According to a new study, plant-based alternatives to meat are better for the planet and mostly healthier than products like meatballs and sausages made from animals.
According to the Food Foundation, the production of meat substitutes is associated with far fewer greenhouse gas emissions and far less water than the production of meat dishes. Imitation meat products also perform well nutritionally compared to the real thing. They contain fewer calories, less saturated fat and more fibre, the charity's research found.
The study compared the environmental impact, nutritional profile and cost of 68 plant-based products with that of 36 meat products, including dishes such as - real and imitation - bacon, chicken nuggets and meatballs.
However, some of the three main types of "alternative proteins" were found to be nutritionally inferior to meat products in some ways, the Food Foundation said.
"Many of the recently developed processed meat alternatives tend to contain higher levels of salt than other protein alternatives, and only a third of them are fortified with the iron and vitamin B12 found in meat," says the the research.
For example, Richmond brand meatless sausages were found to contain alarmingly high levels of salt, said Rebecca Tobey, senior manager of business and investor engagement at the charity. But manufacturers can change the composition of their products to make them more nutritious, she added.
In addition, "plant-based meat alternatives are, on average, lower in protein than real meat," the researchers found. However, this finding is not worrying as the difference is small and the UK population already consumes more than enough protein to maintain health, said Tobey, co-author of the study.
The research comes as the non-meat market continues to expand - along with the popularity of vegetarian and vegan diets - despite the collapse of a number of plant-based brands in recent years and a drop in sales last year. Analysts such as Bloomberg expect the global market to continue to grow significantly until 2030. Last year's analysis by the Green Alliance predicted that by 2035 the sector could be worth £6.8bn a year and create 25,000 jobs alone in the United Kingdom.
Consumers know that meat-free products are often more expensive than the real thing. "Consumers pay a higher price for more processed plant-based alternatives such as tofu, Future Farm and the THIS brand compared to meat, despite the environmental benefits," the study said. For example, "new generation" foods are 73% more expensive per 100g than meat, while traditional products are 38% more expensive.
Beans and cereals turned out to be the healthiest, most ecological and cheapest of the four types of analyzed products. They are "a natural source of protein, perform best in terms of health and the environment, with less saturated fat, calories and salt and have the highest amount of fiber of any product", the charity said. "They are also in the most affordable price category." | BGNES
