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The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed new plant based meat alternatives, using something called cellular agriculture and locally available (abundant) crops that are climate resistant and can be raised nearly anywhere.

These alternatives are ready for large scale production and VTT intends to make the formulas available to food producers.

Given what we know about the climate impacts of the meat industry and are hearing about farmers having to leave portions of their land fallow due to water shortages, we’ll need adaptable, plant based food sources.

What I find most interesting is just the fact that a government sponsored research lab is looking at this. Nothing comparable is happening in the U.S. Here the meat and dairy industry has such clout that any research has to be done by corporations or startups.

Source: https://www.vttresearch.com/en/news-and-ideas/finland-makes-plant-based-meat-attractive-science

Studies by University of Oxford published in 2018 and 2019 further confirm what numerous other studies have claimed:  that a plant based diet is a great way to help the environment while benefitting your health and longevity.

Lead author Dr Michael Clark, of the University of Oxford, says the findings could help consumers make better choices by equipping them with an understanding of the health and environmental impacts of different foods, and enable policymakers to issue more effective dietary guidelines.

Further, he stated:  “Diets are a leading source of poor health and environmental harm. Continuing to eat the way we do threatens societies, through chronic ill health and degradation of Earth’s climate, ecosystems, and water resources.”

If you want to learn more, the full paper, at https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1906908116, is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Wired Magazine published an interesting but, for some, also a disturbing, article entitled “Is There Really Such a Thing as Low-Carbon Beef?” (https://www.wired.co.uk/article/low-carbon-beef).

Apparently the USDA will let beef manufacturers to label beef with a low carbon designation, but much like “natural”, it will be a bit deceiving. It should be no surprise to anyone that the beef industry is pushing this. It’s a slick marketing tool. The program was approved in November 2020, but it’s not clear how soon anyone will see these labels.

One of the potential certification entities is being run by a former rancher, which is also no surprise. All a beef manufacturer has to do is to certify that their beef is 10% below an industry norm, which according to the article may be set rather high so most producers can meet it. Another consequence is that factory farmed beef has a lower carbon footprint than free range beef, which may put more humane ranchers at a disadvantage.

Bottom line, beef has a very negative impact on the environment (read this article or other ones we have written about previously) and this program is may result in negative consequences. I want to believe that those who are environmentally conscious are not going to be fooled and are moving to diets with less beef of any sort.

Keep an eye on this!

US News and World Reports published a ranking of diets based on input from a panel of diet, nutrition, and health experts. The rankings and methodology can be found here: https://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-diets-overall.

There are a combination of general diets such as “Mediterranean” and “Asian”, as well as for profit diet programs such as “NOOM” and the “Ornish Diet”. Like any ranking system, the rankings depend on the criteria and the ranking panel.

The criteria that was used is listed below:

How easy it is to follow.
Its ability to produce short-term weight loss.
Its ability to produce long-term weight loss.
Its nutritional completeness.
Its safety.
Its potential for preventing and managing diabetes.
Its potential for preventing and managing heart disease.

Interestingly, the Vegan diet is rated number 17 and the cons were: 1) “The diet can be complicated/difficult to follow” and 2) “Some nutrients can be lacking”. Those 2 categories, especially the difficult to follow gave an advantage to the “programs”, like Jenny Craig or NOOM, that hold your hand all the way, were cited for several diet types. The nutrients lacking in a vegan diet are known and, arguably, can be compensated for with a few supplements.

The analysis didn’t highlight a few important factors in any diet, such as locally sourced (meaning not factory raised) ingredients, a variety of foods to get the widest spectrum of nutrients, and minimally processed ingredients.

I think it is worth reading a variety sources of information, even if your favorite is not at the top of their list, so read the report for yourself.

If you are like me, you didn’t know that Amy’s had drive-thrus to expand on, but they do.  Amy’s (https://www.amys.com/) is known for canned and frozen organic and vegetarian foods.  Well there has been a drive thru in Rohnert Park, California and a take away stand in San Francisco’s airport (SFO, Terminal 1).  Now they are expanding in California.  There are new sites in Roseville and Corte Madera, California with plans to add 20+ locations.

