Plant-based alternatives to meat find new markets during coronavirus pandemic
For many consumers, especially millennials, meat alternatives are increasingly routine. Nearly 50% of Americans under 40 already are eating plant-based meats, and 27% over 40.
CHRISTOPHER VONDRACEK: Sales of plant-based meat alternatives are widening and finding new markets during the coronavirus pandemic, as concerns mount over health and safety issues at food-processing plants and a potential meat shortage. “We are seeing an explosion of products and public acceptance to plant-based meat alternatives,” Sheril Kirshenbaum, co-director of the Michigan State University Food Literacy and Engagement Poll, told The Washington Times…
The global marketing research firm Nielsen Corp. reported last month that sales of meatless alternative protein products had increased by more than 200% during the coronavirus compared to the same period last year. The plant-based, meat-substitute industry appears to be holding its own, if not surging, as processors of animal products express concern about the nation’s supply of meat…
Last week, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention visited one of the country’s largest meat-processing facilities that closed after nearly 800 workers tested positive for the coronavirus. The Smithfield Foods Inc. plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, produces up to 5% of the nation’s pork products.
Concerns about food processing extend beyond the Midwest. On Virginia Eastern Shore, poultry plants owned by Tyson and Perdue Farms are operating even though local hospitals have reported scores of the companies’ workers have come in contact with coronavirus victims… Ms. Kirshenbaum said for many consumers, especially millennials, climate-friendly, health-conscious alternatives to beef, pork, and chicken are increasingly routine.
And in a study last fall by Michigan State University researchers found that nearly half of Americans under 40 already are eating plant-based meats, compared to just 27% over 40. The overall number of Americans saying they had an aversion to plant-based meats had dropped from 48% to 40%. Those figures have proved hard to ignore by at least one meat producer: In a move that angered some producers, Tyson last summer announced it would expand its plant-based products. SOURCE…
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