What's really in vegan meat substitutes?

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What's really in vegan meat substitutes?

Thanks for asking.

Despite the rising popularity of vegan or vegetarian lifestyles, many people still love the taste and texture of meat, or simply can't kick the habit, having eaten meat throughout their lifetimes. That explains why the vegan meat substitute market is thriving.

These 100% plant-based products are a good source of protein, and closely resemble meat in a number of ways. But no doubt many of you who eat them have wondered whether they're actually better for the planet or for human health. What are the main ingredients then? One of the first ingredients that comes to mind is soy, which is widely used in meat substitutes. You may have heard talk of soy being exported to Europe from Brazil, which of course increases the carbon footprint. Not to mention that a significant percentage comes from deforested land. But actually most of the soy imported from Brazil is used to feed livestock, whereas the soybeans used in plant-based foods are mostly produced in Europe. Overall, the environmental impact of meat substitutes is 10 times lower than that of factory-farmed meat. In addition to soy, you also have chickpeas, gluten, legumes and wheat. But there are concerns about how the quality of those ingredients is impacted by processing. They're transformed in order to change their taste and texture, which can have an impact on digestibility and the health of those who consume them. How so? To imitate meat, many ingredients are added, such as beets for juiciness and colour, or bamboo fibres for texture. But the meat-substitute market is dominated by food-manufacturing giants, who have no issue in adding a lot of fat and salt to their products, in the form of sunflower oil or rapeseed oil, for example. Veggie steaks tend to have around 12% fat content and contain an average of 1.1 grams of salt. There's a little less in veggie patties, but they're not a whole lot better, and don't even get me started on all the additives. One example is Methylcellulose, or E461 to give it its food additive code. It's a thickener that can lead to stomach pain. Then you've got pesticide residues such as pyrethroids, which are molecules with neurotoxic effects. You really need to pay attention to the ingredient labels on products. As a general rule, the shorter the list of ingredients and the easier it is to understand what they are, the better.