In recent years, companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have introduced plant-based hamburgers that look and feel like the real thing and plant-based chicken nuggets that pass the kid test. Now companies are looking to grow meat from real animals in labs, and the FDA has approved lab-grown meat as safe for human consumption. Although Americans consume on average 250 pounds of meat per person a year and another 20 pounds of fish or shellfish, more Americans are identifying as vegetarian or vegan. So the race is on to find alternative meats that might capture their palates and pocketbooks. We’ll talk about where alternative meats are headed and whether they’re good for us and the planet.
Getting Beyond Meat
The Impossible Burger, a plant-based alternative to meat-based burgers. (Sergio Capuzzimati via Getty Images)
Guests:
Laura Reiley, Business of Food reporter, Washington Post
David Julian McClements, Distinguished professor, Food Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; author, "Future Foods: How Modern Science is Transforming the Way We Eat"
Amy Chen, COO, Upside Foods, manufacturer of cultivated meats based in Emeryville
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