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America is hungry for plant-based meat.

But what is it, exactly?

he new breed of plant-based “burgers,”

popularized by companies like Beyond Meat

and Impossible Foods, sizzle, bleed and taste so

much like the real thing, even lifelong meat-eaters

are giving them a try. According to a recent study,

90 percent of people who eat meat alternatives aren’t

vegetarian or vegan. And sales figures suggest that

this isn’t a fleeting trend: Beyond Meat—one of the

fastest-growing fake meat purveyors—experienced

a 135 percent spike in sales last year. But not

everyone is convinced. Detractors are skeptical that

meat engineered in a lab could ever be better for us,

or that it should stand in for a good old-fashioned

burger. Here’s everything you need to know about

America’s fake-meat market, from its canned

beginnings to the present-day debate.

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Meatless

JUNE 2020 ●FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE 23

in the know

PHOTO: RALPH SMITH; FOOD STYLING: ADRIENNE ANDERSON.