Spotlight on Animal-Free Meat
Eating Plant-Based: Better for You and the Planet
A lot of folks these days seem to think that transitioning to a plant-based diet sounds like a good idea. It’s with good reason.
An increasing body of research indicates that a plant-based diet can be beneficial in helping prevent, managing, or even reversing a variety of chronic diseases and health conditions.
For example, research outlined in the landmark publication The China Study suggests that a plant-based diet can help reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancer types, and other major illnesses. After making the switch, many people report that they have increased energy, reduced inflammation, greater fitness payoffs, and improved health outcomes.
According to The British Medical Journal, a plant-based diet may actually lessen the severity of COVID-19 infection. A study conducted in six countries revealed that a plant-based diet could decrease the likelihood of a moderate to severe COVID-19 infection dramatically. In fact, several studies suggest that diet could play an important role in both illness duration and symptom severity of COVID-19.
As someone who’s enjoyed a plant-based diet since 1993, I can personally attest that it’s been good for my health. But reducing the number of animals we raise and eat is critical for planetary health, as well.
Decreased Environmental Impact
Not only is a plant-based diet good for our health, but it’s also better for the environment too. After all, the United Nations reports that the livestock sector is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation sector combined. That’s more than all cars, planes, boats, and trucks — all put together.
Just as one example, making oat milk emits 80 percent fewer greenhouse gases compared to bovine milk and requires 60 percent less energy to produce. Further, demand for animal meat is the number one driver of deforestation globally.
As Vox writes, “It’s not toilet paper or hardwood floors or even palm oil. It’s beef. Clearing trees for cattle is the leading driver of deforestation, by a long shot. It causes more than double the deforestation that’s linked to soy, oil palm, and wood products combined, according to the World Wildlife Fund.”
The Next Chapter of Plant-Based Protein: Fungi Fermentation
But while interest in plant-based eating is high, it still seems like people aren’t yet ready to switch from meat to beans and rice. Humans appear to have a meat-tooth, and really want that meat experience. Until recently, the best way to satiate that meat-tooth has been by turning plants like soybeans and yellow peas in foods that look and taste like animal meat. But there’s another way to get to the same end: exploring the world of fungi.
The Better Meat Co. harnesses the power of fungi fermentation to produce delicious, versatile ingredients for food businesses to use as a basis for blended and animal-free meats. Our Rhiza mycoprotein is a whole food, complete protein ingredient that’s versatile, allergen free, and neutral in taste, with the natural texture of animal meat. Boasting more iron than beef, more protein than eggs, more potassium than bananas, and more fiber than oats, Rhiza mycoprotein is also rich in vitamin B12.
The Better Meat Co. uses a controlled indoor farming process that leverages nature while simultaneously maximizing efficiency. Rhiza fermentation takes less than one day, decreasing demand for land and water in comparison with animal proteins as well as requiring less processing than other forms of plant-based meat.
Production of Rhiza uses starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn to feed a specific type of microscopic fungi, utilizing an all-natural fermentation process. We then harvest the product within a matter of hours, with minimal processing. This enables the company to create delicious and nutritious animal-free meats.
By incorporating Rhiza mycoprotein into their product lines, food companies improve product yields, boost nutritional value, diversify their offerings, meet sustainability goals, and enhance taste and meaty texture while achieving cost efficiencies simultaneously.
Toward a Saner, More Sustainable Diet
We rely on our environment to provide clean air to breathe, water to drink, and fertile soils to grow nourishing food. However, human activity is pushing the planet to its limits and numerous other species into extinction. With extreme weather events occurring with increasing frequency and tenacity, we’re already paying the price.
Every item of food we eat has its own impact on the environment. However, some types of food take a much heavier toll than others. Raising and slaughtering billions of animals for human consumption each year places a massive burden on natural resources, generating huge amounts of pollution and waste, and it’s just not good for human health either.
There’s a reason slashing the number of animals we raise for food and embracing a more plant-based diet is regarded by many scientists today as key to sustainability. Such a switch just can’t happen soon enough.
Paul Shapiro is the CEO of The Better Meat Co., the author of the national bestseller Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, a four-time TEDx speaker, and the host of the Business for Good Podcast.
