, see cultured meat. For the rock band, see Vegetarian Meat (band).

A meat alternative or meat substitute (also called plant-based meat, mock meat, or alternative protein),^[1] 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.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} 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.^[8] 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.^[9] The ingredients of meat alternative include 50–80% water, 10–25% textured vegetable proteins, 4–20% non-textured proteins, 0–15% fat and oil, 3-10% flavors/spices, 1-5% binding agents and 0-0.5% coloring agents.^[10]  

A tempeh burger

Chinese style tofu from Buddhist cuisine is prepared as an alternative to meat.

Two slices of vegetarian bacon

Meatless tissue engineering involves the cultivation of stem cells on natural or synthetic scaffolds to create meat-like products.^[11] Scaffolds can be made from various materials, including plant-derived biomaterials, synthetic polymers, animal-based proteins, and self-assembling polypeptides.^[12] It is these 3D scaffold-based methods provide a specialized structural environment for cellular growth.^[13][14] Alternatively, scaffold-free methods promote cell aggregation, allowing cells to self-organize into tissue-like structures.^[15]

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 animal agriculture.

Meat substitution has a long history. Tofu was invented in China as early as 200 BCE,^[16] and in the Middle Ages, chopped nuts and grapes were used as a substitute for mincemeat during Lent.^[17] 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.

History

A nut and lentil roast from the Good Health journal, in 1902

Advert for John Harvey Kellogg's Protose meat substitute

The vegan Beyond Burger from Beyond Meat

Cheeseburger made with a vegan patty from Impossible Burger

Tofu, a meat alternative^{[failed verification]} made from soybeans, was invented in China by the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 CE). Drawings of tofu production have been discovered in a Han dynasty tomb.^[16][18] Its use as a meat alternative is recorded in a document written by Tao Gu (simplified Chinese: 陶谷; traditional Chinese: 陶穀; pinyin: Táo Gǔ, 903–970). Tao describes how tofu was popularly known as "small mutton" (Chinese: 小宰羊; pinyin: xiǎo zǎiyáng), which shows that the Chinese valued tofu as an imitation meat.^{[failed verification]} Tofu was widely consumed during the Tang dynasty (618–907), and likely spread to Japan during the later Tang or early Song dynasty.^[16]

In the third century CE, Athenaeus describes a preparation of mock anchovy in his work Deipnosophistae:^[19]

He took a female turnip, shred it fine
Into the figure of the delicate fish;
Then did he pour on oil and savoury salt
With careful hand in due proportion.
On that he strew'd twelve grains of poppy seed,
Food which the Scythians love; then boil'd it all.
And when the turnip touch'd the royal lips,
Thus spake the king to the admiring guests:
"A cook is quite as useful as a poet,
And quite as wise, and these anchovies show it."

Wheat gluten has been documented in China since the sixth century.^[20] The oldest reference to wheat gluten appears in the Qimin Yaoshu, a Chinese agricultural encyclopedia written by Jia Sixie in 535. The encyclopedia mentions noodles prepared from wheat gluten called bo duo.^[20] Wheat gluten was known as mian jin by the Song dynasty (960–1279).

Before the arrival of Buddhism, northern China was predominantly a meat-consuming culture. The vegetarian dietary laws of Buddhism led to development of meat substitutes as a replacement for the meat-based dishes that the Chinese were no longer able to consume as Buddhists. Meat alternatives such as tofu and wheat gluten are still associated with Buddhist cuisine in China and other parts of East Asia.^[21] Meat alternatives were also popular in Medieval Europe during Lent, which prohibited the consumption of warm-blooded animals, eggs, and dairy products. Chopped almonds and grapes were used as a substitute for mincemeat. Diced bread was made into imitation cracklings and greaves.^[17]

John Harvey Kellogg developed meat replacements variously from nuts, grains, and soy, starting around 1877, to feed patients in his vegetarian Battle Creek Sanitarium.^[22] Kellogg's Sanitas Nut Food Company sold his meat substitute Protose, made from peanuts and wheat gluten. It became Kellogg's most popular product as several thousand tons had been consumed by 1930.^[22]

There was an increased interest in meat substitutes during the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century.^[23] Prior to 1950, interest in plant-based meat substitutes came from vegetarians searching for alternatives to meat protein for ethical reasons, and regular meat-eaters who were confronted with food shortages during World War I and World War II.^[23]

Lentils were used at the turn of the century. In 1897, Food, Home and Garden published a positive review of London's vegetarian restaurants, claiming, "For fivepence one could get a lentil cutlet, which was very appetizing, and looked like a meat croquette".^[24]

