Products like The Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat have been making headlines this year. There’s obviously great interest in plant-based meat substitutes.
And I’m still trying to understand why. What kind of person is compelled to eat something that tastes like meat but isn’t meat?
I can’t see those who identify themselves as meat-eaters having any motivation to look for a substitute.
And those who choose not to eat meat are already motivated to eat plant-based foods. They wouldn’t have made the choice if they couldn’t give up the taste of animal flesh.
So who’s left? People who want to give up meat but can’t give up the taste? That doesn’t seem like a very large market, and yet the influx of dollars says otherwise.
Maybe I’m underestimating how much people love the sensation of eating meat. Regardless, the story of meat substitutes is missing me completely.