MAKE IT TILL YOU FAKE IT

The world is continuing to experiment with lab-grown meat and dairy. But will consumers embrace the trend?

- ANDREA GRAVES

It feels like it has been a long time coming, but Impossible Burger patties finally arrived in Countdown supermarkets this month. The patties are vegan but meat-like thanks to the added blood. Not real blood, of course, but a version of blood's heme component that is created with biotech trickery.

The American-made patties are not entirely new to Aotearoa. Four years ago, Air New Zealand sparked a debate over the future of our agricultural industry when it became the first airline in the world to serve meatless burgers to its premium customers. And they have been available at select eateries for several months.

For consumers, though, it means more choice. The Impossible Burger joins the Beyond Burger, which is also American, and several Kiwi options.

The "fake meat" industry has been the hottest new thing in Silicon Valley for several years now. Alternative sources of protein that still taste like meat are touted as essential to feed the planet, slow climate change, conserve water, reduce agricultural pollution and animal exploitation, and even ward off heart disease. A local survey by Rabobank and food waste charity KiwiHarvest last April found 30% of us want to eat less meat, and 45% are open to trying meat alternatives.

Over the past few months, however, there have been signs that investors are starting to get nervous about the future of plant-based meats. Declining sales and growing losses have been particularly damaging for Beyond Meat, the company behind Beyond Burger, which has seen its share price fall by nearly two-thirds since June last year.

The Financial Times reports that sales of plant-based meat in the US declined by 0.5% last year, after a 46% rise in 2020. In the UK, sales tailed off in the second half of 2021, although they experienced a rebound in December.