As a consumer, our food choices seem to become limitless and everchanging and there is so much information to weigh as you make a choice about what to place in your body.
Currently, consumers have the option to purchase plant-based meats with the Beyond brand and the Impossible burger but I refuse to eat both burgers due to all the additives in them. As well, I have a family member severely allergic to plant proteins. I prefer homemade foods where I control what is added. Neither the Impossible burger or Beyond beef fit my personal food philosophy despite it being plant-based and seemingly better for the environment.
However, I am also a believer in each person making a choice based on their health needs and if they choose not to eat animal products for whatever reason then they have made that decision for their own personal reasons and it is not my place to judge.
The Beyond burger ( beyondmeat.com) obtains its protein from combining pea protein mung bean and brown rice which when combined form a complete protein.
The ingredient list according to beyondmeat.com includes:
Water, Pea Protein Isolate, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Refined Coconut Oil, Contains 2% or less of the following: Cellulose from Bamboo, Methylcellulose, Potato Starch, Natural Flavor, Maltodextrin, Yeast Extract, Salt, Sunflower Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Dried Yeast, Gum Arabic, Citrus Extract (to protect quality), Ascorbic Acid (to maintain color), Beet Juice Extract (for color), Acetic Acid, Succinic Acid, Modified Food Starch, Annatto (for color).
The impossible burger (https://impossiblefoods.com/burger/) is also meant to mimic the all-mighty beef burger and it can bleed like beef due to the addition of Soy Leghemoglobin. I do not find this a healthy alternative as the soy used in the impossible burger is highly processed thus all nutritional value is lost. Also, personally we do not use soy in our home due to allergies.
The ingredient list includes: Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Potato Protein, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12. https://www.cnet.com/health/beyond-meat-vs-impossible-burger-whats-the-difference/
Recently I watched a documentary titled “Meat the future” on CBC.
I was astounded and began my own little research on this only to find that they are actually growing meat in a lab. Winston Churchhill predicted that in- vitro meat would be the way of the future by stating. “We Shall Escape the Absurdity of Growing a Whole Chicken in Order To Eat the Breast or Wing”
The post on Winstochurchill.org is an interesting one discussing the future of food as Churchill predicted it. Personally, I only imagined this was something that happened in sci-fi movies.
In Churchills collections “Thoughts and Adventures. Churchill described it this way: “Microbes which at present convert the nitrogen of the air into proteins by which animals live, will be fostered and made to work under controlled conditions just as yeast is now.”
Who would have imagined that this would come to fruition?
As I watched “Meat the Future” I learned this was about a company titled Memphis Meats, a company started by a cardiologist and a farmer now a scientist who had a vision for the future.
I learned some interesting facts while watching this documentary.
The ingredients used are proprietary so they will not reveal the ingredients used at this point but they indicate ingredients are the same ones used to grow regular meat
They can grow meat from animal cells in the lab in 4-6 weeks and it takes about 2.5 years for a cow to go to slaughter and make it to the store
By producing meat from the cell up they can produce high-quality meats
When they first made lab meat it was $9000 a pound /454 grams
Last I heard it was $100 a pound and still on the decline
The goal is to produce more nutrient-dense food with fewer resources
Working on reducing the costs
No methane in the production process
No slaughter of animals
The meat growing plant will recycle, use renewable energies and be better for the environment
Target goals for the company are to produce meat using 10x less land, 10x less water reduce deforestation and reduce methane
They want their meat to be locally sourced locally produced
They have received financial backing from some big companies.
I am very intrigued. I prefer natural ingredients with limited additives so we can control allergens in our food.
I am intrigued as I am somewhat of an environmentalist and if this method of “ farming” becomes our future how much better will the environment be?
I am intrigued as I wonder how our body will react to this in-vitro meat?
What is your preference?
These are some beef sliders my students made one day, homemade buns and all