Ag & Ranching
2020
HEALTHY OR HOAX?
Contrary to claims, fake meat isn't healthier! Jennifer Whiteley The Nevada Rancher Magazine
Winnemucca, Nev. —In recent years, we have learned that certain words and phrases strike fear into the hearts of consumers. Words like GMO, Antibiotics and Hormones are bad, and phrases like Non-GMO, Antibiotic and Hormone Free, and Clean Foods are often used as selling points for many of the safe and wholesome products we are already producing in Agriculture to make consumers feel better about the foods they are buying. The term “plant based” used in reference to imitation meats is also engineered to make consumers feel better about buying faux meats. Traditional veggie burgers are made from combinations of soy, beans and lentils. They have a dry, crumbly texture that’s nothing like beef. The Impossible Burger has changed that with its pink color, juicy dribbles, smoky flavor and the ability to get that characteristically charred crust that previously only a grilled beef burger could offer, made with red, plant-based heme to make it taste meaty and look more like a
burger. (Heme is what makes meat taste like meat. It’s an essential molecule found in every living plant and animal -- most abundantly in animals. In plant based “meats,” plant-based heme is made via fermentation of genetically engineered yeast). According to advertisements by leading producers of faux meat, this meatless patty even bleeds like beef, so much so that seasoned vegans can’t tell the difference between the Impossible Burger and an actual hamburger. To some, this is good news. People actually believe that ' MEAT' CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
The burgers are relatively similar in terms of calorie count with lean ground beef, Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger all clocking in around 250 calories per patty and 20 grams of protein. The plantbased meat also has a fair amount of sodium and saturated fat. (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ fake-meat-alternatives-are-plantbased-meats-actually-healthierthan-meat/):
PLEASE NOTE THESE SPECIAL FEEDER CALF SALES
JUNE 9 • JULY 14
1 — Ag & Ranching, a May, 2020 publication of Nevada News Group