Henrietta Latham Dwight authored a vegetarian cookbook, The Golden Age Cook-Book in 1898 which included meat substitute recipes such as a "mock chicken" recipe made from breadcrumbs, eggs, lemon juice and walnuts and a "mock clam soup" made from marrowfat beans and cream.^[25] Dietitian Sarah Tyson Rorer authored the cookbook, Mrs. Rorer's Vegetable Cookery and Meat Substitutes in 1909.^[25] The book includes a mock veal roast recipe made from lentils, breadcrumbs and peanuts.^[25] In 1943, Kellogg made his first soy-based meat analog, called Soy Protose, which contained 32% soy.^[22] In 1945, Mildred Lager commented that soybeans "are the best meat substitute from the vegetable kingdom, they will always be used to a great extent by the vegetarian in place of meat."^[26]

In July 2016, Impossible Foods launched the Impossible Burger, a beef substitute which claims to offer appearance, taste and cooking properties similar to meat.^[27] In April 2019, Burger King partnered with Impossible Foods to launch the plant-based Impossible Whopper, which was released nationwide later that year,^[28] becoming one of the most successful product launches in Burger King's history.^[29] By October 2019, restaurants, such as Carl's Jr., Hardee's, A&W, Dunkin' Donuts, and KFC were selling plant-based meat products.^[30] Nestlé entered the plant-based burger market in 2019 with the introduction of the "Awesome Burger".^[31] Kellogg's Morningstar Farms brand tested its Incogmeato line of plant-based protein products in early September 2019, with plans for a US-wide rollout in early 2020.^[32]

Types

See also: List of meat substitutes, Milk substitute, and Egg substitute

A vegan faux-meat pie, containing soy protein and mushrooms, from an Australian bakery

Some vegetarian meat alternatives are based on centuries-old recipes for seitan (wheat gluten), rice, mushrooms, legumes, tempeh, yam flour or pressed-tofu, with flavoring added to make the finished product taste like chicken, beef, lamb, ham, sausage, seafood, etc. Other alternatives use modified defatted peanut flour, yuba and textured vegetable protein (TVP); yuba and TVP are both soy-based meat alternatives, the former made by layering the thin skin which forms on top of boiled soy milk,^[33] and the latter being a dry bulk commodity derived from soy and soy protein concentrate. Some meat alternatives include mycoprotein, such as Quorn which usually uses egg white as a binder. Another type of single cell protein-based meat alternative (which does not use fungi however but rather bacteria^[34]) is Calysta.

Production and composition

A plant-based pulled pork vendor demonstrating its texture

To produce meat alternatives with a meat-like texture, two approaches can be followed: bottom-up and top-down.^[35] With bottom-up structuring, individual fibers are made separately and then assembled into larger products. An example of a meat alternative made using a bottom-up strategy is cultured meat. The top-down approach, on the other hand, induces a fibrous structure by deforming the material, resulting in fibrousness on a larger length scale. An example of a top-down technique is food extrusion.

Both bottom-up and top-down processing can be used alone or in combination to offer various benefits. As discussed later, different meat alternative products have varying nutritional values.^[36] A notable advantage of the bottom-up approach is its ability to provide precise control over the composition and characteristics of the end product, allowing for optimized nutritional profiles. On the other hand, meat alternatives produced by top-down approaches may have limited malleability but are more scalable and can utilize available agricultural resources and infrastructure effectively.^[37] According to a study by Wageningen University & Research titled "Structuring Processes for Meat Analogues," Techniques that follow the bottom-up strategy have the potential to resemble the structure of meat most closely.".^[38] A cross-national survey conducted among meat-eaters with varying degrees of meat alternative consumption showed that those who consumed higher quantities of meat were more willing to switch to meat alternatives if they resembled authentic meat more accurately. Which can be accomplished through bottom-up approaches. The study concludes that sensory experience plays a crucial role in utilizing plant-based alternatives for heavy meat eaters.^[39]

The types of ingredients that can be used to create meat substitutes is expanding, from companies like Plentify, which are using high-protein bacteria found in the human microbiome,^[40] to companies like Meati Foods, that are cultivating the mycelium of fungi—in this case, Neurospora crassa—to form steaks, chicken breasts, or fish.^[41][42]

Soy protein isolates or soybean flour and gluten are usually used as foundation for most meat substitutes that are available on the market. Soy protein isolate is a highly pure form of soy protein with a minimum protein content of 90%. The process of extracting the protein from the soybeans starts with the dehulling, or decortication, of the seeds. The seeds are then treated with solvents such as hexane to extract the oil from them. The oil-free soybean meal is then suspended in water and treated with alkali to dissolve the protein while leaving behind the carbohydrates. The alkaline solution is then treated with acidic substances to precipitate the protein, before being washed and dried. The removal of fats and carbohydrates results in a product that has a relatively neutral flavor.^[43] Soy protein is also considered a "complete protein" as it contains all of the essential amino acids that are crucial for proper human growth and development.^[44]

