Will there even be meat substitutes in the future?
You may have already seen it: the news that, due to the rising popularity of meat substitutes, the raw materials for them appear to be running out. At the same time, increasingly inventive products are appearing on supermarket shelves. But have we taken things too far in all our virtuousness? Well, as with most stories, there are several sides to it…
Flexitarianism
The Netherlands Nutrition Centre previously stated that more than half of the Dutch eat no meat for three or more days a week. If you are a somewhat savvy food producer with the means to do so, you make sure to offer alternatives. But demand is rising rapidly and the technology has not quite caught up yet, resulting in a rush for the plant-based raw materials used to make vegetarian/vegan burgers and the like.
Willie Wortel
That technology involves separating proteins from plant-based products. Proteins can also be extracted from eggs and milk, but then you still need chickens and cows. The ultra-modern facilities needed to extract proteins from grains, peas or beans are not available to many companies, meaning that the well-intentioned market is running up against its limits.
Long-term thinking
Still, Jaap Korteweg, founder of De Vegetarische Slager, thinks a positive shift could occur. “Yes, there are shortages now, but if demand grows, hopefully more and more farmland will become available for the production chain of plant-based meat, instead of the more than 70 percent currently used for conventional meat. Animal feed is also grown on that land, while only half would be needed for bean and grain production for meat substitutes.” In any case, he does not expect price increases in supermarkets for the time being. You can always treat yourself to, for example, this aubergine burger: guaranteed success!
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