‘Fake meat’ starts to tempt Asia’s carnivores
China is very fast changing to a Western type of diet and is eating more meat. In the early 1980s, China's meat consumption per head was around 13 kg per year. Today, it is more than 50 kg per person.
PETER GUEST: ‘Chinatown is the epicenter of Singapore’s largely carnivorous food culture… It is a bold place to start an experiment in eating differently, but here, just off South Bridge Road, the founders of one of Singapore’s handful of vegan restaurants have chosen to establish a beachhead. Hello Baby was launched last year by the founders of HRVST, a vegan fine-dining restaurant in the central business district… Hello Baby’s patties, developed by California-based Beyond Meat, are surprisingly similar to beef burgers, with the same texture and appearance and an almost indistinguishable flavor. The company hopes they can act as a gateway drug, helping to ease consumers into cutting down on their consumption of animal products. “Burgers are very relatable. It’s easy for people to understand,” Thng said…
Global meat production is still increasing rapidly to meet the demands of emerging economies, where growing disposable income often translates into changing diets. “China is the biggest problem that we have, because China is very fast changing its traditional diets to a Western type of diet,” Marinova said. “The first thing that’s happening is eating more meat and animal-based products.” In the early 1980s, China’s meat consumption per head was around 13 kg per year. Today, it is more than 50 kg per person — just over half the level in the U.S. — and the population has grown by more than 400 million people. That means that consumption has already surpassed sustainable levels in China, Marinova said. “From an environmental point of view, it has to go down to at least half of what it is”…
This concern is trickling down into social change, according to David Yeung, chief executive of Green Monday, a Hong Kong-based company that is the distributor for a number of alternative meat products in Asia, including Beyond Burgers. Yeung said the advent of “next-generation” meat alternatives could help to shift societies onto a more sustainable consumption path. “I actually think that [these products] are the pioneers in terms of really changing peoples’ perception,” he said. “Yes, it is possible to have a plant-based version of meat that tastes just as good and is in fact healthier”.’ SOURCE…
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