As the world population grows, raising cattle and other animals for meat is becoming less sustainable, so researchers are at work on ways to keep create alternatives to meat.
Insects and synthesized food are two possibilities that are being worked on,
according to Bloomberg Technology,
as raising insects requires less land and water than animal farming, and insects are a good source of protein, fats, and minerals.
"Cricket farming is not easy, and there's no manual," said Darren Goldin, vice president of operations at Entomo Farms.
Goldin recognizes the "ick factor" of eating insects, but he said that he is seeing changes in that perception.
"You think of the fact that it took sushi 20 years to infiltrate Western culture. Insect protein could do it in three to five years," he said said.
Also, many countries in the rest of the world already eat insects anyway, according to the Bloomberg report.
Impossible Foods is working on synthetic meat with no animals involved, because "people are not going to give up on the foods they love," founder and CEO Pat Brown said.
Brown added that the food industry was making meat incorrectly, in a way that is not sustainable. He said beef flavor has nothing to do with meat, it's all "up here," he said, pointing to the brain.
His company has developed a product that looks and tastes like blood that can be synthesized from weeds, grass, and yeast. Mixing that with other plant components makes the "impossible burger," according to Chef Tracy Des Jardin.
"Most people in a blind tasting would have difficulty perceiving the difference," she said.
Brown said that the company's scientists are trying to duplicate what already happens in nature.
"You could say that the cow has been working on this problem, making meat out of plants, for a million years. And we're just getting started," Gordon said.
Other companies are at work on plant-based alternatives to meat,
according to the New York Times. One such item, the Beyond Burger, "tasted and felt and chewed like any other burger," according to Whole Foods purchaser Tom Rich, a vegetarian.
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