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| The global alternative meat market is projected to grow to 6.97 trillion won ($6 billion) by 2023, according to Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation. gettyimagesbank |
By Lee Gyu-lee
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As concerns over the environment and sustainability rise, consumers have been seeking ethical consumption to play their part in preventing further damage to the Earth
Alternatives to meals containing meat have emerged as part of some ethical consumers' endeavors for a sustainable diet.
According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, the global "meat alternative" market is projected to grow to 6.97 trillion won ($6 billion) by 2023, after reaching almost 6.2 trillion won ($5.3 billion) this year.
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The meat alternative market in Korea also has been steadily growing from 7.5 billion won ($6.4 million) in 2018 to 8.2 billion won ($7 million) in 2019 and 10.2 billion won ($8.7 million) in 2020, according to market research firm Euromonitor.
Professor Kim Yong-jin of Sogang University's Department of Business noted that ethical consumption, backed by evolving technology, has accelerated this growth in the market.
"Meat alternatives have emerged as one of the ways to respond to climate issues. As the livestock industry is considered one of the key emitters of carbon dioxide and methane, there have been environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) related efforts," he said. "The ethical consumerism trend has been growing, especially among Millennials and Gen Z, and the development in technology has made it more possible than ever."
Jeon Hyeong-ju, a professor of Food and Nutrition at Jangan University, explains that the difference in nutritional effect in consuming substitutes for meat is minimal.
"It's replacing animal protein with plant protein instead, and as long as the amino acid arrangements align, it is nutritionally substitutable," she said, adding that the substitute might be even healthier rather than consuming livestock that might have been negatively affected by other environmental and hormonal factors.
Greenhouse gas emission from animal-based food
According to a 2013 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the livestock sector produces 7.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) per year and was responsible for 14.5 percent of all global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ― 49 gigatones CO2-eq ― as estimated by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2010.
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| 수정/2021-11-04(코리아타임스) |
The recent study, published last month in the food research journal, Nature Food, found a higher level of GHG emissions ― 9.8 gigatons CO2-eq per year ― from animal-based food production, including livestock feed. This is almost double that of plant-based food production and accounts for about 57 percent of all food production-related emissions at 17.3 gigatons, according to the research.
Whereas, the study finds that plant-based food production accounts for only about half of the animal-based food production emissions at 5.1 gigatons, which is about 29 percent. The remaining 2.9 tons ― or approximately 14 percent ― accounts for other utilizations such as processed commodities.
The emissions from livestock also include large quantities of methane ― a byproduct of animals' digestive processes ― which is a greenhouse gas that is around 28 to 34 times more potent in heating the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
In Korea alone, the GHG emissions from the livestock sector increased from 91 million kilograms in 2017 to 94 million kilograms in 2018, according to the Ministry of Environment. The recent report by the ministry estimated the number has continually increased, approximating the record to 96 million kilograms in 2019 and 99 million kilograms in 2020.
Yet despite the growing anthropogenic emissions, demand for food continues to increase.
The UN estimates that compared to 2009, the food production from plants and animals needs to increase about 70 percent by 2050 to meet the growing demand.
Meat consumption in Korea has steadily increased over the past decades to 2.8 million tons in 2019, which is about a 37 percent increase compared to 2009 ― 1.78 million tons ― according to the Korea Meat Trade Association.
Food tech startups and corporates taking aim
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| A burger made with a plant-based patty from food tech startup DEVOTIONFOODS / Courtesy of DEVOTIONFOODS |
To meet this growing demand, companies from food tech startups to big corporations are jumping in to have a stake in the emerging alternative meat market.
Local food tech startups such as The PlantEat, which makes plant-based mayonnaise and milk, Devotionfoods, and Viomix Tech, which both make plant-based meat, have procured investments from venture capital funds.
Shinsegae Food launched a meatless brand Better Meat in July, introducing plant-based bologna, made out of ingredients including soy protein, ginger, garlic and seaweed, as its first product. Earlier this year in April, the company's fast-food chain, No Brand Burger, rolled out "no-chicken nuggets," made from the U.K brand Quorn's mycoprotein, a type of protein derived from fungi.
Nongshim, one of the country's biggest instant noodle makers, also launched a vegan brand, Veggie Garden, in January, offering a wide range of products from plant-based alternatives to vegan instant and frozen foods.
Food giant SPC Group partnered up with the San Francisco-based food tech company Eat Just to bring in its plant-based egg brand Just Egg in August. The brand uses mung beans for its products to create a similar texture and nutritional effect as a real egg.
Other corporations are investing in developing technologies for meat alternatives.
Food manufacturer CJ CheilJedang has invested in Singapore's cell-based seafood company Shiok Meats, which cultivates crustacean meats from isolated stem cells, and Israel's cultured meat startup Aleph Farms, which produces meat out of non-genetically engineered cells isolated from a cow.
Korean conglomerate SK's holding company, SK Inc., made a 54 billion won ($45.4 million) investment in the Berkeley-based alternative protein startup Perfect Day, last year, which was followed by an additional $55 million this month.
Perfect Day produces animal-free dairy protein products such as cream cheese and ice cream, through bioengineering techniques and fermentation.
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| SPC Group partnered up with the U.S. food tech company Eat Just to launch its plant-based egg brand Just Egg in Korea. Courtesy of Eat Just |
With the plant-based meat market soaring, alternatives to seafood are also emerging with attempts to secure the sustainability of the ocean and curb overfishing which is reducing fish populations and biodiversity.
Spain's startup Mimic Seafood rolled out vegan raw tuna product Tunato, which is made out of tomatoes with olive oil, soy sauce, and algae extract.
In the U.S., companies such as Sophie's Kitchen, Good Catch, and New Wave Foods are coming out with plant-based seafood alternatives from fish fillets and crab cakes to smoked salmon made out of beans and seaweed-based shrimp.
Professor Jeon said that the alternative meat market will continue to become more sustainable, rather than a short-term trend.
"There are definitely consumer needs in this field… and as people grow conscious of environmental and nutritional issues, they will continue to consume (alternative meat foods) and there always will be a portion of the population that will need such foods," she said.
However, the professor also called for guidelines and a set of standards for the industry and to inform its consumers.
"Consumers need to be informed of the facts to make an accurate judgment on their consumption choices… and the government, manufacturers and sellers of alternative meat goods need to establish a set of guidelines and provide transparent information about their goods," she said.