These locations are not your traditional fast food locations.  They are designed to minimize environmental impact and have solar panels and EV charging stations.

As soon as we find out way to one of these locations, we’ll give you an update on their food.

Egg consumption, like meat and dairy, has a large impact on the environment.  It takes approximately 53 gallons of water to produce one (yes, just 1) egg, mostly to grow the feed for the hens.  Factory poultry farms are not a kind environment for an animal either.  You can decide whether consumption of eggs is healthy or not.

There are many egg substitutes now, but Eat JUST, Inc. ( https://www.ju.st/ ) has both liquid egg and “folded egg”, like a perfectly shaped and cooked egg that can be toasted or microwaved.  JUST also makes a few very tasty plant based spreads and for some reason is working on lab grown (real) meats.

We finally tried the folded egg alternative, after finding it at Costco of all places.  The JUST egg tasted great and was very easy to make a quick sandwich with.

The ingredients, per the JUST website are:  

Water, Mung Bean Protein Isolate, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Corn Starch, Contains less than 2% of Baking Powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), Dehydrated Garlic, Dehydrated Onion, Carrot Extract (color), Natural Turmeric Extract (color), Salt, Transglutaminase.

Still a few hard to pronounce ingredients, so this is processed food, but if you can’t live without eggs, this is a really great alternative.  With some vegan mayo or avocado and bread or a bagel, it makes a great grab and go meal.  Add some greens and onion and you are eating well and helping the environment.

Redefine Meat (https://www.redefinemeat.com/) is an Israeli company that has developed a process to use 3D printing to produce plant meat alternatives, including lamb and beef-like steaks. The company is doing this to help the environment, as the environmental impacts of the meat industry are well documented.

This is very new and the products are only available is a very small number of restaurants in Europe and Israel. Those restaurants in Europe are Michelin-starred, so this is a trend to watch over time. Some of the ground and sausage products are available in limited grocery stores in Israel.

Looking at the nutritional facts for the ground beef alternative, which is easy to compare to the Impossible and Beyond burgers, the Redefine meat is lower in saturated fat but still way up there in sodium content. Better than real meat, but if you have some health issues, like high blood pressure, pay attention to the nutritional facts.

For now, we in North America can’t get too excited but, if Redefine Meat is successful, there will be even more options for those who want to go plant based but still crave the taste and texture of meat.

Keep an eye on this company!

There is a new (to me) company selling kelp burgers and kelp jerky. Check out Akua at https://akua.co/. Their burgers are expensive at $49.99 for 12 and there are not many restaurants serving them, yet, but this is yet another sign that plant based alternatives are growing.

When we try one of the burgers, we’ll let you know what we think, so stay tuned!

Polypharmacy, commonly described as the use of five or more prescribed medications. It is a prevalent health issue among seniors because of the potential adverse side effects due to medication interactions.

A study conducted at Loma Linda University and reported in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine in October 2021, investigated the association between dietary patterns and number of medications used.

Data was taken on 328 participants, aged 60 years or older, collected through questionnaires and measurements at the Loma Linda University Drayson Center in Loma Linda, CA, between 2015 and 2016.

The number of pills taken versus several diet or health factors, such as BMI was tracked.

The authors suggest that “a vegan diet reduces the number of pills by 58% compared to non-vegetarian. Increases in age, body mass index (BMI), and presence of disease suggest an increased number of pills taken, but a vegan diet showed the lowest amount of pills in this sample. Body mass index also had a significant positive association with the number of pills”.

Read this article in Veg News about a Burger King in Spain that is offering an entirely meatless menu. I am adding the Veg News link because I could find nothing on the Burger King website about this: https://vegnews.com/2021/10/burger-king-in-spain-meatless?fbclid=IwAR3w8_4DRskakRA7gcb6hy2qWiIODYOclSVJ7xt4lqv3sCSVEsyYLOYK7_I

Veg News is a great resource if you are interested in a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

One thing to remember is a restaurant may use plant based meat alternatives but might have mayo or sauce that is not vegan. Of course, you can always ask to leave out the sauce if desired.

The second thing to consider is this is still fast food, heavily processed. It may be “better” by some measures, but it is still worth trying to avoid or reduce the processed foods in your life.