To the Western world – particularly in the Americas, where beef and dairy farming has
been ingrained almost since the beginning – the current interest in plant- or food tech based alternative proteins might seem like a fad or a trend. The truth is humans have been enjoying alternative proteins for at least the last 2,000 years. We’ve just gotten a lot better at getting them to seem like meat.
The Most Important Legume in the World
The origins of tofu are shrouded in mystery, due to the extreme length of time between its first use and the present day. The soybean, one of the world’s oldest crops, was domesticated over 5,000 years ago in the Yangtze River Valley of Neolithic China. Some 4,000 years later, near the beginning of the Song dynasty, the first mention of dòufǔ (bean curd) appeared in Anecdotes, Simple and Exotic by Tao Ku. The exact provenance of tofu is not known, but an apocryphal legend attributes its origin to Liú Ān, a nobleman and philosopher who lived during the Han dynasty. The legend states that Liú Ān’s mother wished to taste soybeans, but, having no teeth, had her son grind them into a milk. No historical evidence supports the claim of Liú Ān’s invention of either soy milk or bean curd, but since the exact origin has been lost to the mists of time and because everyone loves a possibly true fable, the story has stuck.
What is known is that tofu (from the Japanese tōfu) was marketed from the beginning as a frugal, healthy alternative to (rather than substitute for) meat. This was especially useful for followers of Zen Buddhism, many of whom practice vegetarianism.
Wheat Meat
Despite wheat gluten being used in China, Japan, and other East and Southeast Asian countries for centuries, seitan is a product of 1960s Japan and the entrepreneurial spirit of George Ohsawa, a Japanese-born teacher of macrobiotics, and his student, Kiyoshi Mokutani. This original seitan was less a meat substitute and more a salty seasoning, but eventually evolved into the block, strip, and shaped wheat gluten product familiar to Western grocery stores Seitan’s texture can easily mimic meat, from something as soft as pot roast to shredded pork to a firm cutlet or steak. Like tofu, it has little flavor of its own and is dependent on seasoning and preparation to give it identity.
Avoid Meat, Avoid Sin
Over in the Western world, vegetarianism was less another type of cuisine and more an attempt to save health reformers from overstimulation, indigestion, and (ideally) the fiery pits of Hell. Through the latter half of the 1800s, a vegetarian could expect hardly anything more exciting than unseasoned, boiled vegetables and plain, coarse wheat breads.
The most famous example of Western vegetarianism as health reform is easily the Battle Creek Sanitarium, founded by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and run by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg until his death in 1943. Although Kellogg was disfellowshipped (kicked out) by the Adventists in 1907 for his liberal understanding of Christianity and pantheism, he continued to run the Sanitarium based on the church’s principles of health and wellness. He was an advocate of a bland vegetarian diet which leaned heavily on legumes, nuts, and nut butters for protein sources.
In 1896, Kellogg developed Nuttose, the first commercially produced meat alternative. Made primarily of peanuts, Nuttose could be seasoned or marinated, then fried, grilled, baked, or roasted. A few years later, Kellogg received the first United States patent for a “vegetable substitute for meat” with his later invention, Protose – a mixture of wheat gluten, cereal, and peanut butter – and the meat substitution era finally began.
Though it doesn’t sound particularly appetizing, Protose had its enthusiasts, and was sold until 2000 when it was discontinued. One fan of Protose, Dr. George Harding, another Seventh-Day Adventist, teamed up with former salesman for Kellogg’s Battle Creek Food Company, Bill Robinson, and dietician, B.J. Knecht, to launch Worthington Foods, Inc. and create a meat analog of their own. A few years later, in 1949, chemist Robert Boyer approached Worthington with his idea for spinning soy protein fibers to mimic the texture of real meat. The spun fibers fell apart under canning temperatures, so Worthington took a chance and launched them as frozen foods. The first of these, chicken-like nuggets offered in 1962, were a huge hit – and in fact were the basis for what became the Morningstar Farms line of soy-based meatless meats in the coming decades. And by the 60s, it wasn’t only Adventists and vegetarians who were excited about new meat alternatives. For the next push of interest in meatless protein, just look toward the Summer of Love.
Alternative Lifestyles, Alternative Proteins
A surge of interest in Buddhism during the late 60s and 70s in North America introduced the Western population to tofu, seitan, and textured vegetable protein as hippies everywhere embraced vegetarianism and counterculture cuisine. The macrobiotic diet, a fad founded in the 1930s by our old friend George Ohsawa, enjoyed a resurgence. Championing whole grains, locally sourced fruits and vegetables, fermented soy products like tofu and tempeh, the reduction of animal products, and the importance of balance in all areas of life, macrobiotics naturally appealed to the East Coast hippie set and subsequently spread across the country.
