The green movement that has characterized this generation is moving into controversial ground: actual meat. Sure, veggie meat has been around for ages now, but its taste and texture have little to no similarity to real meat. But this has and will continue to change for the better.
Companies like Beyond Meat have started to develop meat-like products with surprisingly good results. For instance, their best-selling product, Beast Burger, has been getting rave reviews while offering vegetarian options loaded with real nutrition. The non-meat burger has protein, vitamins, antioxidants, and Omega-3s, the New York Times reported.
At the moment, whole steaks made from plant fibers are still a dream but the success of Beyond Meat's products point to a brighter future for livestock. The reason behind Beyond Meat's founding is not necessarily to cater to the tiny vegetarian market. Ethan Brown, founder of Beyond Meat, used to work for a company that made hydrogen fuel cells.
He had seen firsthand how the cultivation of livestock creates more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation industry combined. He figured that if the drain on resources and production of greenhouse gases by livestock can be reduced, then the world simply becomes a better place. The taste buds of Brown's customers seem to agree.
The growth of the company has been enormous since its founding in 2013. Then, their products were only sold in 360 stores. At present, Beyond Meat supplies 7,500 stores. Their next target is Walmart itself.
Beyond Meat and its competitors like Impossible Foods and Hampton Creek's egg-free "Just Mayo" are targeting the mainstream without compromising nutritional quality and taste while giving the environment a much needed break, The Exponent Online reported.
It is clear that the humane treatment of animals is also at stake here. The production of meat without killing animals is a huge step in reforming a brutal practice that many are keen on ignoring as meat is, undoubtedly, too good to resist. If Beyond Meat and its contemporaries are successful, the food of the future looks cleaner, guilt-free, environment-friendly, and best of all, yummy.
