Does it seem like there is a divide between individuals that consume animal protein and the ever-increasing plant-based community? Suppose we look back to when we saw the rise of plant-based products entering the mainstream market as opposed to the tofu vegetarian world that started in the U.S. much earlier. In 1993, the Boca Burger hit the market with great success as it was not just the vegetarian crowd that embraced this plant-based burger. It certainly went … beyond that.

Fast forward to 2009, when Beyond Meats founder Ethan Brown made the “Beast Burger.” This initial product wasn’t very tasty. It has obviously improved flavor-wise since then. Ethan Brown's intentions (in a nutshell) were to end all livestock production. I’m sure you could have heard all the cattlemen around the country chuckling; 150 years of beef marketing, ingrained in the fabric of our country as an example of success, isn’t going to disappear overnight.

Moving on to 2011, Patrick O. Brown M.D. Ph.D. (no relation to Ethan) started Impossible Foods. His stated goal was also to end the use of animals to make food. Instead, he aimed to produce meat, dairy and fish directly from plants.

As we look at today's ever-expanding market channel there has been an explosion of newcomers nationally. I’m not even mentioning all the large meat companies that either bought small start-ups or created whole new plant lines to stick their toes in plant-based product development.

Which begs the question, who is really creating the riff between the two? There are the hard-core carnivores and naysayers who think plant-based products can’t possibly taste, or have the mouth feel that grilled or fried animal protein provides us. Or is it the media that’s creating conflict? There is certainly enough room for everyone to play in the sandbox and I don’t think the cattleman or chicken producers have too much to worry about.

Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods may be the top plant dogs. However, I would say they are just the tip of the iceberg. Currently there are more than 20,000 restaurants offering plant-based alternative meat choices to their menus from burgers to sausage patties. There is also a plant- based fried chicken company that debuted on "Shark Tank" this past year. It has been mused that this is all a fad; I think it’s well beyond that. The plant-based market has captured several percentage points of the overall consumption of beef and chicken consumers. Yes, it’s a very small percentage but in the big picture it is poised to exceed $13.5 billion by 2027.

In 2020, 57% of all U.S. households purchased plant-based foods (that's over 71 million households) — up from 53% in 2019. Current data tells us unequivocally that an ever-growing number of consumers are incorporating plant-based foods into their diet because they taste good and boost their health. Speaking from my own point of view I don’t see this as a fad — or replacing my grilled ribeye.

My query this week: Have you tried or incorporated any plant-based products into your regular menu rotation?

Live well …

The battle between animal protein vs. plant-based

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