Two trends have walked in parallel over the past few years. On the one hand the food real and proximity, in a turn towards environmental and economic sustainability that promotes local trade or fresh produce. On the other hand, increasingly synthetic and ultraprocessed vegan products, in a context of exponential economic growth: six years from now, the sale of vegan products is expected to reach $ 24 billion in profits. A revolution, but not of healthy eating.
More share. The expansion of veganism has driven the production of plant substitutes that mimic star foods from animals. Fast food and GarbageBut vegan. In 2017, 6% of Americans already declared themselves vegan, which meant a growth of 500% over the figures of 2014. In recent years the demand for vegan menus in the restaurant has increased by 987% . A niche that the food industry is able to interpret.
The usual. As has happened in other areas of the diet, the production of vegan foods is especially profitable if ingredients of low nutritional value or cheap raw materials are used for their manufacture. And this is the direction in which an industry increasingly focused on replicating the texture and flavor of meat burgers is moving forward, even though its ingredients are more related to laboratory design than to natural products.
Ultraprocessed as the “fake meat” is usually made from protein extract, starch or vegetable oils. Not very healthy.
Precision fermentation. One of the rising biochemical processes within the food industry. It consists of programming microorganisms to produce complex organic molecules such as proteins or lipids, an open door to the production of “milk” or “meat” in laboratories (always without the need to slaughter or use animals). By 2030 it is estimated that the production of designer food will be so cheap that it could shake the traditional livestock industry.
In figures: if today a kilo of precision fermentation costs around $ 100, the figure could drop to $ 10 in five years. A point of no return from an economic point of view.
the boom. Especially because vegan foods pick up on a decades-long trend that is on the verge of exceeding the industrial profitability threshold. In this context, it is not surprising that Burger King already offers in all its restaurants products such as “Impossible Whopper”, the exotic and equally tasty character had increased its visits by up to 17%. The adoption of “vegan meat” by some of the mainstays of fast food marks the medium-term transition of the industry.
In meat and vegetable protein. Because the next trend may also come in another of the star products of cheap food and at home, sushi. As we saw at the time, there are several companies that are developing products with a texture and taste similar to those of tuna or salmon. They all have one thing in common, for now: their nutritional values are more related to fast food than ever to the healthy ideal of veganism.
image: Impossible foods