Wildly popular plant-based, alternative meats like the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat can trace their origins to Thanksgiving.
As one of the most meat-centric holidays, Thanksgiving traditionally left vegetarians without a comfortable seat at the holiday table. That is, until the introduction of Tofurky quietly introduced the world to “meat” for people didn’t eat meat.
Here, Jan Dutkiewicz, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and an expert in the alternative meat industry, explains:
- How the history of the Impossible Burger and other popular alternative meats can be traced to Thanksgiving;
- Why despite the current plant-based meat craze, there is not yet a turkey option that’s created as much buzz;
- How in the future Thanksgivings, with lab-grown meat soon to be available, people might be able to buy turkey created in a petri dish.
Source: Johns Hopkins University
