Today’s average American hamburger comes from a cow – but it may not be long before it comes straight from a lab in Silicon Valley.
A growing number of companies are using high tech to create meat and animal product replacements that look like the real thing – but are made with anything but.
And their target market isn’t vegans — it’s true blue carnivores.
From startups like Hampton Creek Foods and Beyond Meat (both backed by Bill Gates) to old-timers like Gardein Protein, the landscape of meat-free products is rapidly expanding. According to a 2013 study by the research firm Mintel, consumers are increasingly interested in beef, poultry and even fish alternatives.