Written by: Reimagine Agriculture

But you may be thinking… 5 years ago, we were putting bacon on everything, so isn’t this just another food fad? We think you’ll find that the answer is no. The pros of producing and consuming plant-based alternatives often outweigh the cons, and recent investments in this space suggest that plant protein is here for the long-haul.

• Plant-based: Proteins that come from plants, rather than animals, including foods such as nuts, seeds, tofu, beans, and lentils.
• Vegan: A diet that is entirely plant-based. A vegan diet does not include fish, meat or animal by-products such as dairy, eggs, and honey.
• Vegetarian: A diet that is plant-based. This sort of diet excludes meat and fish but may include animal by-products such as butter and eggs.
• Flexitarian: A flexible diet that is generally less animal-protein intensive, but sometimes includes meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. 

Food consumption is often personal, and every decision regarding food consumption is often laden with a myriad of considerations. You may talk to someone who chose a vegan lifestyle because of health reasons – while another might have been motivated by environmental considerations or the ethics of animal agriculture. Let’s explore some of these a little further.

Health: Conventional meats and animal by-products are often high in cholesterol, saturated fats, and sodium (especially processed meats) which can lead to health issues such as heart disease and obesity. Accordingly, Health Canada has changed its dietary advice to recommend specific types of protein to meet nutritional needs – including plant-based alternatives, lean meats, and fish. The new Canadian Food Guide website even includes a section on how to incorporate more plant-based proteins and recommends incorporating meatless meals into the standard Canadian diet. 

In addition, there are other health considerations associated with eating animal products, including exposure to unnecessary antibiotics (which can cause antibiotic resistance in your body), as well food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli and Salmonella. In fact, every year, 1 in 8 Canadians are affected by food-borne illness. 

Environment: The planetary food system is a major driver of current environmental crises – including the climate emergency. Dietary changes to plant-based alternatives can help to improve environmental impacts associated with the food system – and help to ensure that we do not exceed Earth’s planetary boundaries – a framework that looks at the stability and resilience of the Earth system. While a shift in diets alone cannot remedy the environmental crises unfolding around the globe, a shift to more plant-based food consumption can help alleviate these pressures.

There is a ton of information out there related to plant-based alternatives. We encourage you to explore further, to ask questions, and to try incorporating more plant-based options in your diet. Habits are undeniably difficult to break – but you may be surprised by the positive results associated with incremental changes in your food consumption. After all, plant-based alternatives aren’t just a fad. Recent funding for technology and innovation to satisfy the growing market for plant-based meat alternatives in Canada, combined with the growing alternative food landscape suggest that plant-based alternatives are here for the long haul.