Are Plant-Based Burgers too Processed?

I shopped at Costco last week. As I waited in line for my sanitized cart I read the whiteboard sign listing what products are out of stock, which are newly restocked, and, in bold letters, the new store policy that customers must wear masks to enter the store. (On a side note: Apparently some people feel wearing a mask violates their “freedom.” The freedom to do whatever you want, regardless of putting others at risk? Let’s all just wear the masks. Please.)

Walking through the warehouse these days feels a bit like a scene out of Red Dawn, or Handmaid’s Tale. No one speaks. Heads down, stand aside. Get your items and move along. No chitchat, no samples. But they’ve got avocados! Blessed be the fruit. Chunky peanut butter, gallon-size? Praise be. In the frozen foods section I heard a woman squeal to no one in particular, “Wow!! This is a great deal!” and grab a pack of something from the shelf. I waited politely, then sidled my cart up to the window. Eight Beyond Meat plant-based burgers for $15? Sold.

President Trump recently ordered meat processing plants to stay open despite and amidst rising cases of Covid-19 at factories in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, and Washington state – and these are just the outbreaks that have been reported. Other states refuse to share information or haphazardly allow workers to be tested. Overall meat production is down and prices are rising; some fast food restaurants are even out of burgers altogether. “Where’s the beef?” indeed.

Even before the current crisis the popularity of plant-based burgers has been on the rise. More and more Americans are trying out Impossible Whoppers and Beyond Meat burgers – exciting options for those transitioning away from meat-heavy diets. Further, in the midst of a pandemic that most likely originated in a wet animal market, people are increasingly “veg-curious” and reaching for plant-based alternatives.

You’ll hear criticism, however, from those still squarely on the meat-train: “Plant-based burgers are so processed! Real meat is natural.” Okay. First of all, some stats about modern meat: 70% of grain produced in the U.S. (mostly GMO corn and soy) goes to feed livestock, and about 60% of the world’s agricultural land is used to produce meat for human consumption –yet this factory farmed meat accounts for less than 2% of total calories consumed by people. At least thirty pounds of genetically-modified corn and soy (in addition to growth hormones and antibiotics) go into the making of a regular hamburger – the cost of which is kept ridiculously low by an extremely powerful meat industry. This is in addition to the massive environmental “hoofprint” left behind by modern factory farming in the form of water pollution, unsatisfactory waste treatment facilities, and encroachment into other species’ environments. (The continuing destruction of milkweed, for example, the main food for Monarch butterflies, has caused their populations to decline by 90% in recent years.) So no, unless you consider pesticides, artificial hormones, factory-made antibiotics, and slaughterhouses “natural,” that Big Mac is anything but.

What about grass-fed beef — isn’t this more natural? Yes, but even if we could transition from CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feedlot Operations) to smaller and more varied, sustainable farms, there is not enough land available to meet current beef consumption in the US with grass-fed beef; cattle simply need too much land for grazing.

By comparison, the new plant-based burgers use less than 8 ounces of (GM) soy per burger — far less farm land than what is required to create a beef patty and minus the hormones, antibiotics, parasites, and bacteria always threatening to launch the next meat-borne illness. Plant-based burgers also have less saturated fat and the same amount of protein as a hamburger. Is it a natural food? Nope. And that is fine with me because even plant-based burgers should be an occasional treat. I would no more buy my kids Impossible Whoppers every day than I would order them chicken nuggets or fish fillet sandwiches because they are not health foods. I believe meat, in whatever form, should not be consumed at every meal, and that its price should reflect the process, labor, and sacrifices required to bring that food to your plate.

The new plant-based burgers are an occasional treat for vegetarians who enjoy the taste of meat and a great alternative for those trying to lessen their meat consumption or who eat fast food on a regular basis. Many fast food places are offering their own takes on either Impossible Burgers or Beyond Meat patties  – check them out and let me know which you like best!

 

Protein Wars: The Fight Over Our Favorite Nutrient

It has been awhile. Alas, nothing shuts down my commitment to blogging more frequently than teaching.  And alternatively – nothing motivates me to read and think like prepping for class and discussing interesting topics with my students, and for that I am grateful. I complain about the hours of preparation and the grading, but as they say – “those who can, teach.” Right?

