In recent years, plant-based meat has been taking the world by storm. New companies targeting flexitarians have sprouted up, and some traditional meat producers are hoping to cash in too.
Although it depends on the product, plant-based meat can be nutritionally similar to traditional meat. And Dalhousie University professor Sylvan Charlebois told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning there typically aren鈥檛 any major ingredient differences between them.
鈥淭here鈥檚 more fibre and frankly, less saturated fat. And those are really the main advantages that you see with a plant-based product,鈥� the food distribution and policy professor explained.
He added there is more protein in plant-based meat compared to most traditional meat sources, which are still a big source of iron.
But don鈥檛 think that scarfing down greasy plant-based items, such as the Beyond Meat burgers in A&W, is necessarily healthy, if you eat it with fries and a soft drink.
When it comes to resources spent, plant-based meat requires fewer resources and less water to make. Beef is also considered taxing on the environment because of the resources it takes to grow crops to feed cows.
And unlike the raw ingredients in plant-based meat, cows 鈥� the main ingredient in burgers and steak -- also produce the greenhouse gas methane, mostly through burps.
Plant-based meat is made for meat-eaters
By his estimation, Charlebois said there are more than 3,000 grocery stores in Canada carrying plant-based meats right now. He explained the target market for companies, such as 鈥淚mpossible Foods鈥� and 鈥淏eyond Meat,鈥� is not really for vegans per se.
鈥淵ou won鈥檛 find them in some obscure place in the grocery store, you鈥檒l find them at the meat counter,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd you know who doesn鈥檛 visit the meat counter? Vegans and vegetarians.鈥�
He explained these companies are really vying for the so-called flexitarians -- defined as people who primarily stick to vegetarian diets but occasionally eat meat or fish.
鈥淭hey want to eat meat but at the same time they want to reduce their consumption of animal protein,鈥� he explained. 鈥�(They) are really the targeted market for most of these companies.鈥�
For many consumers, the biggest question of all is what the products are made of: The burgers from Beyond Meat, for example, comprise pea proteins and canola oil, while Impossible Food鈥檚 patties are made of soy protein and coconut oil.
Plant-based meat doesn鈥檛 taste identical to traditional meat yet
Although some consumers can鈥檛 taste any difference between traditional meat and some plant-based meats, there are plenty who can.
And Charlebois acknowledged that plant-based products still have a ways to go -- especially if the goal is to replace traditional meat, such as beef and chicken.
鈥淐onsumers are attracted to these good products and they鈥檙e intrigued and curious but they are not perfect products,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 taste (the same), the texture is not the same, if you put them on the grill they don鈥檛 behave the same way as animal proteins.鈥�
More identical-tasting meat could be on the horizon, Charlebois said.
Investors seem to be betting big on that future. Beyond Meat -- which will be in Canadian stores by the summer and which has partnered with the fast-food chain A&W -- recently went public and their stock price skyrocketed by nearly 160 per cent.
But outside of these companies focusing exclusively on making plant-based meat, Charlebois said traditional meat producers are also investing and hoping to incorporate the plant-based products too.
Maple Leaf Foods is one such longstanding meat-industry giant. Charloebois said it is starting to see itself as not solely just an animal-protein company.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why they鈥檙e planning on building a $300-million plant in Indiana to manufacture these plant-based products,鈥� Charlebois said, adding several other companies are scaling up their efforts in regards to plant-based meat.
Traditional meat companies are protective over the word 'meat'
The meat-based products are still more expensive than most forms of traditional meat. That鈥檚 due to the expensive solutions used to help cells grow, which are in limited supply because they鈥檙e widely used in medical therapy.
Although it鈥檒l be a while before mainstream companies crack the code to cut down on costs, meat-based producers aren鈥檛 taking their new competition sitting down.
In Canada, the Quebec Cattle Producers Federation recently filed a complaint with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency against Beyond Meat over their use of the term 鈥減lant-based meat鈥� in recent tweets and promotional material.
