Food News Articles- The Downsides of Plant-based Beef (Yes, There are Some!)

Overview of the US Beef Industry

Americans adore beef, so it's no surprise that the nation produces and consumes a lot of it. The US produces more beef than any other country in the world. As of 2021, the veal and beef produced in the US amounted to 12.6 million tons, Statista reported. The total production of beef in the US has stayed more or less stable over the past couple of decades.

The US is not only the biggest producer of beef in the world, it is also the biggest consumer. An average American consumed nearly 59 pounds of beef in 2020, according to a report by Statista. That year, 27.59 billion pounds were consumed in today, accounting for over 21% of the global consumption, according to data sourced from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Furthermore, the retail sale of beef is the highest of all fresh meat in the US, and in 2020, the value of fresh beef sold was more than $30 billion, Statista said.

Indeed cattle rearing is one of the most important constituents of agriculture and allied sectors in the US, and has been consistently garnering the highest amount of cash receipts. The USDA points out that the country not only houses the world's biggest industry for fed cattle (cattle leaving a feedlot after being fattened and set to be sold for slaughter), but the beef here is of high value, largely produced from grain-fed cattle.

The beef industry in the US has developed separately from the dairy industry, and according to a Statista report, of the nearly 100 million heads of cattle in the US in 2019, beef cattle outnumbered milch cattle three times over.

The US is also a big exporter and importer of beef. According to the USDA, the country was the third-biggest beef exporter in the world in 2020. Most of the beef exported from the US is sourced from grain-fed cattle, pegged as high-value cuts.

In 2020, the total veal and beef exported amounted to 2.95 billion pounds, Statista pointed out. The markets that accounted for close to 80% of all beef exports from the US in 2020 were Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Mexico. Additionally, record quantities were exported to China.

As far as beef imports into the US are concerned, there was a 9% jump in 2020 from 2019, with total volumes reaching 3.34 billion pounds, according to USDA data. This was the biggest beef import since 2015. Statista expects that in 2022, the total beef exports from the US will amount to 3.27 billion pounds, and total beef imports will be 3.26 billion pounds. The primary beef suppliers to the US are Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil.

Damaging Impact of Beef Consumption

Beef-love notwithstanding, there is no denying that the meat's consumption has several harmful health and environmental consequences. Consumption of beef and red meat has been linked to diseases like heart-related ailments, diabetes, obesity, and cancer. And as for the environment, cattle produce a massive amount of methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas (GHG) that contributes significantly to global warming. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), methane is 28-34 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.

The book 'Livestock's Long Shadow- Environmental Issues and Options' points out that the livestock industry generates more GHGs than the transport sector. Livestock contributes 18% of total GHG emissions. The authors reveal that 65% of the emissions of anthropogenic nitrous oxide, 37% of anthropogenic methane, 9% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, and 64% of anthropogenic ammonia can be attributed to livestock.

Further damning evidence comes from the work of Joseph Poore and Thomas Nemecek published in the journal Science which says nearly 100 kg of GHGs are emitted for every kilogram of beef. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology also cites Poore and Nemecek's article to show that a pound of beef generates nearly 60 times more carbon dioxide than a pound of corn, wheat, or peas.

Moreover, around 70% of agricultural land and 30% of all available land in the world is used up for livestock farming. In fact, a large portion of the world's arable land is diverted to the production of fodder crops.

Frances Moore Lappe, who changed the way people saw global hunger at a time of rapid population growth through her book 'Diet for a Small Planet', notes that feeding over 20 pounds of protein to a cow will generate only a pound of protein for human consumption.

According to David Pimentel, and Marcia Pimentel's article 'Sustainability of Meat-based and Plant-based Diets and the Environment' published in the American Journal of Clinical Medicine, animal protein needs 11 times more fossil fuels and 100 times more water than an equivalent quantity of grain-based protein.

Livestock rearing, cattle grazing, and beef production and consumption also result in large-scale deforestation, and a loss of habitat for diverse flora and fauna. Consequently, several species may face extinction, and animal-human conflicts may become more frequent. Clearing and burning of forests release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, adding to global warming and climate change. Deforestation harms the environment by destroying carbon sinks (systems that absorb more carbon than they spew), and sources of oxygen.

What is Plant Based Beef?

