Plant meat is a kind of artificial meat. It simulates the taste, texture and appearance of animal meat and is made by modern food technology using plant protein. At present, many plant-based meat products have appeared on the market, and relevant experts pointed out that plant-based meat conforms to the current sustainable development policy, and is of great significance to improving people’s dietary structure and regulating environmental and social issues. So, why has plant meat become the “new favorite” in the food industry?

1. Fill the gap in the meat market

The United Nations predicts that the global population will reach about 9.6 billion in 2050, and the meat products on the earth are not enough to meet the consumption needs of nearly 10 billion people. Due to various factors such as African swine fever, epidemics and rising breeding costs, the supply and demand of meat agricultural products in many countries have become severely imbalanced.

Plant meat has become an important trend. As a substitute for animal meat, it has abundant raw materials, short production cycle and low energy consumption, which can effectively fill the gap in the meat market.

2. Low fat, zero cholesterol, no antibiotics, no infectious diseases

Animal meat provides us with abundant protein and fat. Excessive consumption of animal meat or excessive intake of fat can easily lead to some chronic diseases, such as obesity and three highs. According to reports, about 4 million people worldwide die each year due to obesity.

In response to this situation, plant meat contains only a small amount of fat [6], with lower calories, and people can eat it with confidence. At the same time, the plant-based meat “zero cholesterol” formula also brings good news to consumers, especially consumers with high cholesterol.

Animal meat products have many safety hazards. For example, animals are susceptible to environmental pollution, feed contamination, and improper use of antibiotics during livestock breeding, which ultimately affect animal health, such as excessive heavy metals, foot-and-mouth disease, mad cow disease, avian flu and other common diseases. The production of plant meat can prevent this from happening.

3. Safe, harmless and more nutritious

Soy protein and pea protein can be used to produce plant meat. They are an excellent source of plant protein. The plant meat processed from them not only has the essential amino acids needed by the human body, but also provides higher protein yield, which is the amount of plant meat. Production provides a better source of raw materials.

4. Low-carbon, environmentally friendly and sustainable

Data shows that about 7 kg of dry grains are required to produce 1 kg of beef, and about 4 kg of dry grains are required to produce 1 kg of pork. It can be seen that animal husbandry consumes more resources than the production of food, fruits and vegetables, including more than 50% of the world’s land, food (used as feed), and 25% of fresh water.

Not only that, the farmed livestock and poultry are becoming denser, producing a large amount of excrement containing antibiotics and hormones. Therefore, the emergence of plant meat contributes to energy saving, emission reduction, health and environmental protection, and has become one of the important means to solve the above problems.

Similarly, plant-based meat products are also a new choice for vegetarians in their daily diet. In modern times, vegetarianism arose due to environmental and moral factors. They believe in simple and pure food, and they also have concerns about the harmony between the environment and economic development.

The occurrence of the new crown pneumonia epidemic has once again become a hot topic for people to live in harmony with nature. We cannot satisfy our appetites by hunting for strangers and wanton killing animals. Environmentally friendly, healthy, safe, and controllable food is what we really need. The birth of plant meat is not accidental, it is born in accordance with the trend, and must flourish in response to the trend.