After the textured base material is obtained, a number of flavorings can be used to give a meaty flavor to the product. The recipe for a basic vegan chicken flavor is known since 1972, exploiting the Maillard reaction to produce aromas from simple chemicals.^[45] Later understanding of the source of aroma in cooked meat also found lipid oxidation and thiamine breakdown to be important processes. By using more complex starting materials such as yeast extract (considered a natural flavoring in the EU), hydrolyzed vegetable protein, various fermented foods, and spices, these reactions are also replicated during cooking to produce richer and more convincing meat flavors.^[46][47]

Commerce

In 2020, the world retail value of meat substitutes was 10.9% of the combined meat and substitutes market. The remaining 89.1% was meat.^[48]

Average price of meat substitutes worldwide from 2013 to 2021 with projections to 2026. Includes vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes.^[49] Projection made in October 2021. Prices were converted to USD using average exchange rates of the first year.^{[50][clarification needed]}

Meat substitutes represent around 11% of the world's meat and substitutes market in 2020^[update]. As shown in the graph, this market share is different from region to region.^[48] From 2013 to 2021, the world average price of meat substitutes fell continuously, by an overall 33%. The only exception was a 0.3% increase in 2020, compared to 2019. The price will continue to decrease, according to projections by Statista (see average price graph).^[49]

The motivation for seeking out meat substitutes varies among consumers.^[51] The market for meat alternatives is highly dependent on "meat-reducers", who are primarily motivated by health consciousness and weight management. Consumers who identify as vegan, vegetarian or pescetarian are more likely to endorse concerns regarding animal welfare and/or environmentalism as primary motivators.^[52][53] Additionally, some cultural beliefs and religions place prohibitions on consuming some or all animal products, including Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism, and Buddhism.

Vegan meats are consumed in restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, vegan school meals, and in homes. The sector for plant-based meats grew by 37% in North America over 2017–18.^[54] In 2018–19, sales of plant-based meats in the United States were $895 million,^[55] with the global market for meat alternatives forecast to be $140 billion by 2029.^[56] Seeking a healthy alternative to meat, curiosity, and trends toward veganism were drivers for the meat alternative market in 2019.^[57] Sales of plant-based meats increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[58] The book The End of Animal Farming by Jacy Reese Anthis argues that plant-based food and cultured meat will completely replace animal-based food by 2100.^[59]

Impact

Environmental

Besides ethical and health motivations, developing better meat alternatives has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of meat production, an important concern given that the global demand for meat products is predicted to increase by 15 percent by 2031. Research on meats and no-meat substitutes suggests that no-meat products can offer substantial benefits over the production of beef, and to a lesser extent pork and chicken, in terms of greenhouse gas production, water and land use.^[8] A 2022 report from the Boston Consulting Group found that investment in improving and scaling up the production of meat and dairy alternatives leads to big greenhouse gas reductions compared with other investments.^[60]

According to The Good Food Institute, improving efficiency of the Western diet is crucial for achieving sustainability.^[61] As the global population grows, the way land is used will be reconsidered. 33% of the habitable land on Earth is used to support animals. Of all the land used for agriculture, 77% is used on animal agriculture even though this sector only supplies 17% of the total food supply. Plant-based meat can use a potential 47–99% less land than conventional meat does, freeing up more opportunities for production. Of the total water used in global agriculture, 33% goes to animal agriculture while it could be used for drinking water or other growing purposes under a different strategy. Plant-based meat uses 72–99% less water than conventional meat production.^[61]

Pollution is the next largest contribution to wasted water. Pesticides used in animal feed production as well as waste runoff into reservoirs can cause ecological damage and even human illness as well as taking water directly out of the usable supply. Animal agriculture is the main contributor to the food sector greenhouse gas emissions. Production of plant-based meat alternatives emits 30–90% less than conventional meat production.^[62] While also contributing less to this total pollution, much of the land being used for animal feed could be used to mitigate the negative effects we've already had on the planet through carbon recycling, soil conservation, and renewable energy production.^[61] In addition to the ecological harm caused by the current industry, excess antibiotics given to animals cause resistant microbes that may render some of the life-saving drugs used in human medicine useless. Plant-based meat requires no antibiotics and would greatly reduce microbe antibiotic resistance.^[61]

