What’s the Difference Between Plant-Based Meat, Cultivated Meat, and Fermentation-Based Meat?
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There are many reasons one should adopt a vegan lifestyle, such as animal rights, environmental impact, and our own health. As consumers become more aware of where their food comes from, three different meat alternatives have emerged as promising solutions.
World Animal Protection has long promoted meat, dairy, and egg consumption reduction, encouraging people to withdraw their support of industrial animal agriculture. Today, a plethora of animal-friendly meat alternatives are available that are made from plants or employ fermentation. And just on the horizon, cultivated meat looks to positively upend the food industry.
So what is the difference between these innovative alternatives to meat? Let’s dive in!
1. Cultivated Meat (Lab-Grown Meat)
Cultivated meat, also known as lab-grown, cultured, or cell-based meat, is produced by cultivating animal cells in a controlled environment. This process begins with extracting muscle cells from an animal, which are then placed in a nutrient-rich culture medium. Over time, these cells multiply and form muscle tissue, creating meat that is identical to conventional meat at the cellular level.
Cultivated meat offers the taste, texture, and nutritional profile of real meat without the need to raise and slaughter animals. Additionally, it has the potential to drastically reduce the environmental footprint associated with traditional animal farming, such as land use, water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Fermentation-Based Meat (Fermentation-Derived Proteins)
Fermentation-based meat utilizes microorganisms to produce proteins that mimic the taste and texture of animal products. This process is not new—fermentation has been used for centuries to create foods like cheese, yogurt, and beer. However, recent innovations have applied fermentation techniques to create meat and dairy substitutes!
In fermentation-based meat, microbes like yeast or fungi produce specific proteins. These proteins are then harvested and processed into meat-like products. Fermentation relies on the natural ability of microorganisms to produce large quantities of protein quickly and efficiently.
The fermentation process is highly sustainable, as it requires less land and water than traditional farming. It also offers scalability, with the potential to meet the growing demand for alternative proteins.
3. Plant-Based Meat
Plant-based meat is perhaps the most familiar of the three alternatives, already seen on supermarket shelves in abundance. These products are made from plant proteins, such as soy, peas, or wheat, that are processed to mimic the taste, texture, and appearance of real meat.
Key Differences
Source
Cultivated meat comes directly from animal cells, fermentation-based meat is derived from microorganisms, and plant-based meat is made from plants.
Production
Cultivated meat replicates the biological process of muscle growth, fermentation-based meat relies on microbial fermentation, and plant-based meat uses plant ingredients processed to mimic meat.
Environmental Impact
All three options offer environmental benefits over traditional meat, but plant-based meat currently leads in terms of scalability and resource efficiency. Cultivated meat has the potential to be more resource-efficient but is not yet commercially viable on a large scale.
Consumer Availability
Plant-based meat is widely available while fermentation-based meat can be found in select supermarkets. Cultivated meat is still an emerging technology not widely available yet in the US.
Each of these meat alternatives—cultivated, fermentation-based, and plant-based—holds the potential to transform the food industry and reduce our reliance on animal agriculture.
Want to reduce or eliminate your consumption of animal products? We can help! Check out our Plant-Powered Changemakers community for tips, tricks, and vegan recipes.
