What is plant-based meat, and is it healthy?

Plant-based meats, made entirely without animals, check all of the boxes—including being healthier for humans than their standard animal-based counterparts, while rivaling their taste and texture. Even better, they are increasingly available in an incredible variety beyond, well, the popular Beyond Meat brand of burgers and sausages—making them a great option for meat-eaters, flexitarians, vegetarians and vegans alike.

What exactly is plant-based meat?

Plant-based meats are foods made from plants that are intended to offer an alternative to meats made from animals—whether in the form of burgers, bacon, steaks, nuggets, sausages, fillets, or countless other versions of popular foods many of us grew up with. Some, like your classic veggie burger, are made predominantly with vegetables and legumes. And others, thanks to technological advancements and creative cheffing, use proteins and extracts from plants such as peas, soy beans, or wheat to truly mimic the taste, texture and appearance of animal meat. The massively popular “bleeding” Impossible Burger is increasingly sold in the meat aisle in many grocery stores.

What is plant-based meat made of?

The term “plant-based meat” might sound self-explanatory: it’s meat made from plants! While this is true in essence, there’s more to it than simply ‘throwing some plants together’ in the shape of a burger patty. Plant-based meats are now made from many different plant sources, offering a variety of impressive flavors and textures—all without killing animals in the process.

Ingredients commonly found in plant-based meats include legumes, like soybeans or lentils; grains such as quinoa; vegetable proteins (commonly pea protein); coconut oil; and vital wheat gluten, better known as seitan. Plant-based meats are made with a variety of ingredients by different companies, but one thing they all share in common is that they are made without the immense suffering and cruelty intrinsic to factory farming.

How do they make plant-based meat taste like meat?

Two of the best-known plant-based meat options available today, the Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger, both provide a realistically "meaty" experience when it comes to taste, appearance, and texture. Both options are packed with plant proteins that mimic meat—all without the cholesterol or cruelty found in animal products.

Taste

The Beyond Burger contains pea protein blended with other ingredients, including coconut oil, to give it a rich, meaty flavor. Meanwhile, the Impossible Burger is made with protein from soy and potatoes, along with one special ingredient: heme. An iron-containing molecule, heme is essential to life and is what makes meat taste like meat. Impossible gets their heme by inserting soybean plant DNA into genetically engineered yeast, which then goes through a fermentation process.

Appearance

For a familiar experience, many plant-based meat alternatives look just like the real thing! Heme, the molecule that gives Impossible Burgers their meaty flavor, is also the secret behind their famous “bleeding” burger effect. The Beyond Burger, on the other hand, gets its hamburger-like appearance from beet juice—a natural food coloring.

Texture

Numerous plant-based alternatives have also managed to achieve the juicy texture associated with "regular" meat. Extrusion, a process in which proteins are heated, cooled, and cooked, is commonly used to achieve a texture similar to that of animal-based meat. Beyond Meat uses extrusion to create its texture, while Impossible relies on the juiciness provided by heme.

Are plant-based meats healthy?

The soaring popularity of plant-based options has put meat alternatives under a microscope, often by the meat industry itself who is threatened by the growing plant-based market. But, should we, or shouldn’t we, be eating these innovative new foods?

The truth is that plant-based foods—including plant-based meats—are often far healthier than the animal-based equivalents. It is widely agreed that one will get the greatest health benefits by eating a variety of whole and minimally processed plant-based foods, including plenty of vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts.

What chemicals are in plant-based meat?

While plant-based meats do have longer ingredient labels than animal-based meats—with the Beyond Burger containing ingredients like pea protein, coconut oil, and beet juice extract, for example—this can be a misleading metric. Although plant-based meats often get a bad rap for being "more processed," the truth is that meat from animals is highly processed, too. There is nothing natural about factory farming. From selective breeding of animals—to make them grow far faster than they naturally would, to the heavy use of antibiotics to stave off illnesses, to the chemicals like chlorine that are used to “sanitize” meat after the animal is killed, the meat from these animals is far from pure and healthy.

What’s more, animal-based meats come laden with disease risk, given the prevalence of fecal matter and dirty conditions in which the animals live, and die. Instead, every time you choose a meal made from plant-based meat, you’re opting for a kinder choice. Still, if you’re looking for the healthiest plant-based meat options, look for nutrition labels packed with wholesome ingredients like beans, mushrooms, jackfruit, peas, or lentils.

It's important to keep in mind that plant-based meats aren’t necessarily made to be a health food. After all, most of us would not consider a burger, whether meat or plant-based, a staple of a healthy diet. However, plant-based meats serve as a great, delicious treat to satisfy cravings for that meaty taste—without the cholesterol and high levels of saturated fat found in many animal proteins. In fact, plant-based foods of all varieties are free of cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease and strokes and has been the leading cause of death globally for the past two decades.

Is plant-based meat sustainable?

Plant-based foods can not only help your health, they also support the health of our planet.

Plant-based foods require fewer resources—namely land and water—than animal-based foods. Close to 20% of the planet’s fresh water is used in the production of meat and dairy, and animal agriculture is a major driver of climate change, contributing around 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

By contrast, a 2018 University of Michigan study, commissioned by Beyond Meat, found that the Beyond Burger “generates 90% less greenhouse gas emissions, requires 46% less energy, has 99% less impact on water scarcity, and 93% less impact on land use than a ¼ pound of U.S. beef.” That’s a monumental difference!

Plant-based foods are simply the more sustainable choice when compared to animal meats.

What are some plant-based meats?

Just about any type of animal meat you enjoy now has a plant-based alternative! Over the past two years alone, the plant-based market has grown, in dollar sales, by 72%—with continued growth expected as consumer demand grows and new plant-based products enter the market.

