Does the extreme processing of my veggie sausage matter? Why won’t some people eat a cricket but a prawn? Is lab-grown beef safe and just as nutrient-dense as the genuine thing?
It is believed that a new multimillion-pound initiative to try and get more insects, fungi, and cultivated (often called “lab-grown”) meat onto our plates may provide answers to such queries regarding new “alternative proteins”.
As the world’s population increases significantly, so does people’s need for foods high in animal protein, such as cheese, ham, and hamburgers.
However, animals grown for food can have detrimental effects on the environment, including the destruction of rainforests, acceleration of climate change, and water use.
The challenge of feeding everyone while not using additional land that is required to slow down climate change and safeguard ecosystems has fueled the expansion of the “alternative protein” industry.
This includes a variety of proteins that require a lot less energy and land, such as farmed meat, fungi, algae, insects, microorganisms brewed like beer, and even veggie sausages produced from mushrooms.
However, the industry is still in its infancy. According to news, only 9% of the protein found in UK supermarkets is derived from plants rather than animals, and farmed meat is not yet safe for human consumption.
