Wall Street Journal writers Jacob Bunge and Heather Haddon reported this week that, “After biting into the U.S. burger business, plant-based food makers are targeting pork.
“Impossible Foods Inc. said Monday that it will introduce imitation ground pork and sausage, including a patty for a new sandwich at dozens of Burger King restaurants later this month. Rival Beyond Meat Inc. last year began supplying plant-based sausage to Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., Carl’s Jr. and Tim Hortons restaurants, mainly for breakfast sandwiches.
“Impossible, Beyond and other meat-alternative developers say their products spare livestock and are better for the environment than meat because they require less grain, water and fuel to produce. The companies first worked on beef because they said it is one of the most environmentally intensive meats to produce. Pork is the world’s most widely consumed meat, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Plant-based food makers are also developing chicken and seafood alternatives.”
The Journal writers noted that, “Meat-free burgers, sausages and nuggets represent a fraction of overall meat consumption. But their sales are growing much faster than those of traditional meat. Cases of plant-based proteins shipped to commercial restaurants from broadline food distributors increased by 23% in the year ending in November, according to market-research firm NPD Group. Restaurants say the products have helped boost traffic and buzz.
That growth has drawn pushback from livestock producers. Farm groups have urged regulators to block the use of words like ‘meat’ and ‘pork’ to describe plant-based imitations, arguing that consumers could be misled about their contents.”