Chicken

Chickens raised for meat are subjected to some of the worst abuses of all animals raised for food. They are selectively bred to grow as rapidly as posisble, which often leads to crippling injuries and short, painful lives in dirty factory farms. But, there is another option. Consumers like you can help chickens by picking plant-based chicken replacements from Beyond Meat, Morningstar Farms, Gardein, and many other makers of vegan chicken!

Pork

Pigs endure unimaginable abuse and suffering on factory farms. Thankfully, we can leave pigs off our plates. From plant-based bacon, like Sweet Earth’s Benevolent Bacon, to Bacon Seitan from Upton’s Naturals, to Tofurky’s ham roasts, there are many delicious alternatives, for which pigs don’t have to suffer.

Fishes and shrimp

The oceans are in serious trouble, facing overfishing, plastic pollution, and depleted ecoysystems due to by-catch. And buying farmed fish isn’t a solution either, since farmed fishes endure immense suffering, and live in filthy, cramped cages in the water. Thankfully, there is a bounty of plant-based seafood options including faux tuna, shrimp, crab, and salmon.

Beef

Factory-farmed cows spend much of their lives confined inside filthy barns, denied even the ability to graze. The famous Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger are just two of the options available if you want to choose compassion for cows, and still enjoy the tastes you love.

Eggs

It’s a common misconception that eating eggs is cruelty-free, as it’s believed that animals don’t suffer or die for eggs. But the truth is, egg-laying hens endure horrific suffering on factory farms, many confined to metal cages so tiny they can’t even turn around. And, male chicks, considered unprofitable to the industry, are killed immediately upon birth. To avoid supporting this cruelty, choose from Just Egg, the Vegan Egg by Follow Your Heart, or make your own version of an easy tofu scramble. There are also great alternatives for baking without eggs.

What are some plant-based meat companies?

Feeling hungry, and ready to try some of these epic plant-based meats? You may be wondering which brands should you be looking out for to get started.

From decade-old companies who’ve made a name in the market to the plethora of newcomers, there are plenty of options. Here are a few of the names to know.

• Beyond Meat: makers of the Beyond Burger, Beyond Meat also produces plant-based sausage, chicken, and ground beef.
• Sweet Earth Foods: though not an entirely vegan line, Nestlé-owned Sweet Earth offers many plant-based choices from burritos to bowls.
• Tyson’s Raised & Rooted: even one of the world’s largest meat producers wants in on the plant-based demand, offering nuggets and more.
• Good Catch: consumers are hooked on these plant-based tunas and more sustainable fish alternatives such as crab cakes and fish sticks.
• Boca: many of Boca’s offerings are entirely vegan, from its original vegan burger to newer products like the Turk’y burger and falafel bites.
• Dr. Praeger’s: among the vegan options are a variety of burgers packed with veggies and greens.
• Field Roast: this vegan company, owned by giant Maple Leaf Foods, may be known for its sausages and Chao cheese, but also offers burgers, holiday roasts, and more.
• Gardein: new plant-based jerky and soups join burgers, fishless fillets, meal bowls, and more on the product line-up at Gardein, also owned by Maple Leaf Foods.
• Impossible Foods: everything seems possible at Impossible Foods, makers of its famous burger as well as meat-free sausage and pork.
• Lightlife: while its been a go-to brand for awhile, it’s been all-vegan since 2017, offering plant-based burgers, ground meats, deli slices, and more.
• MorningStar Farms: after transitioning to an all-vegan product line, MorningStar serves up burgers, chick’n nuggets and patties, sausage, and its new Incogmeato offerings.
• Quorn: among Quorn’s cult vegan products are Fishless Sticks, Buffalo Dippers, and spicy patties.
• Tofurky: perhaps best known for its Thanksgiving holiday roast, this all-vegan company founded in 1980 also makes deli slices, a ham roast, and much more.
• Outstanding Foods: this company is known for its Pigless Pork Rinds, and also calls its puff snacks a “Meal in a Bag” because they’re packed with protein.
• Nuggs: Nuggs calls its nuggets “the Tesla of chicken,” for mimicking the texture and flavor of meat with “advanced soy protein technology.”
• Before The Butcher: this company’s plant-based meats include burgers, shreds, ground meats, and more.
• Abbot’s Butcher: “premium plant-based proteins” offered by this vegan company include slow-roasted chicken and Spanish smoked chorizo.
• JUST: JUST is the maker of the well-known JUST Egg, creating scrambles without the suffering.
• Sophie’s Kitchen: leave plenty of fish in the sea by shopping this company’s plant-based shrimp, crab cakes, smoked salmon, and other options.
• Hilary’s: these whole-foods based products are all vegan and free from common allergens, with offerings such as veggie burgers and sausages.
• Daring: this company is on a mission to “remove chicken from our food system.” You can start by choosing from its original, lemon & herb, cajun, and breaded meatless plant-based chicken. Yum!

Plant based-meat vs. meat

Not only do plant-based meats take a lighter toll on the planet and our health, but they also do not require the farming of billions of animals each year.

On factory farms, animals are confined in severely crowded sheds and subjected to abuses often considered standard industry practice. Likewise, the global rise of aquaculture means that more and more fishes are suffering on factory farms, too. Animal-based meat is the product of all this needless suffering.

Plant-based meats offer a kinder solution—meat without the suffering and slaughter, and flavor without the cruelty.

Ready to leave this suffering behind in favor of plant-based options? We’ve got you covered with simple tips for getting started, along with mouth-watering recipes to keep you satiated!