New Generation of Companies Looks to Create New Kind of Plant-based Food
In a San Francisco kitchen, chefs are re-creating everyday foods, such as eggs, mayonnaise, salad dressings and cookies from unconventional sources.
“Playing with ingredients that are totally different in the food system is a lot like walking on the moon. We’re doing things no one has ever done before so it’s challenging,” said chef Chris Jones, who heads product development at the Hampton Creek technology company.
While vegetarian foods have been around as long as there have been vegetarians, a new generation of companies is using new technology to look for alternative protein sources that do not come from an animal.
Hampton Creek uses robotics to identify plants from around the world that can help re-create traditional foods substituting animal products with plant material.
In the lab of another company, Beyond Meat, scientists re-created a hamburger patty out of proteins from yellow peas, soy and beets for the look of blood. The scientists are breaking down the building blocks of meat and going into the plant kingdom to look for those same elements. They’re then rebuilding them into a new kind of food that uses plant-based protein to create a patty that looks just like a beef patty.
These companies say plants hold the key to solving global food problems.
“The planet actually cannot work with the way we are consuming meat because we don’t have enough arable land to create enough cereals for all the animals that we need if we are to feed the world through meat,” said Jeremy Coller of Coller Capital, an investor of alternative protein foods.
For now, Beyond Meat’s patties are sold in Hong Kong and the U.S.
Hampton Creek’s mayonnaise, salad dressings and cookies can be found in Mexico, Hong Kong and U.S. grocery stores. Both companies are trying to improve and expand their range of products.
