Japan hopes that "artificial food" will support the future dining table
2024-08-08
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Reference News reported on August 7According to a recent report by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's population will fall below 100 million in the 1950s. It is also predicted that the global population will reach 10 billion, and artificial meat made from plants such as soybeans will account for more than 50% of the meat market. Artificial meat and eggs have low calories and are expected to reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases. If a balance between plant protein and animal protein can be taken into account in the diet, it will help improve the health of 100 million people.
In January, Ryusuke Sugawara, a student at Ritsumeikan University, started a business selling hamburger patties made from plant materials with his classmates. Traditional hamburger patties are made from beef, and the gas exhaled by cows contains a lot of methane, which is a gas that causes global warming. Using plant-based artificial meat can help prevent global warming.
The trend of using plant proteins such as soybeans and peas as raw materials to replace animal proteins such as chicken, fish, meat and eggs is expanding. Artificial meat made from soybeans, also known as "plant meat" and "soy vegetarian meat", is increasingly appearing on shelves.
The reason why artificial meat has attracted so much attention is not just because of global warming. As the global population continues to grow, the competition for livestock products and feed may become increasingly fierce.
By the 1950s, Japan's population will fall below 100 million. According to the United Nations, the world's total population will reach 10 billion. The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries estimates that global demand for livestock products will increase 1.8 times from 2010 by 2050.
In terms of buying chicken, fish, meat and eggs, Japan may not be able to compete with emerging countries with significant economic growth. In the field of food security, artificial meat has the potential to become a supporting force on the table in the future. Mitsubishi Research Institute predicts that artificial meat will account for more than half of the world's meat market in 2050. It is possible that one-half of the customers in fast food restaurants eat meat patties made from plant meat.
How do consumers now evaluate artificial meat? The Nihon Keizai Shimbun and Nikkei Research conducted a questionnaire survey on 1,376 people aged 20 to 69.
76% of the respondents expressed their approval of companies engaged in artificial meat business. As for the reasons for approval (multiple answers), the most frequently mentioned one was "committed to solving the problem of food shortage", accounting for 53%.
More and more consumers are giving positive comments to companies that solve social issues. Against this backdrop, companies are also working hard to improve the quality of artificial meat and actively increase the variety of raw materials.
The raw material for the hamburger beef patties released in February by Fujiya Restaurant Co., Ltd. in Tokushima City is sorghum. Sorghum has almost no taste, is easy to season, has low fat content, and is rich in dietary fiber. Fujiya President Toru Kaguya said, "In order to ensure repeat customers, it is important to ensure the taste and flavor of the product." In developing sausage substitutes, Fujiya is committed to achieving the taste of sausage that bursts with juice in one bite.
Professor Masaharu Takeuchi of the University of Tokyo is advancing research with Nissin Foods Holdings, aiming to produce about 100 grams of cultured steak by spring 2025. However, even if you can taste it now, you can't feel the taste of beef, so it is necessary to find a way to reproduce the flavor of iron contained in real meat.
The United States and other countries now allow the sale of cultured meat. According to Nanae Yamamoto, a senior consultant at Mitsubishi Research Institute, in Japan, "it is necessary to establish standards to ensure the safety of cultured meat." The government has set up a special working group to discuss the formulation of relevant laws.
The results of the questionnaire survey showed that 60% of the respondents answered that they had eaten artificial food, and the most striking reason listed was "for health". In order to find out whether artificial food is good for health, the reporter tried artificial food as much as possible in the main dishes of three meals for about five days: breakfast was artificial egg scrambled eggs and sausages made from plant materials; lunch was fried soybean vegetarian meat set; dinner was bionic fish fillet seafood rice bowl made with konjac. Although there was no significant change in weight, the reporter felt that his bowel movements were smoother and his facial acne was reduced.
A nutritionist suggested: "If you only eat substitute foods, you may not get enough fat. It is important to strike a balance and also eat dishes made with animal meat in moderation." The benefit of eating artificial food is that "the calorie intake is lower, which may reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes."
In the questionnaire survey, only 34% of the respondents said that they "want to eat artificial food in their daily lives." However, about 80% of the respondents who have eaten artificial food gave the same answer. It can be said that there is a big difference in attitude towards artificial food between those who have eaten artificial food and those who have not eaten it.
If more and more people choose artificial food as their main dish as their understanding of artificial food deepens, then a "100 million healthy society" will no longer be a dream. (Compiled by Ma Xiaoyun)
Plant-based meat dishes displayed at the Vegetarian Week event held at Ritsumeikan University in November 2022. (Ritsumeikan University website, Japan)
