Currently browsing posts about: Meat substitutes

Marta Zaraska.  Meathooked: The History and Science of Our 2.5-Million-Year Obsession with Meat.  Basic Books, 2016.

If this were just another diatribe against meat-eating, I would not have bothered to read it but this book is much more interesting than that.  The Polish-Canadian journalist Marta Zaraska describes herself as a “sloppy vegetarian,” someone who doesn’t eat much meat but

can’t seem to completely let go of meat either.  There is something in it—in its cultural, historic, and social appeal, or maybe in its chemical composition—that keeps luring me back.

And that’s what this book is about: the cultural, historic, and social (and maybe even the chemical) appeal of eating meat.  Zaraska identifies the reasons—the hooks—of this appeal, linked as they are to genetics, culture, history, and the politics of the meat industry and government.

Although Zaraska clearly thinks eating less meat would be good for health, animal welfare, and the environment, that’s not really the book’s goal.  Instead, it’s to understand why most people don’t want to be vegetarian, let alone vegan, and why even small steps in that direction are worth taking.

What’s impressive about this book is the friendliness, human understanding, and charm of its writing, and the global scope of the interviews on which it draws (full disclosure: it briefly quotes my work).

A couple of scientific points didn’t ring right (beans do have methionine, just not as much as is needed), and I’m not sure that mock meats, meat substitutes, and edible insects will satisfy the “hooks” she describes so well, but these are minor quibbles.

I’m traveling, which means it’s time to catch up on saved posts.  Here’s one from FoodNavigator.com that I’ve been wanting to share.  It’s a collection of articles on meat substitutes.

Meat substitutes?  I don’t know how you feel about this sort of thing, but any kind of substitute violates one of my food rules: “Never eat anything artificial.”

Never mind.  Meat substitutes are the ways food technologists respond to nutritionists’ advice to eat less meat.

Here is what FoodNavigator.com has to say about this approach:

• Where’s the beef? The cutting edge of meat substitute innovation: Vegetarian protein options have come a long way from the once-ubiquitous lentils and tofu as food scientists have stepped up to the challenge of creating innovative meat substitutes. 
• Have meat substitutes missed the boat? Many consumers around the globe are turning away from meat as health, price and ethical concerns grow. But the latest market research indicates that meat substitutes are failing to pick up the slack.
• Bring back the meat: How flavours can boost product quality: Meat flavours can be give an intense meaty note to products made with meat substitutes and instant foods, as well as provide a more authentic and intense taste in meat-containing products, says Symrise director.
• TNO to explore meat alternatives and oils from algae: TNO has teamed up with industrial algae producer Ingrepro Renewables for a two year research project investigating the extraction of proteins, healthy oils, and possible carbohydrates from algae.
• Seeing red: The health implications of meat consumption: Headlines continue to raise concerns over the health effects of excessive meat consumption, a situation that is boosting consumer interest in meat substitutes. But what does the science say about meat and health?