alternative meat

Imagine a whole cut of salmon hitting the pan, releasing its unique aromas, turning semi-translucent and flaking as it cooks. Now imagine that salmon never swam in the water.

Tony Heesterman, the University of Victoria's executive chef, has zero patience for students who complain about campus-wide meatless Mondays.

Every day around noon, the smell of grilled beef and roasted venison wafts through the lines of delegates attending the COP26 climate conference as they queue for lunch. Yet even as hundreds flock to the burgers and venison pasties on offer, some attendees wonder if meat — a big emitter worldwide — should be on the menu. 

Last year, a restaurant in Singapore made headlines when it became the first place in the world to serve lab-grown meat. With meat and dairy responsible for roughly a sixth of global emissions, the U.S. company behind the pricey plates of artificial chicken nuggets, Eat Just, branded them "a revolutionary step towards solving climate change." 

Gone are the days when only carnivores could grab something from their supermarket freezers for a quick, protein-rich dinner on the grill. Now, a quick trip down grocery store meat aisles can yield a bounty of designer burgers and bangers that have been engineered from plants. 

Vegetables are becoming increasingly common in an unusual place: the grocery store meat aisle.