Can Plant-Based Diet Overshadow Meat Production?

Food and Beverages Tech Review | Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Multiple factors are driving the expansion of plant-based products, and these include significant concerns for the environment, ethics, health and wellness, and diversity in protein sourcing.

FREMONT, CA: The demand for plant-based innovation is rapidly growing as one-third of consumers are choosing to cut down their meat consumption actively. Therefore, it is evident that the plant-based food market is flourishing. Americans in the present time are including plant-based protein in their diets, which suggests that a plant-based market is no longer a place like before, and the consumers are hungry for meat and dairy alternatives.

Climatic condition is one of the factors that drive consumers to move to a more plant-based diet plan. Such awareness in the lifestyles of people when it comes to meat and dairy production is a result of the vast media coverage that demonstrates the impacts of greenhouse gases and global warming. People are aware of the realities of climate change, and factory-farmed meat along with the way food items are grown in the country, which is damaging the land, air, water, communities, and other bodies.

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Since the production of plant-based meat alternatives can contribute ten times fewer greenhouse emissions, it is causing a turn down in meat and dairy consumption. It is increasing the demand for companies having a positive environmental impact, even while offering the protein content found in animal-based products.

Technological developments have introduced plant-based alternatives, such as soy, peas, and nuts, to taste like meat or dairy-based products, with more sustainability. Several companies are additionally utilizing the by-products of foods and beverages in a bid to bring down the use of plastics, such as sustainable drinking straws and eco-friendly packaging.

Furthermore, the shift toward plant-based diets has been chiefly driven by consumer concern surrounding health, wellbeing, and animal welfare. The switch is primarily being fuelled by several reports that explain the possible ties between processed or red meat and cancers. Besides, another primary driver behind the move is the positive health benefits that come with plant-based diets, such as the high nutritional value of meat-alternatives that help in weight management and promote better health.

The existing key players in the food and beverage industry are growing increasingly aware of small-scale disruptor brands that are busy developing innovations in the plant-based market. These companies need to mull over their investment strategies for plant-based alternatives to protect their market share.

See Also: Top Food and Beverages Solution Companies

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