Meat-free burgers working their way into the mainstream

Winnipeg

CREATING a veggie burger that tastes like beef has been a kind of holy grail for meatless food makers since bland-tasting grain patties first arrived in US supermarket freezers during the 1980s, back when staples of health-conscious hippy menus began to work their way into the mainstream.

With granola bars, soya milk and organic produce sold almost everywhere today, companies including Impossible Foods Inc and Beyond Meat have developed vegetarian products that may be as close as anyone has come to mimicking real ground beef. They have the same fibrous texture, sizzle on the grill, and even excrete what looks like red beef juices when you bite into the burger.

Healthier and more natural foods are a growing share of the US$1.5 trillion spent annually by Americans to eat, as consumers demand products with less fat or cholesterol that are safer for the environment. Meat processors Tyson Foods Inc and Maple Leaf Foods Inc are investing in plant-based proteins as alternatives to pork, chicken and beef, while billionaire Bill Gates and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla say meatless meat i…