discover
MEAT
FROM PLANTS? By Greg Fox
A
worldwide crusade is building to find an alternative to animal protein as food. Proponents of a natural lifestyle regularly join with animal and environmental activists to encourage healthier, plant-based diets. The argument is that eating plants is not only good for you; it’s good for the planet, too. Research from prominent organizations, including the Worldwatch Institute (worldwatch.org), reveals that cows, pigs and chickens raised for food consume a significant amount of water, fuel and other natural resources that could be used in more beneficial ways. Furthermore, livestock account for more than half of all the greenhouse gas emissions in the world, making a substantial contribution to global warming. This reality has attracted the attention of environmental and health-conscious entrepreneurs and investors, including Bill Gates, all interested in finding a way to wean the world off animal protein by producing real meat from plants–no animals needed.
34
INSPIRE HEALTH
Several plant-based meat manufacturers have sprung up in the last few years.Turtle Island Foods is the maker of Tofurky brand meat substitutes. Impossible Foods, founded by Stanford University biologist Patrick Brown, is
developing a ‘plant-based meat’ that sizzles, smells, tastes and even bleeds like an animal beef burger. The industry leader seems to be Beyond Meat. In 2009, the founder of Beyond Meat, Ethan Brown,
BEYOND MEAT IS SOLD IN MORE THAN 6000 LOCATIONS NATIONWIDE. A 9-OUNCE BAG OF BEYOND CHICKEN STRIPS RETAILS FOR $5.29