Vegan hamburgers taste and look similar to meat in part thanks to soy leghemoglobin, a manufactured protein
For those looking to do without eating meat, a new era of vegan burger alternatives has begun. Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and other companies are rushing to exploit America’s huge meat-consuming market with burgers that mimic the taste of meat far better than their vegan predecessors. Others are raising meat in laboratories.
So, you wonder if vegan burgers are really better for the consumer or for the planet. Some information to know before the first bite:
Are vegan burgers healthier?
As in many aspects of diet, it depends. For better or for worse, from a nutritional standpoint, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods burgers are similar to meat.
Beyond Meat’s 115 gram burger has 270 calories, Impossible Foods’s 240 calories. The nutritional profile of ground beef may change, but a similar weight burger made up of 80% lean meat has about 290 calories.
The protein content is similar and that of other nutrients is variable. Some like the more fiber in veggie burgers, but dislike the higher sodium content.
WHAT DOES LABORATORY MEAT CONTAIN?
The ingredients in Beyond Meat include pea protein and canola oil. Impossible Foods burgers contain soy protein and coconut oil. Impossible Foods says its hamburgers taste and look similar to meat in part thanks to soy leghemoglobin, a protein made by the company by genetically modifying yeast.
For its part, the meat industry appeals to people who prefer simplicity in ingredients. A meat burger has only one natural ingredient: meat, ”said the North American Meat Institute, which represents producers.
WHAT DO Vegan Burgers TASTE?
Taste is subjective, but critics generally say that Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods burgers taste similar to meat.
Unlike steak, flavor discrepancies between meat and vegetable patties can be masked with bread, cheese, and seasonings. Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have updated their recipes and may continue to do so to look even more like meat.
There is meat created in laboratories by culturing animal cells on the horizon, but it will be some time before people can taste it.
Right now, the solutions used to help cells grow are expensive and limited as they are made primarily for medical therapy purposes, said Bruce Friedrich, CEO of the Good Food Institute, a group that advocates for alternatives to the meat.