Foods of the Future

By Nora Doyle-Burr, "The Menu for the Future," November/December 2012

Learn about 3 innovations in food sustainability.

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Chicken

“Vegetarian” meats have borne only a passing resemblance to the real deal, until now. Using a proprietary technique, Beyond Meat (backed by Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone, among others) is producing a soy-based faux meat that mimics the texture, flavor and appearance of chicken so closely that it fooled top food writers.

Possible Impact: An estimated 51% of global greenhouse gas emissions comes from livestock (per a 2006 report of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization), so switching to plant-based proteins could slash our national carbon footprint.

Expect It: Soon. The product is being rolled out in select Whole Foods and will be available in 2013.

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