SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Beyond Meat and Other Artificial Foods What Does the Future Hold?

Beyond Meat is part of a new food line that seeks to replace food products of animal origin.

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LatinAmerican Post| Juan Manuel Londoño

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Leer en español: Beyond meat y otros alimentos artificiales ¿Qué nos depara el futuro?

The possibility of having a food substitute for foods that come from animals has been something that has intrigued humanity for some time. Not only to avoid unnecessary cruelty towards these living beings but also to reduce the impact that their carbon emissions have on climate change. Beyond Meat is perhaps the most recognized brand. It produces a kind of plant-based meat that is sold in around 80 countries around the world.

In this article, we will talk about this and other artificial products that mimic the taste and texture of animal products, so that you can learn about these alternatives.

Beyond Meat

Beyond Meat is perhaps the most popular meat substitute brand in the world. They have several products, among which are ground beef, sausages, hamburgers, chicken, and beef jerky.

Beyond Meat's products are made from 5 key ingredients. The first is vegetable protein, derived from peas and various types of beans. They also use plant-based fats, such as cocoa butter, coconut oil, and canola oil. The third ingredient is carbohydrates, used to give texture, which is obtained from potatoes. The fourth is common minerals like salt, calcium, iron, and potassium. Finally, the color of the meat is added from the beet and apple juice.

According to a peer-reviewed study from the University of Michigan, Beyond Meat has a number of benefits for the planet. Producing a Beyond Meat burger uses 99% less water than a regular burger, 93% less land, and emits 90% fewer greenhouse gases.

Perfect Day

This California-based company creates artificially manufactured milk proteins in a laboratory. They are then sold to various companies that turn them into dairy products such as milk, cream cheese, and yogurt. This process does not involve any cows, but precision fermentation. In essence, this is a chemical process similar to that used to create wine or beer.

Products created by this method have the advantage that they do not contain the lactose, cholesterol, and hormones present in normal dairy products. There are already several restaurants in the United States that use this product, which of course produces fewer greenhouse gases and uses less water than normal dairy production.

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Impossible Foods

Best known for their "Impossible Burger" or "impossible hamburger", Impossible Foods has been at the forefront of artificial foods for a while now. They sell burgers, hot dogs, ground beef, pork, meatballs, and chicken nuggets, among other items. Like Beyond Meat, its products are plant-based and have considerably less impact than real meat in environmental terms. For example, an Impossible Sausage, the sausage of this brand, uses 79% less water in its production than a normal sausage, produces 71% less greenhouse gas emissions, and uses 41% less land.

In short, artificial meats, made from plants, will be increasingly widespread in the world. This kind of food is positioned as a good alternative to reduce pollution produced by the livestock industry.

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