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Plant-Based Meat: Is It a Healthy Protein Alternative?

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By Shannon Schubert

Published on June 30th, 2023





Whether it’s your new favorite breakfast spot that added vegan sausage to the menu, or your favorite online influencer who began meal prepping with Impossible Burgers; if plant-based eating has piqued your interest, you aren’t the only one! In recent years, plant-based meat has grown in popularity and taken the clean-eating world by storm. Brands like ‘Beyond Meat’ and ‘Impossible Foods’ are mass producing burgers, sausages, and other plant-based foods designed to resemble animal meat. Despite their widespread use and popularity, the question remains: is this alternative protein source healthy for human consumption and the environment? There are many concerns surrounding the environmental impact and potential health risks of plant-based meat that will delineate in this article.

So, what exactly is plant-based meat? Typically, plant-based meat is a mixture of plant proteins including soy, peas, and wheat, along with fats, flavors, and other ingredients. The proteins are often isolated and processed to generate a “meat-like” texture. Flavors and artificial coloring are added to replicate the taste and appearance of animal meat. Despite claims that plant-based meat is “healthier” than animal meat, it’s important to remember that these products are often highly processed and contain a variety of additives.

Since consuming too much meat (especially processed meat) is linked to unpleasant health issues, it’s no wonder society is turning to alternative protein sources to provide them the same nutritional benefits. This brings us to our next question: what actually makes plant-based meat products unhealthy? Using the term “plant-based” tricks us into thinking we’re choosing the healthier option; but plant-based sausages, chicken tenders and burgers are frequently fried and high in sodium and saturated fat, which can result in high blood sugar. For example, the Beyond Burger contains 390 milligrams of sodium and six grams of saturated fat per patty, compared to a beef patty that only contains 75 milligrams of sodium and six grams of saturated fat. There are many major health disadvantages to consuming large amounts of plant-based meat.

Although it seems like a big step for humans and planetary health, Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology and chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health stated in a 2019 Harvard Gazette article that we need to monitor the health effects of these products: “Some of those products, even though they contain high amounts of plant-based protein, may also contain unhealthy ingredients, such as high amounts of sodium or unhealthy fats,” he said. “Being plant-based doesn’t necessarily mean it’s healthier.”

A study published in Journal Nutrients (2022) found that consuming plant-based meat was linked to increased levels of inflammation. Based on recent data surrounding the potential health benefits or risks of plant-based meat, researchers Anthony Crimarco, Matthew J. Landry, Matthew M. Carter and Christopher D. Gardner decided to run a clinical trial to compare and contrast the effects of consuming animal meat vs. plant-based meat. The study group consisted of 36 generally healthy adults, and they focused on emerging and traditional cardiometabolic risk factors. Each adult ate two or more servings of plant-based meats per day for eight weeks. At the end of this eight week period, they were instructed to eat two or more servings of animal meat everyday for another eight weeks. A single serving size was 3-4 ounces of animal or plant-based meat per serving: the plant-based meat was provided by Beyond Meat, and the animal meats were supplied from a San Francisco-based organic food delivery service. The study took a total of 16 weeks to complete. Overall, they concluded that plant-based meat in this ‘SWAP-MEAT’ study causes just as high levels of systemic inflammation in the body as animal meat does. This can develop into a variety of other health problems.

One of the biggest concerns regarding plant-based meat is its negative impact on the environment. While it may be a more sustainable alternative to animal meat, the production of plant-based meat still has a significant environmental footprint. The soy and pea protein production process requires large amounts of water and land, and can contribute to deforestation and other environmental issues in order to meet production demands. Additionally, energy and other resources are necessary for converting these proteins into plant-based meat products. Furthermore, the production of plant-based meat often relies on monoculture agriculture, which can have a very negative impact on soil health and biodiversity. An article published in FoodPrint by Katherine Sacks (2021) revealed that monoculture agriculture involves the cultivation of a single crop over a large area, which depletes soil nutrients and increases the risk of pests and diseases. This forces farmers to poison their crops with pesticides and other chemicals that can further harm the environment.

Before plant-based meat was available, those who chose to eat less meat replaced it with single-ingredient plant-based proteins – some examples being lentils, tofu, and nuts. According to Lauren Manaker’s studies published in Eating Well (2022), researchers found a significant vitamin deficiency in vegans and vegetarians following a meatless diet who relied on plant-based meat alternatives. Specifically, they fell below the daily vitamin requirement for calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B12. This group also had higher levels of sugars and saturated fats.

To study the pros and cons of plant-based burgers on human health, I decided to take a closer look into some of the most popular plant-based burger brands. I compared and contrasted the healthiness and environmental impact between soy, pea, and heme-based burgers.

