BY VIVIAN LIVESAY ’21
Over the past few years, plant-based alternatives to meat have increasingly entered the mainstream. There are many reasons for this. Increased public awareness of the effects of the meat industry on the global climate is one of them, along with animal rights and health risks associated with red meat consumption.
Graphic by Anjali Rao ’22
Startup companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have intrigued consumers across the world with their promises of burgers and sausages that have the same sensory qualities as conventional meat, but with none of the animal matter. For Impossible Foods, the secret is leghemoglobin, a compound found in soy roots which is similar in structure to proteins found in blood. They have created genetically engineered yeast which produces leghemoglobin to give the Impossible Burger its characteristic sizzle, rich flavor and red color while using fractions of the land, water and emissions required to raise livestock.
Recently, the giants of the traditional meat industry — including Tyson, Smithfield and Nestlé — have begun capitalizing on this trend by introducing their own plant-based product lines.
In a report by the New York Times, spokespeople for Smithfield and Tyson explained their companies’ decisions as purely economic and unrelated to the morality of sustainability or animal rights. In one sense,this is good news. More people want to eat plant-based foods, which might indicate the start of a larger shift in consumption patterns toward a cleaner future. In another sense, consumers are right to be wary of the fact that the products they buy are not being produced with ethics in mind.
Tess Hosman ’20, president of the Mount Holyoke Animal Welfare Association, has mixed feelings about this development. “Over the years, I have seen a lot of vegan products become more affordable, and the fact that you can get a vegan burger at most large fast food chains allows a lot more people the choice,” Hosman said. “However, many not-so-great corporations continue their exploitative practices while capitalizing on the sales of plant-based alternatives.”
Hosman went on to explain that these alternatives “are often still produced by low-wage labor and dependent on global industrial agricultural systems. So as long as these options are more accessible, we also need to hold these companies accountable.”
In other words, while this is a step in the right direction, it’s hardly revolutionary. It may soon be possible for Americans to eat as we are accustomed to without harm to animals and ecosystems. However, it will probably take more than replacing beef with wheat protein to create a food system that is fair to everyone.