A 2023 study published in Nature Communications found that replacing just half of the beef, chicken, dairy and pork products consumed by the global population with plant-based alternatives could reduce the amount of land used by agriculture by almost a third, bring deforestation for agriculture nearly to a halt, help restore biodiversity through rewilding the land and reduce GHG emissions from agriculture by 31% in 2050, paving a clearer path to achieving both climate and biodiversity goals.^[63][64][65] The switch to plant-based protein is reported to deliver the biggest climate-heating emission cuts per investment dollar of all industrial sectors.^[66]

Health

Meat alternatives have lower amounts of saturated fat, vitamin B12 and zinc than meat products but higher amounts of carbohydrates, dietary fibre, sodium, iron and calcium.^[67][68] Meat alternatives are rated as ultra-processed foods under the Nova classification, however, when the UK nutritional profiling system is used, not all products classified as ultra-processed are rated as unhealthy.^[69]

In 2021, the American Heart Association stated that there is "limited evidence on the short- and long-term health effects" of plant-based meat alternatives.^[70] The same year, the World Health Organization stated that there are "significant knowledge gaps in the nutritional composition" of meat alternatives and more research is needed to investigate their health impacts.^[71]

A 2023 review concluded that replacing red and highly-processed meat with a variety of meat alternatives improved quality-adjusted life years, led to significant health system savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions; replacement of meat with minimally-processed vegetarian alternatives, such as legumes had the greatest effect.^[72] Another review found that meat alternatives are likely to be healthier than meat products and more environmentally friendly but are more expensive.^[73]

A 2024 review found that plant-based meat alternatives have the potential to be healthier than animal source foods and have smaller environmental footprints.^[74]

Criticism

Companies producing plant-based meat alternatives, including Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, have been criticized for their marketing and makeup of their products as well as their use of animal testing.^[75] Dietitians have claimed they are not necessarily healthier than meat due to their highly processed nature and sodium content.^[76][77]

John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods, and Brian Niccol, CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, have criticized meat alternatives as ultra-processed foods. Chipotle has claimed it will not carry these products at their restaurants due to their highly processed nature. CNBC wrote in 2019 of Chipotle joining "the likes of Taco Bell ... and Arby's in committing to excluding meatless meats on its menu."^[78] In response, Beyond Meat invited Niccol to visit its manufacturing site to see the production process.^[78] Chipotle later developed its own "plant-based chorizo".^[79][80] In September 2022, Taco Bell also began adding plant-based meat alternatives to its menu.^[81]

Some consulting firms and analysts demand more transparency in terms of the environmental impact of plant-based meat.^[82] Through a survey, analysts from Deloitte discovered that some consumers negatively linked meat alternatives to being "woke" and politically-left leaning.^[83] These ideas emerged in response to Cracker Barrel's introduction of Impossible Sausages in their restaurants in August, 2022.^[84] In 2021, 68% of consumers who purchased plant based meats believed it was healthier than animal meat. The number dropping to 60% in 2022, demonstrating a decline in consumers beliefs in the healthiness of these meats.^[83]

Some states have instituted legislation stating that meat alternatives are not allowed to label themselves as "meat". In Louisiana, the so-called, "Truth in Labeling of Food Products Act" was challenged by Tofurky, complaining of free speech violations^[85] and was successful on those grounds.^[86]

Alternative meats companies Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have attempted to appeal to meat eaters. University of Oregon marketing professor Steffen Jahn thinks that this has run afoul of human psychology, saying "the mimicking of real meat introduces that comparison of authenticity."^[58] Jahn argues that marketing plant-based meats with traditional meats leads to an artificiality that many consumers do not love. Consumer psychologists split foods into categories of "virtue" and "vice" foods, which ultimately guide how products are marketed and sold. Virtue foods are those that less gratifying appealing in the short term, and typically healthier, whereas vice foods are the opposite, having more long term consequences.^[87] Many ready-made meat alternatives combine these categories with their long list of ingredients. Consumers who are likely to want to be "virtuous" by avoiding damage to the environment or animals are also likely to want "virtuous" food in the form of simple ingredients.^[58]

See also

• Food portal

• Vegetarian bacon
• Vegetarian hot dogs
• Vegetarian sausage
• Meat-free sausage roll
• Soy curls – Soy based meat alternative
• Cultured meat – Animal flesh produced by culturing animal cells
• Egg substitutes – Food products which can be used to replace eggs in cooking and baking
• Insects as food – Use of insects as food for humans
• List of bacon substitutes
• List of meat substitutes
• List of vegetarian and vegan companies
• Leghemoglobin: alters flavor of certain meat alternatives to make them taste even more similar to meat ("simulates" animal blood in these meat alternatives but made from plant-based sources)
• Milk substitute – Alternative substance that resembles milk
• Single-cell protein, meat alternatives containing protein extract from pure or mixed cultures of algae, yeasts, fungi, or bacteria or made from air
• Timeline of cellular agriculture