Plant-based beef closely resembles meat derived from cattle. It has none of the damaging health and environmental effects associated with animal protein, but is identical to the texture and taste of the real stuff. In fact, there are vegan dishes that mimic meat so closely in terms of taste, smell, and texture that even the most avid meat-eaters would be stumped.

The ingredients that plant-based meat products commonly use are soybeans, legumes, lentils, peas, jackfruits, quinoa, tofu, coconut oil, and the vital wheat gluten, seitan.

Seitan is chewy and savory and is ideal for stir-fries, stews, sandwiches, and pasta dishes. Soybeans work well in stir-fries. Tofu can be used in salads and stir-fries, cut and added to sandwiches, or crumbled and cooked with vegetables. Tempeh is another soy-based meat alternative that can be cut into thin strips and used in stir-fries, or crumbled into stews, sloppy joes, and tacos.

Fleshy jackfruits can also be a good substitute for meat dishes like pulled pork. Cooked with onion and barbeque sauce in a slow cooker, they make for a great sandwich filling. In fact, jackfruit contains an even smaller amount of fat and protein than some of the other plant-based meat substitutes. They have a mild flavor and very few calories.

Two of the most well-known businesses offering plant-based meat substitutes are Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.

Beyond Meat is best known for its signature product, Beyond Burger, that uses pea protein. It also contains rice protein, refined coconut oil, dried yeast, and cocoa butter. These burgers use beet juice for coloring, and don't contain gluten or soy. Beyond Meat now also produces sausages, ground meat, chicken, and meatballs.

Impossible Burgers, on the other hand, use soy proteins and potato as its main ingredients. Free of gluten, it has soy protein concentrate, coconut oil, sunflower oil, and a genetically-modified heme. The latter is an iron-rich compound derived by fermenting genetically-engineered yeast and soy DNA. It's the heme that's largely responsible for the flavor and color of the Impossible Burger.

(Keen to know more about plant-based foods? Vegan food magazines are your best bet. Vegan Life Magazine, VegNews Magazine, Plant Based Magazine, VEGWORLD Magazine, and USA Vegan Magazine are top titles to pick up.)

How Old is Plant Based Meat Science?

• In 1896, doctor and nutritionist John Harvey Kellogg -- who belonged to the largely vegetarian Christian denomination, the Seventh-day Adventists -- developed a "meatless meat" called Nuttose. The peanut-based Nuttose soon gained popularity at sanitariums. You could season Nuttose such that it tasted no different from mother's fried chicken. You could also marinate it in barbeque sauce and pair it with mashed potatoes or grilled vegetables and you'd think you were eating a traditional meat-based meal. Kellogg then popularized cereal as a substitute for breakfast, which up until then, was heavy on eggs and meat.
• In 1896, the Battle Creek Sanitarium Food Company came up with a shelf-stable cutlet made of peanuts. It was the first meat analogous product in the US. Meat analogs are products that resemble meat in appearance and texture. The Battle Creek Sanitarium went on to create another nut-based meat substitute called Protose.
• The Sanitarium Foods Company came into being in 1905 and began developing meat analogs with a more savory and rich flavor. The technique the company used was the same as that used for curing actual meat. This gave its products a smoky flavor. In 1921, the company introduced Smokene, a soft pink protein based on gluten and nuts that mimicked the flavor and texture of ham. Today's popular potted meat SPAM (canned cooked pork prepared by Hormel Foods Corporation) is closely related to Smokene.
  
• During the Second World War, Worthington Foods capitalized on meat rationing in the US to sell its potted meats. Potted meats are manufactured by preserving hot, cooked meat in a pot, packing it tightly to push out air, then using hot fat to cover the pot.
• Loma Linda Food Company, set up in 1933, produced meat analog products too. These were some of the earliest products made from wheat and soy sold commercially in the US. The appeal for meat analogs remained intact well into the 1970s, with Loma Linda Foods and Worthington Foods going toe to toe.
• In 1967, a high-protein fungus called fusarium venenatum was discovered by scientists in the UK. In 1994, the UK-Based company Quorn used it to create fake meat.
• The two major plant-based meat manufacturers Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods came into being in 2009 and 2011 respectively. The Beyond Burger, which emulates beef burgers, was launched in 2015. The first meat analog product launched by Impossible Foods was its signature Impossible Burger, in 2016.
  

