Editing Meat alternative (section)

{{Short description|Plant-based food made to resemble meat}}
{{redirect|Vegetarian meat|cultured meat|cultured meat|the rock band|Vegetarian Meat (band)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
[[File:Tempe Burger.jpg|thumb|A [[tempeh]] burger]]
[[File:BuddhistcuisineTofuMeat.jpg|thumb|right|Chinese style [[tofu]] from [[Buddhist cuisine]] is prepared as an alternative to meat.]]
[[File:Veggie "bacon" breakfast (cropped).jpg|thumb|Two slices of [[vegetarian bacon]]]]
A '''meat alternative''' or '''meat substitute''' (also called '''plant-based meat''', '''mock meat''', or '''alternative protein'''),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lurie-Luke |first1=Elena |title=Alternative protein sources: science powered startups to fuel food innovation |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |date=2024 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=4425 |doi=10.1038/s41467-024-47091-0 |doi-access=free|pmid=38806477 |pmc=11133469 |bibcode=2024NatCo..15.4425L }}</ref> is a food product made from [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian]] or [[Veganism|vegan]] ingredients, eaten as a replacement for meat. Meat alternatives typically approximate qualities of specific types of meat, such as [[mouthfeel]], flavor, appearance, or chemical characteristics.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=van der Weele |first1=Cor |last2=Feindt |first2=Peter |last3=Jan van der Goot |first3=Atze |last4=van Mierlo |first4=Barbara |last5=van Boekel |first5=Martinus |title=Meat alternatives: an integrative comparison |journal=[[Trends in Food Science and Technology]] |date=2019 |volume=88 |pages=505–512 |doi=10.1016/j.tifs.2019.04.018 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nezlek |first1=John B |last2=Forestell |first2=Catherine A |title=Meat substitutes: current status, potential benefits, and remaining challenges |journal=[[Current Opinion In Food Science]] |date=2022 |volume=47 |pages=100890 |doi=10.1016/j.cofs.2022.100890 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takefuji |first1=Yoshiyasu |title=Sustainable protein alternatives |journal=[[Trends in Food Science and Technology]] |date=2021 |volume=107 |pages=429–431 |doi=10.1016/j.tifs.2020.11.012 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zahari |first1=Izalin |last2=Östbring |first2=Karolina |last3=Purhagen |first3=Jeanette K. |last4=Rayner |first4=Marilyn |title=Plant-Based Meat Analogues from Alternative Protein: A Systematic Literature Review |journal=[[Foods (journal)|Foods]] |date=2022 |volume=11 |issue=18 |pages=2870 |doi=10.3390/foods11182870 |pmid=36140998 |doi-access=free |pmc=9498552}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lima |first1=Miguel |last2=Costa |first2=Rui |last3=Rodrigues |first3=Ivo |last4=Lameiras |first4=Jorge |last5=Botelho |first5=Goreti |title=A Narrative Review of Alternative Protein Sources: Highlights on Meat, Fish, Egg and Dairy Analogues |journal=[[Foods (journal)|Foods]] |date=2022 |volume=11 |issue=14 |pages=2053 |doi=10.3390/foods11142053 |pmid=35885293 |doi-access=free |pmc=9316106}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Quintieri |first1=Laura |last2=Nitride |first2=Chiara |last3=De Angelis |first3=Elisabetta |last4=Lamonaca |first4=Antonella |last5=Pilolli |first5=Rosa |last6=Russo |first6=Francesco |last7=Monaci |first7=Linda |title=Alternative Protein Sources and Novel Foods: Benefits, Food Applications and Safety Issues |journal=[[Nutrients (journal)|Nutrients]] |date=2023 |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=1509 |doi=10.3390/nu15061509 |doi-access=free|pmid=36986239 |pmc=10054669 }}</ref> Plant- and fungus-based substitutes are frequently made with [[soy]] (e.g. [[tofu]], [[tempeh]], and [[textured vegetable protein]]), but may also be made from [[gluten#Imitation meats|wheat gluten]] as in [[seitan]], [[pea protein]] as in the [[Beyond Burger]], or [[mycoprotein]] as in [[Quorn]].<ref name="Holmes"/> Alternative protein foods can also be made by [[precision fermentation]], where single cell organisms such as yeast produce specific proteins using a carbon source; as well as cultivated or laboratory grown, based on [[tissue engineering]] techniques.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/06/all-sizzle-no-steak-how-singapore-became-the-centre-of-the-plant-based-meat-industry |title=All sizzle, no steak: how Singapore became the centre of the plant-based meat industry |work=The Guardian |date=5 November 2022}}</ref> The ingredients of meat alternative include 50–80% water, 10–25% textured vegetable proteins, 4–20% non-textured proteins, 0–15% fat and oil, 3-10% flavors/spices, 1–5% binding agents and 0–0.5% coloring agents.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pang |first1=Shinsiong |last2=Chen |first2=Mu-Chen |date=April 2024 |title=Investigating the impact of consumer environmental consciousness on food supply chain: The case of plant-based meat alternatives |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.123190 |journal=Technological Forecasting and Social Change |volume=201 |pages=123190 |doi=10.1016/j.techfore.2023.123190 |issn=0040-1625|url-access=subscription }}</ref>  

