Healthy Or Stealthy?

MEAT alternatives like Quorn, tofu and beanburgers have been around for years, but recently they've had an explosion in popularity, helped by the appearance of lots of new 'fake meat' burgers made with plants instead of animals. Although they're called healthy and environmentallyfriendly, how true is that?

BRING ON THE SUBS

There are lots of reasons why people are trying meat substitutes, whether it’s because of worries about health and climate change (see last week’s issue), animal welfare or simply just wanting to try something new.

There’s been huge interest in some new products, such as Greggs’ vegan sausage roll, and even KFC has been trialling meat-free nuggets in the US, where people queued around the block for hours to try them. Plus there’s the Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger, which were both created to mimic the look and taste of real meat.

ADDING UP THE ADDITIVES

There’s an enormous variety of options available, but some are significantly more healthy than others. You should always check the ingredients, as some are very high in salt and are often highly processed, with lots of additives. For instance, a Quorn quarter-pounder has 1.8g of salt, which is more than four times that of a steak, although it has a third less saturated fat. But plain Quorn mince only has 0.2g of salt per portion and has fewer ingredients (it does have added sugar, but a tiny amount).