References

1. Lurie-Luke, Elena (2024). "Alternative protein sources: science powered startups to fuel food innovation". Nature Communications. 15: 4425. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-47091-0. PMC 11133469.
2. van der Weele, Cor; Feindt, Peter; Jan van der Goot, Atze; van Mierlo, Barbara; van Boekel, Martinus (2019). "Meat alternatives: an integrative comparison". Trends in Food Science and Technology. 88: 505–512. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2019.04.018.
3. Nezlek, John B; Forestell, Catherine A (2022). "Meat substitutes: current status, potential benefits, and remaining challenges". Current Opinion In Food Science. 47: 100890. doi:10.1016/j.cofs.2022.100890.
4. Takefuji, Yoshiyasu (2021). "Sustainable protein alternatives". Trends in Food Science and Technology. 107: 429–431. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2020.11.012.
5. Zahari, Izalin; Östbring, Karolina; Purhagen, Jeanette K.; Rayner, Marilyn (2022). "Plant-Based Meat Analogues from Alternative Protein: A Systematic Literature Review". Foods. 11 (18): 2870. doi:10.3390/foods11182870. PMC 9498552. PMID 36140998.
6. Lima, Miguel; Costa, Rui; Rodrigues, Ivo; Lameiras, Jorge; Botelho, Goreti (2022). "A Narrative Review of Alternative Protein Sources: Highlights on Meat, Fish, Egg and Dairy Analogues". Foods. 11 (14): 2053. doi:10.3390/foods11142053. PMC 9316106. PMID 35885293.
7. Quintieri, Laura; Nitride, Chiara; De Angelis, Elisabetta; Lamonaca, Antonella; Pilolli, Rosa; Russo, Francesco; Monaci, Linda (2023). "Alternative Protein Sources and Novel Foods: Benefits, Food Applications and Safety Issues". Nutrients. 15 (6): 1509. doi:10.3390/nu15061509. PMC 10054669.
8. Holmes, Bob (20 July 2022). "How sustainable are fake meats?". Knowable Magazine. doi:10.1146/knowable-071922-1. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
9. "All sizzle, no steak: how Singapore became the centre of the plant-based meat industry". The Guardian. 5 November 2022.
10. Pang, Shinsiong; Chen, Mu-Chen (April 2024). "Investigating the impact of consumer environmental consciousness on food supply chain: The case of plant-based meat alternatives". Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 201: 123190. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2023.123190. ISSN 0040-1625.
11. Ahmad, Khurshid; Lim, Jeong-Ho; Lee, Eun-Ju; Chun, Hee-Jin; Ali, Shahid; Ahmad, Syed Sayeed; Shaikh, Sibhghatulla; Choi, Inho (15 December 2021). "Extracellular Matrix and the Production of Cultured Meat". Foods. 10 (12): 3116. doi:10.3390/foods10123116. ISSN 2304-8158. PMC 8700801. PMID 34945667.
12. Rodrigues, André L.; Rodrigues, Carlos A. V.; Gomes, Ana R.; Vieira, Sara F.; Badenes, Sara M.; Diogo, Maria M.; Cabral, Joaquim M.S. (15 October 2018). "Dissolvable Microcarriers Allow Scalable Expansion And Harvesting Of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Under Xeno-Free Conditions". Biotechnology Journal. 14 (4): e1800461. doi:10.1002/biot.201800461. ISSN 1860-6768. PMID 30320457.
13. Moroni, Lorenzo; Burdick, Jason A.; Highley, Christopher; Lee, Sang Jin; Morimoto, Yuya; Takeuchi, Shoji; Yoo, James J. (26 April 2018). "Biofabrication strategies for 3D in vitro models and regenerative medicine". Nature Reviews Materials. 3 (5): 21–37. Bibcode:2018NatRM...3...21M. doi:10.1038/s41578-018-0006-y. ISSN 2058-8437. PMC 6586020. PMID 31223488.
14. Daly, Andrew C.; Kelly, Daniel J. (8 January 2019). "Biofabrication of spatially organised tissues by directing the growth of cellular spheroids within 3D printed polymeric microchambers". Biomaterials. 197: 194–206. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.12.028. hdl:2262/91315. PMID 30660995.
15. Alblawi, Adel; Ranjani, Achalla Sri; Yasmin, Humaira; Gupta, Sharda; Bit, Arindam; Rahimi-Gorji, Mohammad (20 October 2019). "Scaffold-free: A developing technique in field of tissue engineering". Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine. 185: 105148. doi:10.1016/j.cmpb.2019.105148. PMID 31678793.
16. DuBois, Christine; Tan, Chee-Beng; Mintz, Sidney (2008). The World of Soy. National University of Singapore Press. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-9971-69-413-5.
17. Adamson, Melitta Weiss (2004). Food in Medieval Times. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-313-32147-4.
18. William Shurtleff; Akiko Aoyagi (18 December 2014). History of Meat Alternatives (965 CE to 2014): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook (PDF). Soyinfo Center. ISBN 978-1-928914-71-6.
19. Athenaeus. Deipnosophistae. Project Gutenberg. p. 11.
20. Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko; Huang, H.T. (2014). History of Soybeans and Soyfoods in China and Taiwan, and in Chinese Cookbooks, Restaurants, and Chinese Work with Soyfoods Outside China (1024 BCE to 2014). Soyinfo Center. pp. 2478–2479. ISBN 978-1-928914-68-6.
21. Anderson, E.N. (2014). "China". Food in Time and Place. University of California Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-520-95934-7.
22. "Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and Battle Creek Foods". www.soyinfocenter.com.
23. Perren, Richard. (2017). Taste, Trade and Technology: The Development of the International Meat Industry Since 1840. Routledge. pp. 188–190. ISBN 978-0-7546-3648-9
24. Food, Home and Garden. 1897.
25. Shprintzen, Adam D. (2013). The Vegetarian Crusade: The Rise of an American Reform Movement, 1817-1921. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-1-4696-0891-4
26. Lager, Mildred M. (1945). The Useful Soybean: A Plus Factor in Modern Living. McGraw-Hill Book Company. p. 95
27. Reilly, Michael (22 June 2016). "Fake meat companies might finally cure our addiction to animal flesh". Technology Review. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
28. Popper, Nathaniel (1 April 2019). "Behold the Beefless 'Impossible Whopper'". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
29. Chiorando, Marie (17 November 2019). "Impossible Whopper Is 'One Of Burger King's Most Successful Launches In History'". www.plantbasednews.org. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
30. Rivera, Dane (22 October 2019). "All The Major Fast Food Chains And Markets Selling Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods". Uproxx. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
31. Wiener-Bronner, Danielle (24 September 2019). "The Awesome Burger is Nestlé's answer to the plant-based meat craze". CNN Business. Cable News Network. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
32. Chung, Heidi (12 February 2020). "Food giant Kellogg's unveils 'Incogmeato' plant-based products". Yahoo! Finance.
33. Patterson, Daniel (6 August 2006). "The Way We Eat: I Can't Believe It's Tofu". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
34. EOS, April 2019, page 52
35. Dekkers, Brigit (November 2018). "Structuring processes for meat analogues". Trends in Food Science & Technology. 81: 25–36. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2018.08.011.
36. van Vliet, Stephan; Bain, James R.; Muehlbauer, Michael J.; Provenza, Frederick D.; Kronberg, Scott L.; Pieper, Carl F.; Huffman, Kim M. (5 July 2021). "A metabolomics comparison of plant-based meat and grass-fed meat indicates large nutritional differences despite comparable Nutrition Facts panels". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 13828. Bibcode:2021NatSR..1113828V. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-93100-3. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8257669. PMID 34226581.
37. Nichol, Jason W.; Khademhosseini, Ali (2009). "Modular tissue engineering: engineering biological tissues from the bottom up". Soft Matter. 5 (7): 1312–1319. Bibcode:2009SMat....5.1312N. doi:10.1039/b814285h. ISSN 1744-683X. PMC 2826124. PMID 20179781.
38. Dekkers, Birgit L.; Boom, Remko M.; van der Goot, Atze Jan (November 2018). "Structuring processes for meat analogues". Trends in Food Science & Technology. 81: 25–36. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2018.08.011.
39. Hoek, Annet C.; Luning, Pieternel A.; Weijzen, Pascalle; Engels, Wim; Kok, Frans J.; de Graaf, Cees (June 2011). "Replacement of meat by meat substitutes. A survey on person- and product-related factors in consumer acceptance". Appetite. 56 (3): 662–673. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2011.02.001. PMID 21315123.
40. Watson, Elaine (20 June 2020). "'Plentify' novel single cell protein 'ludicrously efficient' to produce vs animal protein, claims startup". Retrieved 26 June 2020.
41. Peters, Adele (29 October 2019). "If it looks like a steak and tastes like a steak, in this case, it's a mushroom". Fast Company. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
42. "What is the most technical and scientific way to understand what Meati is made from and how we are branding it?". Retrieved 18 October 2023.
43. Sedgwick, Tali (28 June 2013). "Meat Analogs". Food and Nutrition. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
44. US patent US2682466A High protein food product and process for its preparation Robert A. Boyer, published 29 June 1954 US patent 5285709, "Meat Analog Compositions." Robert A. Boyer, issued 29 June 1954
45. Perret, Marcel Andre (5 September 1972). "Chicken flavor and process for preparing the same".
