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Why are so many food companies offering new alternatives to mea= t? Nina Gheihman on the mainstreaming of veganism.

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The New Omnivores

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Why are so man= y food companies offering new alternatives to meat? Nina Gheihman on the mainstreaming of veganism.

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Annie Spratt

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(Originall= y published 2022 | 01.25)

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=09=09=09=09=09=09McDonald=E2=80=99s recently completed U.S. market= testing of the McPlant=E2=80=94as the name suggests, a plant-base= d burger=E2=80=94co-developed with Beyond Meat, one of the growing number o= f companies that have made good business selling meat alternatives in recen= t years. An expanding range of fast-food and fast-casual restaurants=E2=80= =94including Burger King, Chipotle, KFC, and Panera=E2=80=94is meanwhile ei= ther offering or planning to offer new vegan-and-vegetarian-friendly option= s in their U.S. and global markets. More traditional meat alternatives, suc= h as tofu or even veggie burgers, have been around for ages=E2=80=94as have= moral aversions to animal-based food=E2=80=94but these newer plant-based p= roducts are getting unprecedented exposure and traction with consumers. Why= is that?

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=09=09=09=09=09=09Nina Gheihman=C2=A0is a sociologist=E2= =80=94and a postdoctoral scholar at the Sustainable Food Initiative at the = University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business=E2=80=94writing= a book about the cultural emergence of veganism =E2=80=9Cfrom a niche subc= ulture into a mainstream movement challenging the food system.=E2=80=9D As = Gheihman sees it, the expansion of meat alternatives is the result of a tra= nsformative cultural change over the past decade, largely centered in the U= .S. but also visible in Europe and elsewhere in the world. Plant-based eati= ng, which used to be associated largely with the animal-rights movement, is= now perceived as a culturally acceptable=E2=80=94almost mainstream=E2=80= =94way of life, with benefits for personal health and the environment. Thou= gh still far from the norm=E2=80=94no more than five percent of the U.S. po= pulation eats a strictly vegan diet today=E2=80=94the growing popularity of= plant-based foods, especially among young people, suggests a generational = shift in eating habits is underway.

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=09=09=09=09=09=09Graham Vyse: Why are all these big food = companies expanding their plant-based ranges?

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=09=09=09=09=09=09Nina Gheihman: The plant-based phenomeno= n, which used to be niche, has become a big part of the mainstream food mov= ement. It=E2=80=99s not a passing trend. There=E2=80=99s awareness of the b= enefits to public health and the environment, especially given that industr= ial animal agriculture is one of the leading drivers of climate change, and= these companies don=E2=80=99t want to be left behind.
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For decades, t= here were companies like the makers of Tofurky and Vegenaise catering to pe= ople who were vegan or vegetarian, often for moral or health reasons. Then = came startups like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat geared toward omnivores= . They=E2=80=99re not making your hippie grandmother=E2=80=99s veggie burge= rs. Their products look, feel, and taste like meat.
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What=E2=80=99s= happening with companies like McDonald=E2=80=99s is also happening within = the conventional meat industry, with companies like JBS and Tyson Foods get= ting into this game. They know plant-based food could be the future of food= to some extent. Some companies have put some of these Beyond Meat or Impos= sible products on their menus. Carl=E2=80=99s Jr. is an example. Meanwhile,= McDonald=E2=80=99s is developing its own plant-based burger. If you have y= our own product, you=E2=80=99re not reliant on other companies. This is the= hottest trend in American food=E2=80=94even more than gluten-free or any o= ther kind of diet.

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=09=09=09=09=09=09Vyse: How did the contemporary plant-bas= ed phenomenon begin?

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Gheihm= an: Even the phrase =E2=80=9Cplant-based=E2=80=9D is a new phenome= non. It=E2=80=99s really taken off in the last decade, because there=E2=80= =99s a new movement emerging. Vegetarianism and veganism have been practice= d in many Eastern traditions for moral and ethical reasons, and in the 1970= s in the U.S., it became associated with militant animal-rights advocacy. Y= ou might think of black-clad, tattooed animal-rights protesters eating vegg= ie burgers, but the food didn=E2=80=99t seem desirable. There was a turning= point in the mid-2010s, when this social movement about morality and ethic= s began to transform into a lifestyle movement.
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What distingui= shes a lifestyle movement is its focus on consumption. In the environmental= movement, it used to be that they=E2=80=99d ask you to recycle, take fewer= showers, or be more mindful of what you=E2=80=99re eating. Now you can buy= a Tesla and that=E2=80=99s seen as environmentally friendly. The plant-bas= ed movement is similar: You can eat a Beyond Burger and it=E2=80=99s seen a= s interesting and doesn=E2=80=99t make you a social outcast. In fact, you= =E2=80=99re almost like a leader socially.

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Chuttersnap

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More from = Nina Gheihman=C2=A0at The Signal:
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=E2=80=9CThe people who are promoting this lifestyle=C2=A0now are differ= ent than the people who were promoting it in the past. Instead of animal-ri= ghts activists, they=E2=80=99re Instagram influencers, nonprofit leaders, T= ED Talk speakers, and CEOs. I often talk about what I call the three Is=E2= =80=94icons, informers, and innovators. The icons are trying to end a cultu= ral stigma for veganism and turn it into a more desirable way of life. The = informers are trying to educate the public about why it=E2=80=99s important= to consume this way, but they=E2=80=99re no longer interested in changing = people=E2=80=99s morals or their identities. They=E2=80=99re only intereste= d in changing their behavior. The message is,=C2=A0If you want to eat m= eat, you can eat meat, but eat=C2=A0this=C2=A0meat.=C2=A0And = the innovators are meeting the demand=E2=80=94founding companies, making th= ese products, and offering services, including coaching programs on how to = become plant-based. =E2=80=98Plant-based=E2=80=99 is the more accepted term= , even though, in practice, it often means vegan. =E2=80=98Vegan=E2=80=99 s= till has baggage.=E2=80=9D

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=09=09=09=09=09=09=E2=80=9CIn the early animal-rights movement, the message was that either you were perfectly vegan or morally defun= ct in some way. The emphasis now is on imperfect behavior, replacing meat w= ith these new products. The thesis is, if you create alternative products t= hat taste the same as or better than meat=E2=80=94and if they cost the same= or less=E2=80=94then people will consume the alternatives instead.=E2=80= =9D

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=09=09=09=09=09=09=E2=80=9CFor the most part, plant-based eating is= healthier, though I think a lot of these foods should be thought = of as transitional foods toward a more natural plant-based diet, with tradi= tional proteins like chickpeas, lentils, legumes, etc. A balanced diet incl= uding those things is definitely healthier. If you replace every single mea= t you=E2=80=99re eating with Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods, that still mi= ght be healthier, but I don=E2=80=99t know how much healthier it would be. = Cell-cultured meat, hypothetically, could be a lot healthier, if you create= d real meat in a lab without hormones and additives and the like, but it=E2= =80=99s a novel technology. We don=E2=80=99t know yet.=E2=80=9D
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