One topic I continually come back to both in class and in real life is – wait for it – protein! This is for several reasons. First, I have been vegan for almost a decade, and if I had a dollar for every time a well-meaning carnivore asked me how I get enough protein in my diet I would be a wealthy woman indeed. Second, I just finished teaching my History of Vegetarianism class and realized anew what a central role our obsession with protein has played in modern human history, particularly in the western world.

Unlike other foods that (seemingly arbitrarily) alternate between the nice or naughty list – chocolate, red wine, sugar, bread, even my beloved coffee – protein has pretty solidly stayed in everyone’s good graces since German chemist Justus von Liebig linked the idea of high protein consumption with physical strength in the mid-1800s. Von Liebig was such a strong believer in animal-derived protein that he founded the Extract of Beef Company in London in 1865. (Catchy business name, Justus.) His factories soon produced and distributed great amounts of liquid, concentrated beef (yes, it is as gross as it sounds).

Von Liebig was certainly not the only one marketing meat products. The Chicago Stockyards opened on Christmas Day, 1865 and would go on to “process” over 1 billion cows and pigs by 1954. By applying new technology in transportation, (dis)assembly line techniques, and preservation, the stockyards permanently transformed the American foodscape and turned steak, burgers, and bacon into everyday fare.

Even as the consumption of meat — seen as a marker of status and abundance — rose dramatically in the western world, some brave souls spoke out against animal meat and in favor of a plant-based diet. Still influenced by ancient humoral theories of foods’ hot or cold properties, nineteenth-century Americans believed diet directly affected one’s behavior and physiology. While most thought meat created virility and strength, others blamed meat-rich meals for the persistent, ubiquitous physical ailments of the day — dyspepsia (indigestion) and constipation — in addition to moral failings like drunkenness or sexual impropriety. Sylvester Graham (who would roll over in his grave if he saw the ingredients in a modern graham cracker) should be credited with laying much of the groundwork for the modern vegetarian movement. As Graham traveled the East coast during the 1830s he praised the powers of homemade, whole wheat bread to reform the nation, one loaf at a time. Graham died in 1851 at age 57, just one year after the American Vegetarian Society was formed, and his vegetarian colleagues distanced themselves from his controversial teachings as they tried to take the movement in a less sensational and more medically-based direction.

John Harvey Kellogg based his famous Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan on Grahamite principles, but the charismatic doctor realized that if he was going to permanently alter Americans’ diets he would need to tackle the meat on their plates. You have likely eaten hundreds (if not thousands) of bowls of cold cereal in your lifetime, and you have Kellogg’s obsession with replacing bacon and eggs to thank for that. Not just satisfied with tackling breakfast, however, Kellogg’s experimental kitchen at the San also developed the first American meat substitutes (China has been making mock meats for thousands of years, but this deserves its own blog post!).

By the 1890s the general consensus was that protein was the most essential nutrient for good health, and that animal products were superior to plant foods in providing it. The USDA published its first dietary bulletin in 1894 and protein in the form of daily servings of meat and diary was the number one recommendation. With this in mind, Kellogg knew he had to create meatless meats, and the following year he introduced (with great fanfare, I’m sure) nuttose, a peanut-based meat alternative. Kellogg unveiled protose –another meat alternative made from wheat gluten, nuts, and soy–shortly thereafter. Kellogg was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church and lent his expertise to the organization’s development of several businesses dedicated to replacing flesh foods with plant proteins, including La Loma, Worthington, and Morningstar Farms. Soy in its various forms became a key ingredient in most mock meat products and by the 1970s, of course, most people recognized tofu thanks to the counterculture movement.

Nevertheless, the meat industry grew exponentially. By 1950 the average American was consuming about 140 pounds of meat per year, a statistic that increased to 200 pounds by 2000 – mainly due to an increase in chicken consumption. Protein was still king, and there was still the misconception that only meat could fulfill optimal protein requirements. Recent research has shown, however, that most humans consume more protein than we actually need, and that a variety of plant foods provide complete proteins. Further – and this is key — all protein comes from plants, whether it is processed through an animal or not.  The fight over the best source of protein rages on in marketing campaigns for protein shakes, supplements, and, of course, for both meat and plant-based alternatives.