If you want to eat fake meats for convenience or environmental reasons, sure, knock yourself out. However, they are ultra processed foods by definition and far from being healthy.
Don’t get me wrong – I take the kids out to Meta Burger in Denver as a treat once every 2-3 months. But I am not under the illusion that it is healthy because it is vegan.
As Michael Pollan would say – there are a lot of “food like ingredients” in there.
Impossible Burger ingredients – Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Potato Protein, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12
Beyond Burger ingredients – pea protein isolate, expeller-pressed canola oil, refined coconut oil, water, yeast extract, maltodextrin, natural flavors, gum arabic, sunflower oil, salt, succinic acid, acetic acid, non-GMO modified food starch, cellulose from bamboo, methylcellulose, potato starch, beet juice extract (for color), ascorbic acid (to maintain color), annatto extract (for color), citrus fruit extract (to maintain quality), vegetable glycerin
Bee Wilson wrote a scathing article in The Guardian about fake meats. I completely agree with her assessment. She concludes:
The bigger question is why we remain so hung up on this thing – “meat” as the yardstick for our meals. Given that most meat is so highly processed and cruelly produced, why do we still prize its flavors and textures?
The rise of fake meat is not yet a true food revolution because it leaves our preferences untouched. The real change to our food culture will come the day that someone designs a steak that tastes like a carrot.