From plant milk to plant meat, why eat artificial food?

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Thanks to technological progress, artificial meat without killing is getting closer and closer to us.

On the one hand, KFC, McDonald's, or HEYTEA and Starbucks in first- and second-tier cities have already launched products containing plant-based meat, such as HEYTEA's future meat pastoral sandwich, and Nestle's plant-based meat brand Jiazhiyao. On the other hand, cell cultured meat has also made great strides, and has even been listed as a field that the country will actively participate in in the next five years in the "14th Five-Year Plan for National Agricultural and Rural Science and Technology Development" issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China.

Humans have created new food categories, breaking the clear boundaries of taste in the past, but the most important question for the most ordinary eater is, why do we eat artificial meat? At the same time, in the face of the current high price of artificial meat, when will people be able to eat a bite of artificial meat that is affordable to the people?

Why eat artificial meat?

The answer to why you want to eat artificial meat is actually very simple, because there is not enough meat to eat - at present, people's increasing demand for meat and the environmental pressure brought by animal husbandry to the earth are precisely this set of contradictions that are difficult to reconcile, so It is necessary to use further scientific and technological means to solve the "meat-eating" problem of all mankind.

As early as 2006, the United Nations issued a very detailed report, the crisis of global warming, and the impact of human beings on diet (especially meat) and global warming . In fact, the cause of climate change is not only from the exhaust emissions of automobiles and industries, but also the food system and diet structure play an important role in environmental degradation and climate change.

The global food system, from food production to consumption and waste, generates large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions that affect climate and environmental change. For animal husbandry, animal husbandry needs to consume a lot of land, food and water resources, and animal husbandry is also the main source of greenhouse gases. According to the BeyondMeat official website, more than 50% of the greenhouse gas will be generated in the process of animal rearing.

In August 2017, a report titled "Promoting Sustainable Diets for Human Health and Planetary Health" published by the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition predicted that if the global dietary structure changes with income (that is, tends to be more more animal protein), global per capita diet-related greenhouse gas emissions from crop and livestock production will increase by 32 percent between 2009 and 2050.

Conversely, balanced diets or healthier diets (eg, Mediterranean-style diets, fish and vegetarian options, vegetarian diets) could help reduce emissions from food production below those projected above by 2050.

From the perspective of safety, livestock farms will feed growth hormones and antibiotics to livestock for a long time, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in meat may cause harm to the health of consumers. Data from BeyondMeat shows that regular meat can increase the risk of cancer by 16% and heart disease by 21%.

Artificial meat, on the other hand, can retain the beneficial elements needed by our human body according to our needs, and remove some harmful and ineffective food elements, which may be more helpful for prolonging people's lifespan. Judging from the plant-based artificial meat on the market, Beyond Meat's official website focuses on its products "with the same protein content as meat or even higher than meat, less saturated fatty acids and zero cholesterol".

For example, in terms of low saturated fatty acids, the World Health Organization, the Chinese Nutrition Society, and the American Heart Association all recommend that the energy supply ratio of saturated fatty acids be controlled within ten percent. People usually eat pork, beef and mutton with higher saturated fatty acid content, and replacing saturated fatty acids with unsaturated fatty acids is conducive to improving dyslipidemia.

Based on this, in the process of simulating the fat content of real meat, artificial meat can control the saturated fatty acid content in vegetable protein meat and increase the unsaturated fatty acid content through the ratio of various vegetable oils . It can be said that the nutrition of plant meat is almost completely higher than that of ordinary meat. This further caters to the current people's needs and consumption concepts for health, quality, and individuality. In contrast, artificial meat is actually safer and healthier.

It can be said that artificial meat was born almost corresponding to these major pain points of ordinary meat. In this context, the demand for artificial meat is constantly increasing.

From plant milk to artificial meat

Under the trend of artificial meat, 2020 has become the first year of artificial meat. In 2020, the rhythm of global investment in this field will be significantly accelerated, and the business directions of start-up companies will be diversified. From animal husbandry to aquatic products), a specialized division of labor has initially formed, and some well-known companies have also received large amounts of financing.

However, the current artificial meat is mostly concentrated in the production of plant meat. For example, Impossible Foods, an American “Internet celebrity” artificial meat company established in California in 2011. In 2016, Impossible Foods launched its first product, Impossible Plant-Based Beef. But Impossible foods is a product that is more out of the circle, it is an Impossible Whopper "Impossible Whopper" that relies on cooperation with the Burger King chain, and the price is 7 US dollars.

It is worth mentioning that the core technology of Impossible Foods plant meat products - "heme" heme. The reason why meat tastes like meat is because the bloody taste of raw meat and the rich umami and aroma of cooked meat come from it. Impossible Foods takes the DNA of soybean hemoglobin, inserts it into yeast, and then ferments the yeast. By using genetic engineering to make heme, this method avoids planting, digging up soybean plants to harvest heme (from root nodules), which promote erosion and release carbon stored in the soil.

Scientists at Impossible Foods have engineered a yeast to make leghemoglobin, like rennet, which they grow in fermenters similar to those used in breweries, but not for brewing, but for making it at a lower cost A large amount of leghemoglobin produces cost-effective plant-based burger patties.