46. Kale, Prajyoti; Mishra, Anusha; Annapure, Uday S. (June 2022). "Development of vegan meat flavour: A review on sources and techniques". Future Foods. 5: 100149. doi:10.1016/j.fufo.2022.100149.
47. Li, Xuejie; Li, Jian (2020). "The Flavor of Plant-Based Meat Analogues". Cereal Foods World. 65 (4). doi:10.1094/CFW-65-4-0040.
48. "Uprooting tradition: What plant-based alternatives mean for the future of protein". Royal Bank of Canada. 21 May 2021. pp. 13–14. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022. Formula: (Retail value meat substitutes) / (Retail value meat + retail value meat substitutes).
49. "Global: meat substitute price per unit 2013–2026". Statista. November 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2022. all types of meat-like products that approximate certain aesthetic qualities (primarily texture, flavor, and appearance) or chemical characteristics of a specific meat. (...) includes plant-based meat and vegetarian meat [which] contains non-vegan ingredients
50. "Meat Substitutes – Worldwide | Statista Market Forecast". Statista. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
51. Siddiqui, Shahida Anusha; Alvi, Tayyaba; Sameen, Aysha; Khan, Sipper; Blinov, Andrey Vladimirovich; Nagdalian, Andrey Ashotovich; Mehdizadeh, Mohammad; Adli, Danung Nur; Onwezen, Marleen (January 2022). "Consumer Acceptance of Alternative Proteins: A Systematic Review of Current Alternative Protein Sources and Interventions Adapted to Increase Their Acceptability". Sustainability. 14 (22): 15370. doi:10.3390/su142215370.
52. "CONSUMER INSIGHTS" (PDF). AHDB. July 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
53. Penny, J. C.; Swift, J. A.; Salter, A. M. (2015). "'Meat reducers': meat reduction strategies and attitudes towards meat alternatives in an emerging group". Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 74 (OCE5). doi:10.1017/S0029665115003602. ISSN 0029-6651.
54. Olayanju, Julia B. (30 July 2019). "Plant-based Meat Alternatives: Perspectives On Consumer Demands And Future Directions". Forbes. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
55. Cheng, Andria (29 July 2019). "Beyond Meat Q2 Sales Quadruple, But Replacing Meat? That's A Different Story". Forbes. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
56. Franck, Thomas (23 May 2019). "Alternative meat to become $140 billion industry in a decade, Barclays predicts". CNBC. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
57. Mourdoukoutas, Panos (31 August 2019). "Veganism And Vegetarianism Are Changing Fast Food". Forbes. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
58. Osaka, Shannon (23 January 2023). "The big problem with plant-based meat: The 'meat' part". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
59. Reese, Jacy (6 November 2018). The End of Animal Farming: How Scientists, Entrepreneurs, and Activists are Building an Animal-Free Food System. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 9780807039878.
60. Carrington, Damian (7 July 2022). "Plant-based meat by far the best climate investment, report finds". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
61. The Good Food Institute. "Plant-based meat for a growing world". gfi.org. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
62. Malila, Yuwares; Owolabi, Iyiola O.; Chotanaphuti, Tanai; Sakdibhornssup, Napat; Elliott, Christopher T.; Visessanguan, Wonnop; Karoonuthaisiri, Nitsara; Petchkongkaew, Awanwee (2024). "Current challenges of alternative proteins as future foods". npj Science of Food. 8: 53. doi:10.1038/s41538-024-00291-w. PMC 11327365.
63. Marashli, Imran (16 September 2023). "Meat, milk alternatives could slash food system emissions a third: study". Phys.org. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
64. Kozicka, Marta; Havlík, Petr; Valin, Hugo; et al. (2023). "Feeding climate and biodiversity goals with novel plant-based meat and milk alternatives". Nature Communications. 14 (5316): 5316. Bibcode:2023NatCo..14.5316K. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-40899-2. PMC 10497520. PMID 37699877.
65. Graham, Max (14 September 2023). "New Study Shows Impacts of Cutting Meat and Dairy Consumption in Half". Mother Jones. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
66. "Plant-based meat by far the best climate investment, report finds". The Guardian. 7 July 2022.
67. Lindberg, Leona; McCann, Rachel Reid; Smyth, Beatrice; Woodside, Jayne V; Nugent, Anne P. (2024). "The environmental impact, ingredient composition, nutritional and health impact of meat alternatives: a systematic review". Trends in Food Science & Technology. 149: 104483. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2024.104483.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