Because this diet was essentially based off that of the Japanese peasantry, plant-based proteins were added on their own merit, without attempting to simulate the experience of eating a piece of chicken or beef. But since these traditional Japanese foods were being translated through the lens of twenty-year olds who didn’t really know how to cook, hippie food wasn’t known for being especially tasty.
There were other factors at play influencing the market’s interest in meat substitutes. After a few decades of booming agricultural production – thanks largely to technologies, fertilizers, and pesticides developed during World War II – meat prices began to spike in the 70s. Additionally, scientists had long been warning of a global food crisis due to the population boom. Globally, protein deficiency was on the rise.
Spun soy protein, however, was on the decline. General Mills used the technology to create a soy-based meat extender, but the institutional food service customers that used it weren’t impressed. Spun soy was on the way out, but as the neon glow of the 80s loomed ahead, so did yet another meatless protein trend.
The Growth of Mycoprotein
Maybe the most ubiquitous example of a meatless protein is the veggie burger. For many of us, the plant-based burgers and hotdogs from Dennis Group clients BocaBurgers, Morningstar Farms, and Lightlife are so common that it might be strange to realize they were only introduced in 1982. Gregory Sams, the proprietor of London-based macrobiotic restaurant SEED, was concerned by the rising price of meat substitutes and developed the VegeBurger in response. Unlike the frozen burgers available today, the VegeBurger was initially launched as a dried mix which the consumer could rehydrate, form into a patty, and cook. The debut was a success, and frozen Vege[1]Burgers followed to the market two years later. Dennis Group, founded in 1987 – just in time for the veggie burger boom – worked with many of the early manufacturers of these plant-based meat substitutes, designing a greenfield for Lightlife and packaging/process automation for Boca.
However, none of the commercially produced veggie burgers attempted to be anything but patty-shaped vegetable matter. They didn’t try to mimic the texture of anything more sophisticated than ground beef, and plenty didn’t even try that. But without spun protein fibers, anyone who wanted a meatless alternative that could realistically pass for meat was out of luck.
Enter Fusarium venenatum. British industrialist Joseph Rank, searching for ways to mitigate the global food crisis discussed previously, spent the 60s searching out new protein sources. He hit paydirt with F. venenatum, a high-protein microfungus. Throughout a fermentation process, F. venenatum converts carbohydrates into protein, resulting in a high fiber mycoprotein. When mixed with egg whites or a vegan alternative, the resulting texture is something very like cooked chicken. Rank’s discovery has been marketed since 1983 as Quorn.
Sustainability is a major bonus for mycoprotein production: all you need is fungus, glucose syrup, and a vat for fermentation. Additionally, mycoprotein helps you feel more full than meat, making it easier to achieve a calorie deficit for anyone interested in weight loss. But Quorn’s mycoprotein could only go so far in mimicking real meat: you weren’t going to get dyed-in-the-wool carnivores to switch over to meatless protein just by expounding on health and environmental benefits. So how to get a plant-based burger on every grill in America?
An Impossible Rise in Popularity
Meat alternative consumption has been on the rise ever since the 80s, and now Statista predicts overall sales volume of meat substitute in the United States will reach 292.5 million kilograms by 2027. Vegetarians and vegans are no longer the only ones eating meat substitutes. Surveyed Americans responded that they’re trying to cut down on meat consumption for health or environmental reasons… and, also, they just like the taste.
Part of that is down to the technological advancements made by Beyond Burger and Impossible Foods. The Impossible Burger, launched in 2016, revolutionized the veggie burger market by providing a plant-based burger that cooked, tasted, and even ‘bled’ like real meat. Using plant-based heme to attain that meaty taste and juiciness, the Impossible Burger mimics real ground beef to an incredible extent, giving consumers interested in a beefless burger the same juicy texture and meaty taste offered by traditional burgers. Still, Impossible Foods is limited in the meats their products can mimic, sticking to meatless patties and sausages. Whole cuts of meat substitute rely on a muscle fiber-like texture that still couldn’t truly be replicated by fermented soy, microfungus, or vegetable mixes. As it turns out, there was a way to mimic that texture: not by spinning fibers, but by growing them.