Today, Impossible Foods products are sold in nearly 17,000 grocery stores, a more than 100-fold increase in 2020 alone, with restaurants including Burger King, Starbucks, New York's Momofuku Nishi owned by David Chang, and more. In April 2018, the company entered the international market for the first time with the launch of Impossible plant-based beef in Hong Kong, China. In February, Impossible Foods announced a 20% reduction in suggested prices for products in grocery stores and supermarkets nationwide.

Large meat companies also include Brazil's largest meat producer JBS, American Tyson, Hormel, Smithfield Foods and Cargill acquired by Shuanghui International. In addition, the global fast-food chain giants McDonald's and Burger King have also entered the artificial meat market one after another. As a world-renowned fast-food chain giant, it will undoubtedly have a huge role in promoting artificial meat.

The United States is currently the world's largest market for artificial meat consumption. According to research data from MarketsandMarkets, the United States accounted for nearly 40% of the global plant-based artificial meat market in 2018, and will maintain a high compound growth rate in the future. Germany, the UK and Singapore will be the top three countries with the highest CAGR. The huge demand for plant-based artificial meat in Asia-Pacific and South American countries will also promote the rapid expansion of the artificial meat market, of which the Asia-Pacific plant-based meat market is expected to be dominated by China.

For China, according to the China Statistical Yearbook data, China's meat consumption reached 37.6613 million tons in 2019 (per capita meat consumption × total population), which is only about half of the consumption in the United States. Therefore, China's meat consumption will further increase in the future, and the supply gap of China's meat products will be partially filled by artificial meat. At present, the proportion of China's regular vegetarian population is about 3.6%, and the penetration rate of artificial meat is expected to increase to about 10% in the future.

The development of plant meat is like the past of plant milk. Plant milk is almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, oat milk, etc. After 20 years of development, the penetration rate of plant milk has reached 14%, while Plant meat is currently only 1%.

According to Beyond Meat's forecast, if the market size of "plant meat" can reach a ratio similar to that of "plant milk" and dairy milk, then it corresponds to the US 270 billion meat market, which means a new market space of 35 billion US dollars. If the global meat market is vaguely calculated, it can reach 182 billion US dollars.

The hard last mile

It seems that it is an inevitable trend for artificial meat to gradually replace the current natural meat. But for the most ordinary diners, an unavoidable question is, when will people be able to eat a bite of artificial meat at an affordable price? After all, for most consumers, price is the most important factor.

"Nanfang Daily" once disclosed a set of data: in the United States, the price of 1 kg of processed meat is 7 US dollars, and the price of plant meat is 15 US dollars. Also in the US supermarket Wal-Mart, the final retail price of beef burgers produced by food factories is currently $2.8/lb, while Beyond Meat’s plant-based burgers are priced at $6.25/lb. Omnipork, the first plant-based meat brand to enter the Chinese market, sells for about 60 yuan per kilogram, while the cheapest pork on a fresh e-commerce platform is about 50 yuan per kilogram.

In fact, although Beyond Meat has completed its IPO, its prospectus shows that the company has continued to lose money for ten years after its establishment. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the company posted net losses of $25.1 million, $30.4 million and $29.9 million, respectively. According to its 2019 Q2 financial report released last month, the net loss reached US$9.4 million, an increase of US$2 million compared with the same period last year, and the difficulty in making profits of artificial meat companies is not unrelated to the high cost.

In the more disruptive animal-based artificial meat market, the technology and market are just getting started. Although the cost of "cultivated meat" has dropped significantly in the past few years as the manufacturing process matures, mass production is still not possible, and the cost per pound is still around a few thousand dollars. The decisive factor in reducing costs is the cost of serum. Serum provides muscle cells with necessary nutrients and promotes the natural replication of cells. At present, the cost of serum alone is much higher than the value of fresh meat, resulting in animal-based artificial meat lacking price competitiveness and inability to measure. Produce.

However, on the policy side, different countries have introduced different policy support. Singapore has approved the sale of animal-based artificial chicken by American start-up Eat Just in 2020, becoming the first country in the world to approve the sale of animal-based artificial meat. Eat Just's "artificial chicken" products can be used as raw materials for chicken popcorn.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China also mentioned "future food manufacturing" and "cell cultured meat" for the first time in the latest "14th Five-Year Plan" National Agricultural and Rural Science and Technology Development Plan, and listed this category as the country's next five-year areas of active participation. In other words, China is incorporating this new food production method into its national food security plan, speeding up regulatory approval timelines and boosting related investments.

Finally, from the perspective of consumer recognition, Beijing Digital 100 Market Research Company found in a report last year that although consumers have a very high awareness of plant meat, reaching 77%, the correct awareness rate of this Only less than 40%, and only 39% of the sample population understand the concept of "plant-based artificial meat".

The survey company Ipsos also mentioned in the "2020 China Artificial Meat Trend Insights" report that consumers' biggest concern is the excessive processing of products and food safety, followed by the taste and taste of artificial meat. In addition, the COVID-19 outbreak may also bring greater uncertainty to the future promotion of plant-based meat products.

The plant-based meat industry with emerging halos such as "health" and "sustainable development" still has a long way to go . On the one hand, consumers are still afraid of the genetic engineering and processing used in the research and development of plant-based meat; on the other hand, common plant-based meat products do have problems of high prices and mediocre taste. To impress consumers, the last mile of artificial meat is not something that can be easily reached.