68. Surya Ulhas, Rutwick; Ravindran, Rajeev; Malaviya, Alok; Priyadarshini, Anushree; Tiwari, Brijesh K.; Rajauria, Gaurav (2023). "A review of alternative proteins for vegan diets: Sources, physico-chemical properties, nutritional equivalency, and consumer acceptance". Food Research International. 173: 113479. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113479.
69. Petersen T, Hirsch S. (2023). "Comparing meat and meat alternatives: an analysis of nutrient quality in five European countries". Public Health Nutrition. 26 (12): 3349–3358. doi:10.1017/S1368980023001945. PMC 10755401. PMID 37800339.
70. Lichtenstein AH, Appel LJ, Vadiveloo M, Hu FB, Kris-Etherton PM, et al. (December 2021). "2021 Dietary Guidance to Improve Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association". Circulation (Review). 144 (23): e472–e487. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000001031. PMID 34724806. S2CID 240422142.
71. "Plant-based diets and their impact on health, sustainability and the environment: A review of the evidence". WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases.
72. Reynolds, Andrew N.; Mhurchu, Cliona Ni; Kok, Zi-Yi; Cleghorn, Christine (1 February 2023). "The neglected potential of red and processed meat replacement with alternative protein sources: simulation modelling and systematic review". eClinicalMedicine. 56: 101774. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101774. ISSN 2589-5370. PMC 9772543. PMID 36567793.
73. Coffey AA, Lillywhite R, Oyebode O. (2023). "Meat versus meat alternatives: which is better for the environment and health? A nutritional and environmental analysis of animal-based products compared with their plant-based alternatives". Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 36 (6): 2147–2156. doi:10.1111/jhn.13219. PMID 37534713.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
74. Nájera Espinosa S, Hadida G, Jelmar Sietsma A, Alae-Carew C, Turner G, Green R, Pastorino S, Picetti R, Scheelbeek P. (2024). "Mapping the evidence of novel plant-based foods: a systematic review of nutritional, health, and environmental impacts in high-income countries". Nutrition Reviews: nuae031. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuae031. PMID 38657969.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
75. "Why It's Impossible for PETA to Get Behind the Impossible Burger". Archived from the original on 27 July 2018.
76. Lucas, Amelia (4 July 2019). "Are Beyond Meat's plant-based burgers healthier than red meat? Dietitians say no". CNBC. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
77. Drayer, Lisa (2019). "They might be better for the planet, but are plant-based burgers good for you?". CNN Health. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
78. Lucas, Amelia (24 July 2019). "Beyond Meat CEO invites Chipotle for a tour after its fake meats are called too processed". CNBC. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
79. Lucas, Amelia (19 August 2021). "Chipotle is testing a meatless chorizo alternative in two markets". CNBC. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
80. Lucas, Amelia (3 January 2022). "Chipotle adds meatless chorizo to its menu for limited time". CNBC. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
81. Martin, Brittany (21 September 2022). "Taco Bell Is Putting Beyond Meat on the Menu – And We Tasted It". Vegetarian Times. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
82. Creswell, Julie (15 October 2021). "Plant-Based Food Companies Face Critics: Environmental Advocates". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
83. "Plant based meat sales slowing". Deloitte Insights. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
84. Valinsky, Jordan (4 August 2022). "Cracker Barrel sparks uproar for plant-based sausage critics say is 'woke' | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
85. "Pickin' on Veggies: Louisiana's "Truth in Labeling of Food Products Act"". 22 January 2020.
86. "Veggie 'Meat' Maker Tofurky Wins Free Speech Challenge to Food-Labeling Law". 31 March 2022.
87. van Doorn, Jenny; Verhoef, Peter C. (September 2011). "Willingness to pay for organic products: Differences between virtue and vice foods". International Journal of Research in Marketing. 28 (3): 167–180. doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2011.02.005. ISSN 0167-8116.

Further reading

• Yes, plant-based meat is better for the planet. Vox. 18 November 2021.
• Plant-based meat is a simple solution to climate woes – if more people would eat it. Associated Press. 1 December 2023.