A Small but Growing Market
Spending on plant-based proteins remain just a fraction of the size of animal protein market, or 7.7%. A growing middle class in countries like India and China have fueled more global demand for animal protein. While the consumption of meat-based proteins worldwide is increasing, the overall growth rate is expected to decline by half. Meanwhile, a recent report from Bloomberg Intelligence suggests that plant-based market could increase 451% from 2020 to 2030, reaching a value of $162 billion globally. The drivers of plant-based protein growth can be attributed to consumers’ increased interest over the last decade in health, price, and ethical considerations. Rises in obesity and cardiovascular disease globally have spurred more people to adapt plant-heavy flexitarian diets. Purchasing power has grown steadily for Gen Z and millennials who account for 56% of plant-based protein purchases according to Hartman’s 2020 Food & Technology. Consumers are also better educated and more aware of the ethical implications of their diet including animal cruelty and carbon emissions. A recent report by BCG noted that increasing the global market share of alternative proteins from 2% today to 8% by 2030 could yield an emissions reduction equivalent to decarbonizing 95% of the aviation industry.
What’s Next?
The race for market share is just beginning in the plant-based protein market. What trends can we expect in the coming years? Whole Muscle Protein Texture has always been a challenge for plant based meats, since plants and animals are fundamentally different on a molecular level. Like the spun soy protein of the mid-20th century, manufacturers are using technology to approximate muscle fibers, gaining the ability to offer whole cuts in a variety of formats. Korea’s leading plant-based meat brand, UNLIMEAT, offers whole cuts made of soy protein, pea protein, coconut oil, cacao powder, and rice flower that undergo a proprietary extrusion process. Israeli start-up, Redefine Meat, claims to be the first company to commercialize whole cut plant protein using additive manufacturing and 3D printing. Whole-cut mushroom protein from companies like Meati and Aqua Cultured Foods are also showing promise, transforming it into products that mimic beef, chicken, and seafood.
Plant-Based Milk and Eggs
According to a report by Future Market Insights, the demand for plant-based eggs is estimated to grow at a steady 10.6% CAGR, with the United Kingdom, the USA, China, and India emerging as key producers. You can find egg substitutes in powdered version – such as Vegan Egg’s soy-ingredient based version, or Vegg which is made of algal flour, soy protein, and nutritional yeast – as well as liquid format with products like JUST Egg which is a mung bean derivative. At the end of 2020, sales of plant-based milk in the US accounted for 15% of all retail milk sales – a number projected to double by the end of 2026. Almond milk remains the most popular in the US with $344 million in sales in 2021, but oat milk has surged in popularity to be the second most popular with consumers. (See our story on SunOpta’s award-winning oat milk project on page 26.) Companies are branching out into other ingredients such as pea protein (Ripple, Veggemo), sesame seeds (Hope and Sesame), and even potatoes (Dug Drinks).
Protein Powders & Additives
The demand for high protein products might have started in sports nutrition, but it’s become mainstream. We’re seeing a proliferation in different sources of protein as well as different types of fortified products. At the start of 2023 Osage Food Products announced the launch of a vegan protein blend that makes use of upcycled grains that are a byproduct of stillage left over after the brewing process for beer. Core FX Ingredients is making use of the regenerative Ahiflower to develop a plant-based omega powder. Pea protein projects are also gaining speed as more companies are responding to the demand for clean plant-based protein powders. High protein claims will be used in a range of applications including snacking, dairy, bakery, functional beverages, and even candy, as evidenced by Mars launch of SNICKERS Hi
Protein bars.
Cell-Cultured Meat
The US FDA has recently paved the way for commercial cell-cultured meat production with the announcement last November that they completed an evaluation of UPSIDE Foods cultured
animal cell foods. This intersection of science and food production isolates specific animal cells and then bathes them in an oxygen and nutrient-rich solution in a bioreactor so they can be grown, harvested, and processed into meat products. While it’s not clear if lab grown meat can financially compete with animal protein, investment dollars are flowing to start-ups that are racing to market, hoping that the promise of real meat taste and texture without the carbon impact of raising livestock or the cruelty of killing live animals will lure consumers. Dennis Group is currently working with UK-based Ivy Farm who is performing site search for their first cultured meat facility in the US.
There’s no doubting the alternative protein market is thriving, considering it’s been alive and active for over 5,000 years. We can expect a great deal of innovation and breakthrough disruptors in years to come. The one certainty we have? Whatever the future of alternative proteins, you can bet Dennis Group will be involved.
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