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Mock meat—wheat gluten, or seitan, designed to resemble duck or chicken—has been around for centuries, mainly as a part of Buddhist vegetarian cuisine in China. Plant-based proteins that imitate hamburgers, hot dogs and cold cuts have a more recent history.
Other members of the Canadian agriculture sector, however, are far more bullish about the arrival of these new plant-based proteins. AGT Food and Ingredients in Regina is the world’s largest manufacturer of pulse ingredients in the world—peas, chickpeas, mung beans, lentils, etc.—and the flours and concentrates derived from such things. For over a decade, AGT has been supplying these products to a host of major international food companies, including General Mills, Nestlé and Loblaws.
You don’t need to tell Michael McCain. The president and CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, Canada’s foremost purveyor of old-school bacon, chicken and sausages, has been watching the rapid growth of plant-based proteins very carefully and, one imagines, with a blend of anxiety and avarice. In 2017, Maple Leaf acquired two American producers of veggie deli meats and sausages, Lightlife Foods and Field Roast. They later became the centrepiece of its new U.S.-based plant protein subsidiary, Greenleaf Foods.
I dont eat dog food,meat is good for me
The medical community has been sounding alarm bells over the health risks of processed foods. What could be more processed that vegetables transformed into a mock version of meat?
You mean the meat industry that accounts for 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions? Ummmm.... Couldn't care less.
Not much. It was divided market anyway. People who like and eat meat will not stop. They might try it, out of curiosity, especially with all the buzz about it, but it's not like they were waiting for a right product to make huge lifestyle change overnight.🐄🍔🌭
All industries must be nimble and innovative enough to move and adjust with the market demands.
It will mean better quality of meat for the rest of us.
The beyond sausage at tim Hortons is delicious!
Nothing because this product does not taste like meat. More media hype will not change that fact either.