Meat to Meet its Demise?

With so many grocery products now stamped with “reduced fat,” “low calorie” and “9 grams of fiber” claims, people are growing more and more health-conscious. Consumers are opting to buy organic foods, carefully checking nutrition labels and monitoring what they ingest into their bodies.

In particular, meat is among the food groups in which people are trying to cut back or choose healthier, organic options. News of unhealthy practices in raising livestock and chickens as well as health concerns are common motives that cause even non-vegans to shy away from meat.

In response, food producers are making efforts to deliver healthier products to consumers. Beyond Meat, a vegan start-up company, recently launched veggie chicken at Whole Foods stores in the Northern California region and at two Roots Market locations in Maryland.

In a market worth $340 million, alternatives that have flavor and texture resembling real meat are nearly impossible to find. Perhaps that’s why Twitter co-founders, Evan Williams and Biz Stone (a vegan of ten years), have taken interest in supporting Beyond Meat, which offers plant-based alternatives unlike any in its market.

Beyond Meat’s faux chicken is made mostly from pea and soy powders, carrot protein and gluten-free flour. By taking plant proteins and realigning them to mimic the appearance and mouth-feel of real animal meat, the imposter chicken was even able to fool New York Times’ food columnist, Mark Bittman, in a blind food tasting. According to Ethan Brown, founder of Beyond Meat, their technology can also mimic beef, pork and fish. In fact, Brown hopes to launch Beyond Meat’s second product, fake beef, in the fall.

The alternative chicken is both healthy and tasty —with no saturated or trans fats, gluten, GMOs, cholesterol, dairy, hormones or, of course, meat! A 3-ounce serving of this fake chicken has 19 grams of protein. At just 100 calories, it maintains its delicious flavor and texture as if it was real thing.

It will be interesting to see if William and Stone –the men who transformed the way we communicate (in just 140 characters or less)– can help transform the way we view (and eat) meat. Will you opt to try this new alternative?

Tags: animal meat, Beyond Meant, Biz Stone, CBD Marketing, Ethan Brown, ethic foods, Evan Williams, faux chicken, fiber, food columnist, food producers, foodie, gluten-free, healthy, healthy foods, low calorie, Mark Bittman, Mary Sinker, New York Times, organic, reduced fat, Roots Market, saturated fats, trans fats, Twitter co-founders, vegan companies, vegan foods, vegans, Whole Foods

Older, Wiser and way more Demanding

As part of the baby-boom generation that grew up rather simply – that is, not thinking too hard about food or even knowing the right questions to ask – I’m thrilled to finally have the 24/7 access to information that defines today’s world.Whole Foods, Meijer, Trader Joe’s and HyVee as sources of information.

Colman Brohan Davis’s recent Food Shopping Survey 2009 turned up some interesting insights about my peers. Relative to the other segments measured (Women 20 – 25 and Men), we are heavier readers and tv watchers, looking to books, magazines and the tube to gather information and form opinions. And we’ve avidly embraced life online, particularly search and mobile. We love exploring blogs, postings and sites that provide insight and data about food. We have fun sharing our opinions.

Here are some highlights of our research:

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Tags: calories and fat, Colman Brohan Davis, consumer, country of origin, diet/health connection, fiber, Food Shopping Survey 2009, food/health connection, gluten-free, grocery retailers, Hyvee, ingredients, Meijer, middle-aged, midle-aged women, natural foods, preservatives, private food label, private label, sonsciousness, Sustainability, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Women