When we hear the litany of vociferous attacks on "highly processed plant-based meat substitutes," a source many of the attackers use is a recent study published in The Lancet that associates vegan ultraprocessed foods with a heightened risk of heart disease.
The problem is that the study wasn't really about plant-based meat substitutes. In fact, these products comprised only 0.2% of the food consumed for the study with included far larger amounts of French fries, sugary cereals and soft drinks, frozen pizzas and frozen treats, cookies, candy, and even alcoholic beverages, the vast majority of which were consumed by non vegans.
Yes, some (certainly not all) vegan meat, dairy and egg substitutes are highly processed, though generally not more than their animal-based counterparts. In fact, many processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, sausage and chicken nuggets are rated by many world bodies as carcinogenic, which is certainly not the case with any of their plant-based substitutes.
So haters are gonna hate, but we can't let them control the narrative with specious information.
Our source for this meme is Scientific American magazine. There's also a great story about it on Fast Company.
The problem is that the study wasn't really about plant-based meat substitutes. In fact, these products comprised only 0.2% of the food consumed for the study with included far larger amounts of French fries, sugary cereals and soft drinks, frozen pizzas and frozen treats, cookies, candy, and even alcoholic beverages, the vast majority of which were consumed by non vegans.
Yes, some (certainly not all) vegan meat, dairy and egg substitutes are highly processed, though generally not more than their animal-based counterparts. In fact, many processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, sausage and chicken nuggets are rated by many world bodies as carcinogenic, which is certainly not the case with any of their plant-based substitutes.
So haters are gonna hate, but we can't let them control the narrative with specious information.
Our source for this meme is Scientific American magazine. There's also a great story about it on Fast Company.
Meme, Vegan, Plant-Based, Study, Processed, Ultraprocessed, Fast Food, Junk Food