Meat cos. mix it up with ‘conscientious carnivore’ blends
Combine veggies with burgers, meatballs, sausages
Meat companies are making it easier for you to eat your vegetables by blending them into burgers, meatballs and sausages.
Applegate is introducing a line of meat-and-veggie burgers and meatballs at grocery stores next month. Tyson Foods is already selling a beef and pea protein patty as well as blended sausages. Perdue Farms has chicken-and-vegetable nuggets while the Better Meat Co., a California startup, makes blended ground beef, pork and chicken. More options will arrive this summer for grilling season.
All are hoping to quell consumers’ growing misgivings about meat and its impact on health and the environment. The United Nations called for reduced meat consumption last year, saying agriculture and food production was responsible for 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions. A recent Harvard study suggested that boosting consumption of red meat increases the risk of early death.
Companies like Tyson have already made the leap into pure plant-based products like its Raised and Rooted pea protein-based nuggets that imitate chicken. That competes squarely with startups like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, which sell plant-based burgers that closely imitate meat.
But David Ervin, Tyson’s vice president of alternative protein, says its internal research shows only about 17% of consumers have tried plant-based meat, even though 69% would consider eating it. The top barrier to trying plantbased meat is taste, he said. Blended burgers, with the familiar taste of meat, “are an entry point for them to begin to explore that area.”
Applegate, a natural and organic meat brand owned by Hormel Foods, is introducing four-ounce beef burgers that mix 72% lean organic beef with one-third cup of vegetables, including cauliflower, lentils, spinach and butternut squash. It’s not as juicy as an all-beef hamburger, but the vegetables give it more flavor. One burger has 200 calories and 15 grams of fat. By comparison, a 73% lean beef burger from Walmart has 340 calories and 30 grams of fat.
Applegate President John Ghingo said meat companies can’t ignore “conscientious carnivores.”
“It’s important that we don’t have a fear-based reaction to the change but look at the underlying needs,” he said. “People want changes they can make that are pragmatic and help them move the needle.”
In some cases, blended burgers may even be healthier than plant-based ones, which add salt for flavor. Tyson’s Raised and Rooted blended burger has 150 calories, seven grams of fat and 260 milligrams of sodium. Impossible Foods’ burger has 240 calories, 14 grams of fat and 370 milligrams of sodium.