Can these "artificially synthesized meats" that have already appeared on the table really replace natural meat? The truth...

In the past few decades, as the global population grows and consumption habits change, food production has faced considerable pressure. As more and more people pay attention to the sustainability and ethics of food, traditional animal-based protein production methods have gradually shown their limitations.

Against this backdrop, alternative proteins have emerged as a result of the rapid development of biotechnology, providing a new solution that may even change our eating habits while having a profound impact on our health and the future of the planet.

Protein-rich foods (Source: Generated by the author using AI)

Alternative protein , as the name suggests, is a food that can replace traditional animal protein. It comes from a variety of sources, including plants, insects, and lab-grown meat. These new protein sources are designed to mimic the taste and nutrition of meat while reducing the burden on the environment. Today, we will take a look at how these innovative foods are developed in the laboratory and eventually on our tables, and how they can potentially reshape our perception and consumption behavior of food.

Among the four alternative proteins

Plant-based meat has the most promising development

Among the four current alternative proteins, plant-based protein has the most significant development. Compared with other categories that have not yet been popularized in the market or have low audience acceptance, plant-based protein is in a leading position due to its mature production technology and wide market acceptance. The following is a classification of alternative proteins:

1

Plant Protein

Plant protein is the most mature alternative protein source, including beans, cereals, potatoes and nuts, among which soy protein content can reach 40%. Plant protein has low production cost, high safety, easy digestion and absorption, and little negative impact on the environment and animal welfare (probably the least psychological burden on consumers), and has been widely used in the market.

Plant protein has low overall cost, strong safety, easy digestion and little side effects on animal welfare and the environment. It is now widely used and is the best alternative protein so far. Plant-based protein has become the most promising alternative protein category not only because of its economic benefits and production efficiency advantages, but also because of its importance in environmental protection and sustainable development.

2

Insect Protein

Insects are an efficient source of protein, including proteins extracted from eggs, larvae, adults, pupae, etc. at all stages of growth. Despite the rapid reproduction rate and rich nutrition of insects, most mainstream consumers are reserved about eating insects and find them difficult to swallow. However, we still often see some delicious insect proteins on our tables, such as silkworm pupae and bee pupae. Although insect protein has a reasonable nutritional structure, less meat fiber, and is easy to absorb, large-scale production technology is not yet mature.

3

Microbial Protein

Microbial proteins, especially those produced through precision fermentation technology, are gaining widespread attention. This technology relies on gene editing and biotechnology to create customized microorganisms to produce specific proteins and nutrients. For example, precision fermentation is used to produce casein, yeast protein, etc. These products can meet protein needs without relying on traditional animal sources. Microorganisms have fast growth rates, high production efficiency, and a wide range of raw material sources, but its consumer acceptance remains a challenge.

Conceptual image of protein produced through precision fermentation technology (Source: Generated by the author using AI)

4

Cellular Protein

A revolutionary way to produce food directly using cell culture technology. By growing and multiplying animal cells in the lab, we can produce food similar to traditional meat without the need for farming and slaughtering. Imagine that we only need to grow and multiply muscle and fat cells to get the beef we need.

Through cellular agriculture technology, we don’t need to raise the whole animal, we only need to cultivate the part we eat . For example, when we just want to eat steak, we don’t need to go through the trouble of cultivating tissues or organs including bones, horns, hooves, etc. This method can not only reduce the consumption of natural resources, but also reduce environmental impact.

What should I do if the substitute protein tastes bad?

Some friends said that it’s not that alternative proteins are bad, but they taste and taste terrible! Some people actually tried to challenge this problem and achieved good results.

There is a company called Impossible Foods, which mainly develops plant-based protein burgers. The company's founder, Pat Brown, a professor of biochemistry at Stanford University, has assembled a team of top scientists to recreate the entire sensory experience of meat, dairy products, and fish using plants.

During Pat's entrepreneurial journey, Dr. Brown realized that if people were to reduce their dependence on animal meat, it was not enough to simply provide alternatives with equivalent nutritional value; the key was to replicate the taste and feel of meat. He and his team discovered that heme is the key component that gives meat its unique metallic and bloody taste. However, heme is mainly found in the muscles of animals, which is a challenge for developing completely plant-based meat substitutes.

Schematic diagram of heme (Source: Wikipedia)

After research, the team found that a plant protein called soy hemoglobin contains heme similar to animal heme. However, extracting heme directly from soybeans is too expensive and not suitable for commercial production. The solution is to transfer the gene of soy heme to yeast through genetic engineering, and then mass-produce this protein through a fermentation process. This innovation not only makes their "beef" burgers have a flavor close to real beef, but also significantly reduces the impact on the environment.

The burger using this technology has not only aroused great interest among consumers, but also triggered extensive discussions in the food industry and biotechnology field, marking a major breakthrough in the field of alternative proteins. The success of this technology provides a good example of how to solve complex global problems through innovation and interdisciplinary cooperation.

summary

The resource consumption and environmental pollution caused by traditional livestock and poultry farming, as well as the continued growth of the global population and higher health needs of mankind, have given rise to the motivation for people to explore new food resources and promoted the innovation and development of alternative proteins such as plant protein, algae protein, insect protein, microbial protein, and cell culture protein.

In general, although alternative protein currently faces many challenges, it has great potential and is expected to become an important way of food production in the future.

Planning and production

Author: Denovo Popular Science Writer

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Planning丨Ding Zong

Editor: Ding Zong

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin