The absurdity of raising a whole chicken
The prophetic words of Winston Churchill are now widely known that
The first burger patty appeared later, in2013 - it was done by scientists from the Netherlands. And the American company Eat Just began to produce artificial nuggets made from minced chicken, obtained in vitro from animal cells, last year it introduced the product in Singapore.
Meat production starts with taking from the animalmaterial and selection of cells with a high growth rate, which include, for example, stem cells. Then these cells are placed in a special solution - a growth medium. Serum from bovine blood or its artificial alternative is often used as a medium. Also, for the development of muscle fibers, special compounds are needed - growth factors, some of which are synthesized naturally. The tissue is grown in a bioreactor using a scaffold, which can be a collagen mesh. So in the nutrient medium, muscle fibers are formed, which gradually increase, and ultimately "meat" is obtained.
In addition to meat from a test tube, today they are trying to use protein from insects. Insect protein meal is common in Asia,primarily in China. It is obtained from crickets, flies, mealworms, cockroaches. Protein flour is used to feed animals and fish that are raised on farms. The next step is the cultivation of "meat" from insects: such developments are being carried out, for example, by a group of researchers from Tufts University (USA).
Diet for a small planet
There is less meat so as not to harm the planet - notnew idea. One of the first 50 years ago, the American writer Francis Moore Lappé spoke about this in the book "Diet for a Small Planet". The book has become a bestseller that has made many people think about the importance of everyday choices and how everyone's actions matter. One of the fans of Diet for a Small Planet ideas was environmentalist Seth Tibbott. After reading the book, he became a vegetarian and, in 1980, launched one of the first soy protein alternative meats called tempeh. Later, Seth Tibbott made Tofurkey - "turkey" from wheat protein and tofu.
The fact that you don't need an animal to cook meatwas the main impetus for the creation of Beyond Meat, which took steps to develop and scale up the production of alternative meat based on pea protein. This is how the story of the growth of the vegetable meat market began, including in Russia.
How is meat made from plants?This involves three main steps: first, you need to grow the source of raw materials. The crops are then processed to separate parts of the plants that are not needed for the future hamburger. The manufacturer then assembles a meaty flavor and aroma mixture that is processed to acquire a meaty texture. Various manufacturers add rapeseed, coconut and sunflower oil, flavors, thickener, dietary fiber, and spices to the “meat”.
Meat made from vegetable protein.These include plant foods with a meat-like textureand flavored with soy, wheat, pea, rice, potato, canola, seaweed and hemp. For the meat to acquire the required texture, the extrusion method is most often used. Raw materials for future meat are squeezed, then kneaded and heated by friction. The result is a product with an elastic structure reminiscent of animal meat. Then vegetable fat is added to the artificial meat, and beet or carrot juice can be used as "blood".
Fermented protein.Fermentation is a chemical processtransformation of the raw material into the final product using isolated cells or microorganisms. Fermentation is used to grow cultures of both plant and animal cells. Under the influence of fermentation, it is possible to obtain meat with a high concentration of protein, prebiotics and beneficial bacteria with an optimal amount of essential amino acids.
Biomass can be used for meat productionfrom whole cells of any microculture. These can be microalgae, fungi, yeast, or bacteria. Another method of obtaining fermented plant-based meats is using refined protein. This is the so-called functional protein, which is produced by colonies of microorganisms, bacteria, microalgae, fungi, yeast. These two methods have not yet become widespread.
The most popular are those modified withmicroorganisms products with a nutrient profile and texture that have a unique taste. Most often, legumes or soybeans are used for fermentation.
For example, BioFoodTech has developedAn innovative and complex two-stage fermentation method for pea protein. R&D center specialists worked on its creation for two years. The essence of the method is that under the influence of enzymes and probiotics, pea protein acquires the smell, taste and texture of meat, namely marbled beef. A blind test of 600 people found that 8 out of 10 couldn't tell the difference between Bite patties and beef steak. The resulting technology will make it possible to equalize prices for plant-based and regular meat in Russia by 2023, and will also become the basis for other alternative products with chicken, pork and crab flavors.
Almond and hemp milk
Vegetable milk is the first product thatopened the world of alternative foods and the path to a vegan future. Plant-based blends have been around for a very long time. For example, almond milk, one of the first drinks designed to replace cow's milk during fasting, appeared in the Middle Ages. In Russia, in the 17th century, they began to prepare nut drinks.
And if back in 2008 the alternativeWhile traditional milk was mostly made from soy, produced by Alpro (UK) and Silk (USA), today there is a huge choice. To make plant-based milk, you can use nuts (almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts), grains (barley, corn, oats, rice, rye, wheat), pseudocereals (buckwheat, quinoa), seeds (chia, sunflower seeds, flax , hemp), legumes (soybeans, peas, peanuts) or coconut. Plant-based milk is similar in color, consistency and somewhat in taste to regular milk.
Herbal drinks are highly digestible and richprotein, vitamins, minerals and complex carbohydrates, while they do not contain casein and lactose. Plant-based milk can be an alternative to animal milk for vegans, people with lactose intolerance, or those looking to diversify their diet.
Alternative future
About 30% of the Earth's surface is occupied by pastures foranimals and only 4% is used to grow plants that end up on our table. Estimates of global greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production range from 8 to 51%. The planet's population is increasing, and if we do not start to consume less animal protein, the consequences can be catastrophic: the ozone layer of the planet will suffer. In addition, we do not have enough resources to produce huge amounts of food.
The main consumers of plant foods arerepresentatives of generation Z, for whom not only health is of great importance, but also the state of the environment, the conservation of natural resources and the welfare of animals.
So that plant-based meat and milk become the sameCommon products for us, like products of animal origin, must fulfill two conditions: they must be of equal taste and the same cost. The taste of artificial meat is already approaching natural, but this cannot be said about prices yet. High cost is one of the main complaints consumers have about alternative products.
But it won't always be that way.According to forecasts by the Boston Consulting Group and Blue Horizon Corporation, alternative vegetable proteins, including meat and dairy products from soybeans, peas and other proteins, will equalize in value with natural ones in 2023. Proteins from microorganisms, fungi, yeast and unicellular algae will be available by 2025, and animal cell products by 2032.
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