Meatless tissue engineering involves the cultivation of stem cells on natural or synthetic scaffolds to create meat-like products.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ahmad |first1=Khurshid |last2=Lim |first2=Jeong-Ho |last3=Lee |first3=Eun-Ju |last4=Chun |first4=Hee-Jin |last5=Ali |first5=Shahid |last6=Ahmad |first6=Syed Sayeed |last7=Shaikh |first7=Sibhghatulla |last8=Choi |first8=Inho |date=2021-12-15 |title=Extracellular Matrix and the Production of Cultured Meat |journal=Foods |language=en |volume=10 |issue=12 |pages=3116 |doi=10.3390/foods10123116 |doi-access=free |issn=2304-8158 |pmc=8700801 |pmid=34945667}}</ref> Scaffolds can be made from various materials, including plant-derived [[biomaterial]]s, synthetic polymers, animal-based proteins, and self-assembling polypeptides.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rodrigues |first1=André L. |last2=Rodrigues |first2=Carlos A. V. |last3=Gomes |first3=Ana R. |last4=Vieira |first4=Sara F. |last5=Badenes |first5=Sara M. |last6=Diogo |first6=Maria M. |last7=Cabral |first7=Joaquim M.S. |date=October 15, 2018 |title=Dissolvable Microcarriers Allow Scalable Expansion And Harvesting Of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Under Xeno-Free Conditions |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/biot.201800461 |journal=Biotechnology Journal |language=en |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=e1800461 |doi=10.1002/biot.201800461 |pmid=30320457 |issn=1860-6768|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It is these 3D scaffold-based methods provide a specialized structural environment for cellular growth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Moroni |first1=Lorenzo |last2=Burdick |first2=Jason A. |last3=Highley |first3=Christopher |last4=Lee |first4=Sang Jin |last5=Morimoto |first5=Yuya |last6=Takeuchi |first6=Shoji |last7=Yoo |first7=James J. |date=2018-04-26 |title=Biofabrication strategies for 3D in vitro models and regenerative medicine |journal=Nature Reviews Materials |language=en |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=21–37 |doi=10.1038/s41578-018-0006-y |issn=2058-8437 |pmc=6586020 |pmid=31223488|bibcode=2018NatRM...3...21M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Daly |first1=Andrew C. |last2=Kelly |first2=Daniel J. |date=January 8, 2019 |title=Biofabrication of spatially organised tissues by directing the growth of cellular spheroids within 3D printed polymeric microchambers |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0142961218308639 |journal=Biomaterials |language=en |volume=197 |pages=194–206 |doi=10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.12.028|pmid=30660995 |hdl=2262/91315 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Alternatively, scaffold-free methods promote cell aggregation, allowing cells to self-organize into tissue-like structures.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alblawi |first1=Adel |last2=Ranjani |first2=Achalla Sri |last3=Yasmin |first3=Humaira |last4=Gupta |first4=Sharda |last5=Bit |first5=Arindam |last6=Rahimi-Gorji |first6=Mohammad |date=October 20, 2019 |title=Scaffold-free: A developing technique in field of tissue engineering |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0169260719316979 |journal=Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine |language=en |volume=185 |pages=105148 |doi=10.1016/j.cmpb.2019.105148|pmid=31678793 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Meat alternatives are typically consumed as a source of [[Protein (nutrient)|dietary protein]] by vegetarians, vegans, and people following religious and cultural [[dietary laws]]. However, global demand for [[sustainable diet]]s has also increased their popularity among non-vegetarians and [[flexitarian]]s seeking to reduce the [[environmental impact of animal agriculture]].

Meat substitution has a long history. Tofu was invented in China as early as 200 BCE,<ref name=soy /> and in the [[Middle Ages]], chopped nuts and grapes were used as a substitute for [[mincemeat]] during [[Lent]].<ref name=med /> Since the 2010s, startup companies such as [[Impossible Foods]] and [[Beyond Meat]] have popularized pre-made plant-based substitutes for [[ground beef]], burger [[Patty|patties]], and [[Chicken nugget#Vegan nuggets|chicken nuggets]] as commercial products.