A lot of the plant-based hamburger brands we see on the grocery shelves are derived from different plant proteins. Let’s get into the most popularly used: soy-based burgers. Plant-based burger brands like Whole Foods 365 Plant-Based Burgers, Pure Farmland and Happy Little Plant are amongst some of the most popular brands utilizing soy protein. Sitting at 240 calories, Pure Farmland’s burgers have insanely high amounts of sodium and saturated fat (580 milligrams and 13 grams, respectively.) These burgers also had the highest ingredient count out of all the plant-based burgers I looked at. A handful of the inflammatory ingredients listed were soy protein concentrate, coconut and sunflower oil, yeast extract, sugar, and red beet juice. If you’re wondering whether or not Pure Farmland soy-based burgers qualify as ultra-processed, remember that 20+ ingredients, one of them being sugar, makes this one highly manipulated piece of “meat.” Pure Farmland and Happy Little Plant are under Big Meat companies like Smithfield Foods and Hormel. Both companies have failed to comply with environmental and animal welfare issues in the past, so it’s unclear how environmentally savvy and sustainable the plant-based operations will run. For every package sold, Smithfield donates a sum of money to protect a square foot of farmland ($140,00 total). This looks promising until their website equivalates this to only 2.1 cents per package. These numbers are band-aids on a bullet wound compared to the environmental damage Smithfield has caused.

Moving onto the second most used base ingredient for plant-based burgers: pea protein. Beyond Burger is probably the most popular of the bunch. Pea protein-based burgers, such as the Beyond Burger, Trader Joe’s Protein Patties and Lightlife Burgers contain less sodium than soy-based burgers with only around 320-370 milligrams of sodium and 3 grams of saturated fat per 4 oz. patty. Beyond Burger is made with 19 ingredients, including ingredients like canola oil, rice and mung bean protein, potato starch, and other “natural” flavors. Unlike soy-based protein patty brands I named earlier, the pea protein-based brands use non-GMO pea protein and are made with much simpler ingredients. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) done by Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems found that Beyond Burger generates 90 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions. When peas are grown properly, they can actually improve the sustainability of large-scale farms. Dr. Chengi Chen noted in an interview with Civil Eats in 2018 “It’s a win-win situation. Peas build nitrogen in the soil, they require no fertilizer, they increase yields for farmers, they’re a clean crop and healthy for human and animal consumption,” Cropping Systems Agronomist Dr. Chengci Chen told Civil Eats in 2018. “I can’t think of any negative impact on growing peas.”

Lastly, we have the heme-based burger. Impossible Burger’s are produced to look and taste similar to a traditional beef burger with the help of heme extraction. Impossible Burger has the process noted on their website: they take the DNA from these soy plants and insert it into genetically modified yeast. They then ferment the yeast, and this creates heme. It takes a whopping 21 ingredients to make an Impossible Burger and like other plant-based burgers, it’s super high in sodium (370 milligrams) and saturated fat (8 grams). Soy-based and heme-based burgers are both considered ultra-processed foods. A handful of toxic ingredients including leghemoglobin, sunflower and coconut oil (inflammatory), yeast extract, and “natural flavors” make up heme-based Impossible Burgers. Animal-based burgers have roughly 90 milligrams of sodium, so these heme-based patties are more than triple the sodium content. Consuming Impossible Burger’s is not only impacting our health, but also the wellbeing of the planet. Environmentalist groups continue to express their concern around the use of heme because of its duration from GMO yeast. Considering Impossible Burger has minimal advisory from the FDA, the chances of these artificial alterations running into nearby ecosystems and disrupting nature is very likely.

After all is said and done, are you still determined to replace the beef burgers with plant-based ones at your summer cookouts? Plant-based meats have become increasingly popular within the last decade – everyone’s looking for meat alternatives to satisfy their protein intake! While these plant-based burgers offer a promising alternative to traditional meat-based burgers, they are not without their drawbacks. Many of the plant-based meats we discussed today have high saturated fat content(s). There’s no doubt that unhealthy amounts of saturated fat is known to raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. Regularly including ultra-processed plant-based meat leads to higher calorie, salt, and fat intake on a daily basis. All three of the plant-based burger brands we delved into have higher levels of sodium and saturated fat than beef burgers. By means of environmental impact, we overestimated the negative impact of plant-based meat on the environment. All processed food production leaves an environmental footprint, but to what extent? Is there more deforestation and habitat loss from plant-based meat manufacturers than other processed food companies? We weren’t able to calculate this based on our research, but the fair amount of pollution in nearby water sources triggered by heme extraction and soybean fertilizer is for certain.

As such, consumers should approach plant-based burgers with caution, carefully considering their nutritional content and environmental impact before incorporating them into their diets. If you do enjoy plant-based meat alternatives, there are ways to enjoy these vegan patties in moderation. Avoid solely relying on plant-based meat to fulfill your daily protein intake. Be sure to include other single-ingredient foods for protein like legumes, seeds, tofu, and nuts. Another thing to consider is implementing good dietary supplements into your routine. This will help to provide overall wellness and vitamins that plant-based meat alone can’t suffice. You will not get the health outcomes you want by avoiding unprocessed protein sources – ultra-processed bacon, sausages, and burgers can not profoundly support your wellbeing.
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