Health and Environmental Benefits of Plant Based Beef

Environmental Impact-
Impossible Foods claims that the production of its Impossible Burger requires 87% less water, produces 89% fewer GHG emissions, demands 96% less land, and releases 92% less aquatic pollutants than the conventional ground beef burger.

A study by Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, and others says that by adopting meat alternatives, the bovine population required for the production of beef can be cut short by 2-12 million, reducing its farm-based carbon footprint by 2.5%.

A diet that does away with animal protein conserves natural resources like land and water, protects flora and fauna by preventing the undue clearing of forests to make room for cattle grazing, protects biodiversity, and prevents agricultural land from being hijacked by fodder crops. Moreover, fewer GHGs in the atmosphere means that air pollution, global warming, and climate change can be kept under check.

Human Impact-
A non-meat diet has several health benefits and helps stave off cardiac diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Animal meat, on the other hand, contains high levels of cholesterol, saturated fat, and sodium, which is inimical to heart health.

Plant-based food items are richer in antioxidants than animal-derived foods and are a good source of fiber too.

Vegan diets, in this regard, take vegetarianism a notch higher by rejecting anything that is remotely linked to animals. Accordingly, they keep not only meat and dairy, but animal products like honey, albumin, casein, carmine, gelatin, pepsin, whey, shellac, and even animal-derived silk, leather, tallow, and wool at arm's length.

Downsides of Plant Based Beef

As discussed in the preceding section, plant-based meat does offer several benefits. However, it is not free from downsides.

The biggest drawback of plant-based meat substitutes is their high sodium content. The protection offered by these meat substitutes against heart diseases due to low levels of saturated fat and the absence of cholesterol is offset by the increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, and other illnesses caused due to an excess of sodium.

In fact, highly processed foods, such as the Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger, may have more sodium than a single patty made of animal-based beef. Moreover, these processed 'fake meats' may not be much better than real meats in terms of saturated and total fat.

Packaged meat substitutes may also contain ingredients like refined oils, dextrose, modified cornstarch, and added sugar, which health-conscious individuals may want to avoid. Furthermore, these products may be full of artificial colors, textures, flavors, and other additives that may be harmful to your health.

Plant-based meat may also contain lower levels of proteins, zinc, and Vitamin B12 than animal-based meat, and may lack omega-3 fatty acids.

According to a study by Duke University, plant-based meat has no metabolites, which are necessary for brain development. Metabolites are substances created or utilized when the body breaks down drugs, food, chemicals, or its own tissue. Some of the key metabolites missing are squalene, anserine, glucosamine, and cysteamine. Real beef, however, contained 22 extra metabolites that plant-based substitutes didn't have. Some of the other nutrients missing from plant-based meats are carnosine, creatine, heme iron, and taurine.

Meat substitutes may also pose Food Safety hazards through new allergens. For example, pea protein in meat substitutes may cause peanut allergies in some consumers.

Conclusion

Notwithstanding its many health and environmental benefits, plant-based meat is not exactly the answer to every diet-related Public Health need, nor does every ingredient in meat substitutes boost health. So if you are on a strict vegan diet, you'll need dietary supplements to make up for the missing nutrients.

Despite these shortcomings, the plant-based meat industry has great potential. According to market research organization Technavio, the market for plant-based meat will be worth $7.21 billion by 2025, and 40% of the growth in this sector will come from North America.

Another contributor to the growing potential of this industry is the growing community of vegans world-over. A study by retail analytics organization, Ipsos Retail Performance showed that the population of vegans in the US grew 30 times in 15 years. An interesting feature of this push towards veganism is that the movement is anchored not by the elderly worried about their health, but by the millennials, Generation X, and baby boomers.

However, the world will not suddenly stop consuming meat. In fact, if everybody shunned meat, what would happen to animal farmers, who are already feeling the pressure of the plant-based meat business? To protect their livelihoods, policymakers should look to guide animal farmers into adopting practices that are more sustainable, such as rotation of pastures, renewal of grazing areas, growing colonies of native grass, and raising livestock on crop wastes and marginal agricultural lands.

Moreover, considering the health benefits and culinary possibilities provided by meat, a total rejection is not advisable. Rather, eating meat within reasonable limits is a win-win solution.