The vegetarians that are feeding the carnivores

Once the province of vegetarians and hippies, the popularity of meat alternatives has grown substantially over recent years. Sales in the US increased eight percent between 2010 and 2012 according to market research firm Mintel. While consumption was once driven primarily by concern for animal welfare, environmental and health issues are becoming increasingly important factors. This has led to a different consumer demographic and a change in strategy for ‘vegetarian’ food companies.

Surprisingly, this shift means market growth is now being driven by meat-eaters: Quorn, the leading meat substitute brand in the UK, counted more omnivores than vegetarians among its buyers for the first time ever in 2014, while Mintel found 36 percent of people in the US eat meat alternatives despite a vegetarian population of just seven percent.

Health ranked as the number one motivating factor for those eating alternatives

Celebrity champions
Meat substitutes have been edging their way into the mainstream market for a number of years, but a surge of activity in 2013 and 2014 seems to have hastened the trend. Sir Paul McCartney’s Meat Free Monday campaign (backed by an A-list crowd including Sir Richard Branson, Jamie Oliver and Vivienne Westwood) sparked global attention in September with its plea for UN leaders to pledge to a weekly meat fast with the aim of saving the planet. A number of universities subsequently stripped their Monday menus of meat in a bid to help. Billionaire Bill Gates has also been prolific on the environmental meat-free front, investing in US start-up Beyond Meat in 2013 and brewing up media buzz when he declared meat equivalents were the future of food.

All of this has contributed to a sharp shift in the perception of traditionally ‘vegetarian’ meat substitutes. Animal-free and vegan food have become a fashion badge; a symbol of trendy eco-friendlieness. “There’s definitely attention on meat alternatives right now”, says Beth Bloom, a food analyst at Mintel.

And it’s being led by some of the biggest culinary names on the planet: Alain Ducasse, the most Michelin-starred chef in the world, recently took almost all meat off the menu in his Parisian restaurant Plaza Athenee (although fish remains a key component). Once again, it was environmentally motivated: “The planet has increasingly rare resources so we have to consume more ethically, more fairly”, he told AFP. Given France’s dedication to tradition, heritage and steak bleu, the move is a courageous one and could mark an intriguing precedent of things to come.

A Dutch team meanwhile launched the Vegetarian Butcher, which sells fresh meat-like products without the meat. Its modern approach and novelly-named dishes (such as ‘chick and chips’, sold in the ‘concept store’) set it apart as a trendy stop-off.

Beyond Meat, the vegan company backed by Bill Gates, takes a similarly meaty-but-not approach, claiming to produce a product as chicken-like as possible. “‘We are obsessed”, founder and CEO Ethan Brown told Fortune. “We call it OCD: Obsessive Chicken Disorder. It has to be exactly like chicken.”

Changing strategy
Imitating meat isn’t a particularly new idea; from Quorn’s mycroprotein products (which first hit the shelves in 1985) to soya and wheat protein products, it’s commonplace among vegetarian foods. What is relatively new, according to Mintel, is the variety of those products on offer. Flavours inspired by wider food trends and international cuisine indicate a more artisanal approach than previously seen. These have proven popular among younger consumers looking to try new foods, says Bloom.

Other products are being marketed as separate, gourmet, vegetable-based foods in their own right (rather than as fake sausages and steaks). “There’s this other line that’s really trying to set their products apart”, says Bloom. “They’re highlighting what they are, such as black bean cakes or quinoa patties.”

Again, there is an element of trendiness driving these products, but there’s also a large dollop of the health factor. Companies such as Quorn have focused their marketing on increasingly health- and body-conscious consumers, emphasising the high protein and low fat content of their meat substitutes. In the study by Mintel, health ranked as the number one motivating factor for those eating alternatives.

Environmental benefits are also a factor, as companies emphasise the comparatively low carbon footprint their products leave. Quorn has been working with the Carbon Trust, for example, publishing the findings of a study on sustainability on its website. This again indicates an effort to target environmentally aware consumers, while animal welfare (likely to limit products to pure vegetarians) takes a back seat.

The shift is particularly marked among young people. In the Mintel study, 35 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds who were cutting back on eating meat said the environmental benefits were their main motivation (compared to 26 percent of everyone asked). Bloom says: “I believe if companies can make that environmental factor clear then it will be a strong selling point, especially among younger consumers who tend to be interested in these larger issues.”

Food for the future
Findings by Quorn show its meat substitutes produce up to 90 percent less carbon than real meat. The impact on climate change of rearing livestock is well known: it accounts for 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation.

With global demand for meat set to increase due to the rise of emerging economies and a growing population, those problems are only going to intensify. According to Tim Finnigan, Head of Research and Development at Quorn, 200 million tons of meat and over one billion tons of cereal production will be required to meet the projected demand. “The consequence of excessive meat production could bankrupt the environment,” he says.

The environmental consequences of excessive meat consumption could, cyclically, impact on the ability to grow crops and thereby feed livestock, meaning rearing would be limited anyway. With decreasing supply will come rising costs, Finnigan says: “We’ve got to stop eating as much meat globally… We have to find solutions. And we have to find other sustainable protein sources.”

The increasing interest in meat alternatives, and the widening of its market (whether driven by strategic marketing, fashion, health, or environmental issues) isn’t just an interesting trend: meat substitutes could be essential alternatives to an impending food crisis.