What is plant-based meat? | The Good Food Institute (2024)

However, the plant-based meat category remained small and relatively stagnant until recently, with the market largely limited to vegans and vegetarians.

The plant-based meat market has expanded significantly in the past several years, as companies produce plant-based burgers and other products that are virtually indistinguishable from conventional meat.

This “biomimicry” approach began in 2012 with the launch of Beyond Meat’s chicken strips, and it really took off with the 2016 launch of the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger, both of which have succeeded in mainstream fast-food outlets.

Like cultivated meat and fermentation-derived products, plant-based meat is better for the planet, people, and animals.

Analyses of the environmental impact of plant-based meat show that plant-based meat production uses 72-99 percent less water and 47-99 percent less land. Further, it causes 51-91 percent less water pollution and emits 30-90 percent less greenhouse gas emissions. By transitioning to plant-based meat and other alternative proteins, we can use far fewer natural resources and enable entire ecosystems — and the biodiversity those systems support — to recover, function, and thrive.

Plant-based meat production does not require any antibiotics. This helps address the broad overuse of antibiotics in meat production. According to the New York Times, in the United States, between 70 and 80 percent of antibiotics sold are consumed by farm animals. On our current trajectory, we are rapidly creating antibiotic-resistant superbugs and risk causing the end of working antibiotics. By shifting to alternative proteins like plant-based meat, we can significantly decrease antibiotic use in our food production and keep antibiotics working for human health and wellbeing.

By taking animals out of the equation, plant-based meat also significantly lowers the risk of future pandemics.

The research landscape for plant-based meat offers tremendous scientific opportunity.

High-fidelity plant-based meat that appeals to meat-eaters is a relatively recent innovation. Although tofu, tempeh, and seitan have existed for centuries, we’ve only recently discovered how to produce plant-based meat that offers a nearly indistinguishable sensory experience as a conventional burger or chicken nugget.

Relative to other scientific disciplines like clean energy, very little R&D has been conducted in the plant-based meat field. This field offers great opportunities for scientists seeking novel research topics that can make a significant positive impact on the future of food.