Two trends have gone hand in hand in recent years. On the one hand, the food real and proximity, in a shift towards ecological and economic sustainability that promotes local trade or fresh produce. And, on the other hand, vegan products that are increasingly synthetic and ultra-processed, in a context of exponential economic growth: in six years, the sale of vegan products is expected to reach profits of 24 billion dollars. A revolution, but not healthy food.
More tax. The spread of veganism has led to the production of plant substitutes that mimic star food from animals. Fast food and trash, but vegan. In 2017, 6% of Americans already declared themselves vegan, which was a 500% increase over the 2014 figures. In recent years, the demand for vegan menus in restaurants has increased by 987%. A niche that the food industry knows how to interpret.
Usual. As in other areas of the diet, the production of vegan foods is particularly profitable if low nutritional ingredients or cheap raw materials are used to make them. And this is the direction in which an industry is increasingly focusing on replicating the texture and flavors of the meat burger, even if its ingredients are more related to a laboratory design than natural products.
Ultra-processed foods, such as “fake meat”, are usually obtained from protein, starch or vegetable oils. Not very healthy.
Precision fermentation. One of the growing biochemical processes in the food industry. It consists of programming microorganisms to produce complex organic molecules, such as proteins or lipids, an open door to the production of “milk” or “meat” in laboratories (always without the need to slaughter or use animals). By 2030, the production of designer food is estimated to be so cheap that the traditional livestock industry could be hectic.
In numbers: if today a kilogram of precision fermentation costs around $ 100, the figure could drop to $ 10 in five years. A point of no return from an economic point of view.
He boom. Especially because vegan foods catch a trend that has been sculpted for decades, which is about to exceed the threshold of industrial profitability. In this context, it is not surprising that Burger King already offers products such as “Impossible Whopper” in all its restaurants, whose exotic and equally tasty character had increased its visits by up to 17%. The adoption of “vegan meat” by some of the fast food pillars marks the medium-term transition of the industry.
In meat and vegetable proteins. Because the next trend can reach another star product of cheap food at home, sushi. As we saw at the time, there are several companies that develop products with a texture and flavor similar to those of tuna or salmon. They all have one thing in common, for now: their nutritional values are more related to regular junk food than to the healthy ideal of veganism.
Image: Impossible food