"Beyond Meat" is it really healthier?

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What is a meat analogue?

A meat analogue, also known as a meat substitute or vegetarian meat, is a food product that is designed to mimic the taste, texture, and appearance of meat, but is made entirely from plant-based ingredients such as soy, wheat, pea protein, or mushrooms.

The aim of meat analogues is to provide a vegetarian or vegan alternative to meat that has a similar taste and texture, without the use of animal products. These products are often used as a substitute for meat in recipes and can be found in a variety of forms, including burgers, sausages, chicken nuggets, and ground beef alternatives.

Meat analogues are becoming increasingly popular as more people seek to reduce their consumption of animal products for health, environmental, or ethical reasons.

How they’re made

Vegetarian meat alternative companies utilize a combination of plant-based ingredients, such as soy, pea protein, and wheat, along with flavorings and food additives to create products that mimic the texture, taste, and appearance of meat.

The ingredients are processed and combined to create a dough-like substance that is then shaped and cooked to resemble meat products such as burgers, sausages, and chicken nuggets.

The goal is to create a product that has a similar taste, texture, and appearance as real meat while using only plant-based ingredients.

Manufacturers

Here are some of the largest vegetarian meat alternative companies and the types of products they make:

Beyond Meat – Makes plant-based burgers, sausages, meatballs, and ground beef alternatives
Impossible Foods – Makes plant-based burgers and ground beef alternatives
Lightlife Foods – Makes plant-based hot dogs, deli meats, burgers, and ground beef alternatives
MorningStar Farms – Makes plant-based burgers, sausages, meatballs, and chicken nuggets
Tofurky – Makes plant-based deli meats, sausages, and roasts
Boca Foods – Makes plant-based burgers, sausages, and ground beef alternatives
Garden Protein International (Gardein) – Makes plant-based burgers, sausages, meatballs, and chicken alternatives
Field Roast – Makes plant-based sausages, deli meats, and roasts
Quorn – Makes plant-based burgers, sausages, meatballs, and chicken alternatives
Yves Veggie Cuisine – Makes plant-based deli meats, hot dogs, burgers, and ground beef alternatives
Vegan Rob’s – Makes plant-based snack foods such as puffs and cheese balls
Amy’s Kitchen – Makes plant-based soups, entrees, and meat alternatives

What’s in Beyond Meat?

Beyond Meat is a line of vegan-friendly meat alternative products made from mixtures of pea protein isolates, rice protein, mung bean protein, canola oil, coconut oil, and other ingredients like potato starch, apple extract, sunflower lecithin, and pomegranate powder with a range of vitamins and minerals. Beef products that “bleed” are achieved by using beet juice.

Meat substitutes

The good

Most perceived benefits have been extrapolated, meaning there is no direct evidence to suggest these are in fact true. A few commonly cited advantages include:

Less cholesterol. Beyond Meat patties tend to contain less cholesterol than their beef counterparts.
Less saturated fat. In some cases Beyond Meat patties contain less saturated fat than their beef counterparts, however certain implementations actually have similar saturated fat content since they are largely made with coconut oil, which supplies a significant amount of saturated fat.
Less red meat intake. While replacing red meat with other sources of protein, especially plant-based protein food, can reduce the risk of chronic disease and premature death, we don’t have research showing that a processed plant-based burger is a healthier food choice than red meat.

The bad

Some noted issues with meat alternatives include:

Heavily processed. Diets higher in processed foods are linked to the development of disease, and they are likely to consume more calories and gain weight.
High sodium. Certain Beyond Meat patties may actually contain more sodium than regular beef patties.
Incomplete protein. Beyond Meat patties contain primarily pea protein, but pea protein lacks one essential amino acid needed to make it a complete protein. A complete protein contains all nine essential amino acids that humans need.
Lack micronutrients. The Beyond Meat patties are plant-based, however due to heavy processing do not contain much of the original vitamins, minerals and other phytonutrients found in plant-based diets. They do try to rectify this by adding in some vitamins after processing.
Pea allergies. Unlike nuts, pea protein is not labelled as a food allergen in Canada. It’s still too early to know how common the pea protein allergy will prove to be.
No evidence of benefit. While replacing red meat with other sources of protein, especially plant-based protein food, can reduce the risk of chronic disease and premature death, we don’t have research showing that a processed plant-based burger is a healthier food choice than red meat.
More expensive. At the moment, Beyond Meat patties are more expensive than regular beef patties.

Should you eat them?

The decision to consume meat alternatives is a highly personal one based on individual taste preferences, offering a wider range of options for those who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet.

However, it’s important to note that highly processed plant-based products may not necessarily offer the same health benefits associated with a vegetarian diet and could potentially do more harm than good, particularly if consumed in excess.

Instead, it’s recommended to prioritize the consumption of fresh, whole foods over highly processed options, regardless of whether they are plant or animal-based. Overconsumption of highly processed foods, whether from plant or animal sources, can have negative impacts on overall health.