제 12 호 Development of Alternative Meat : Environmental Protection and R&D
Kicker: SCIENCE
Development of Alternative Meat
Environmental Protection and R&D
By Eun-Jae Choi, Editor
In science fiction movies describing the future, we can see works depicting a world where meat has disappeared. In this way, the artificial meat that we imagined is gradually becoming a reality. There may be various reasons, but most representatively, it has devoted a lot of effort to develop alternative meat in terms of environmental pollution and animal protection, which uses vegetable ingredients to implement a similar shape and texture to meat. Now, alternative meat has reached a very similar stage, not a slightly similar product to meat, and global investment is underway with sufficient consideration for future development. Furthermore, McDonald's in the U.S. is becoming increasingly familiar with our lives to the extent that it sells products using patties using alternative meat. Therefore, it is very valuable for us to take time to think about the demand and prospects for the vegan market in the future by looking at the significance of alternative meat and the process of sales and investment in the manufacturing process.
The necessity of artificial meat
Why did people gain a lot of interest and popularity in meat? When comparing meat consumption from 1980 to 2018, Korea showed an increase of 4.2%. However, due to environmental restrictions on meat production and dietary changes caused by meat consumption, interest in vegetable alternative meat that can replace it is increasing recently. First, the need for alternative meat was raised in terms of the environment. Due to the limitations of resources, such as land and water, and the growing demand for greenhouse gases and feed grains, the need to discover meat substitute materials that can stably supply proteins is gradually growing. Furthermore, the importance of alternative meat has been highlighted as a solution to the recent series of infectious diseases such as *African swine fever, *avian influenza, and *bovine spongiform encephalopathy that have emerged as a major issue. Second, the growing number of consumers choosing vegetarian food due to religion, animal welfare and ethics issues, and interest in health and sustainability is also a factor in the growth of the global meat market. Overseas celebrities such as Bill Gates are also investing in this possibility of development.
* African swine fever: a highly contagious fatal disease of pigs caused by a myxovirus
* avian influenza: a cold that occurs in birds such as chickens and ducks
* bovine spongiform encephalopathy: a disease that usually occurs in cows aged 4 to 5 years old and die while acting like a crazy cow due to spongycemic encephalopathy
The process of making meat
Alternative meat is made of vegetable ingredients to implement a shape and texture similar to meat. It is processed by extracting vegetable proteins obtained from beans or mushrooms. This is easy to think of as something like "bean meat." It includes the process of implementing the texture with fiber and making meat color with beet juice. In addition, heme, a non-protein molecule known to produce meat smell and aroma, is extracted from the roots of beans and used. There is another artificial meat created by a different process. It's "cultivation." It literally cultivates meat using stem cells. Stem cells are extracted from cells removed from the animal site and then differentiated into muscle cells to form protein tissue. Using this as a material, people can make a shape similar to actual meat with a 3D printer.
Alternative Meat market
The alternative meat market is gradually expanding. Pulmuone, a Korean food company, is targeting the U.S. alternative meat market worth 1.7 trillion won with its own plant-based alternative meat. It has been announced that it will launch a replacement meat for ‘Plant Fire’, a vegetable-oriented brand developed by Pulmuone, in all spheres of Waba Grill, an American restaurant chain. In addition, Lotte Confectionery launched a pure vegetable steamed bun using alternative meat to make products with the desire for value consumption for health and the environment. And Paris Baguette, a bread company, announced that it will launch its first alternative meat product in partnership with Unlimit, which has developed vegetable meat slices. The new "Plant Bulgogi Salad Wrap" contains "Unlimited Slice," a substitute meat made of protein extracted from 100% plants. As such, various domestic companies are actively implementing projects to develop and expand alternative meat. Furthermore, alternative meat has now become an indispensable category in hypermarkets, famous e-commerce, and online malls. Since August last year, E-Mart has been operating a vegetarian zone at 22 stores, including Seongsu and Yongsan in Seoul. The Vegetarian Zone handles a variety of alternative meat processed foods at home and abroad, including Beyond Meat and Zero Meat. An E-Mart official said, "The proportion of vegetarian dependent sales is not high, but sales have increased by 20-30% compared to the time of launch," adding, "Customers' responses are steadily increasing."
Alternative meat technology has developed much more than in the past. However, more research is needed to improve and supplement the texture and flavor compared to actual meat because they do not meet the preference. In addition, active consumption can be built if easily accessible promotions and cheaper prices are created. If these points are supplemented and constantly developed, an era in which alternative meat is prevalent may open in the future.
