Plant proteins going mainstream as chicken substitute
When it comes to conversations around diet, health and how our food choices impact the planet, beef has taken much of the heat in recent years. Cows, as we know, are massive emitters of methane, a very harmful greenhouse gas, and consumption of red meat has been linked to potential increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
As a result, many Canadians have shifted from eating beef to eating more chicken, upping chicken consumption by about 20 pounds per person since 1998. As of 2020, chicken was the most consumed meat in Canada.
But while chicken may contain less fat than beef, and come with a lower carbon footprint, it is still not the most optimal protein option available. “Chicken’s carbon footprint is still three times higher than even the highest emitting plant protein, such as soy,” says environmental researcher and cofounder of PlantBasedData.org, Nicholas Carter, “and almost 10 times higher than pea protein.”
Animals in general, he explains, are inefficient food producers. “For every 100 calories of grain fed to chickens, people only receive about 12 calories of meat,” he says. “That’s almost a 90 per cent loss.”
Chickens are also, according to animal advocates, the most abused land animal on earth. In
Canada, of the nearly 834 million land animals we slaughtered in 2019, around 90 per cent of those were meat chickens. And to make farming that number of animals more ecoefficient, animal welfare has taken a big hit by selectively breeding birds to grow bigger, faster, and with less feed, and simply “cramming more birds into barns,” as Carter recently explained to Corporate Knights Magazine.
Thus, enter more ethical and eco-friendly plant-based chicken. This month, Canada has seen a boom in new plant-based chicken offerings at popular food retailers, including KFC, Mary Brown’s, and even 7-Eleven. In partnership with plantbased food producer Lightlife, the retailers are selling products made from pea and/or soy and/or wheat, that mimic real chicken but without all that impact.
In a statement, VP and GM of 7-Eleven, Norman Hower says, “Canadians’ tastes are changing and we’re here in the neighbourhood to provide what they want.”
Indeed, research over the last four years has shown that the number of Canadians decreasing meat consumption and increasing plant-protein consumption is on the rise. “It is relatively clear that ‘meat minimizers’ or flexitarians — those who still eat meat, but are eating less of it — are driving changes in meat consumption,” wrote researchers from the University of Guelph in 2019.
Thankfully, plant-based chicken alternatives can offer a good source of protein. 7-Eleven’s plant-based chicken tenders are obviously not a health food, notes registered dietitian Pamela Fergusson, but “they do offer a good amount of protein, and are a source of iron,” she says. “They also contain no cholesterol.”
So, as many of us take time to consider how our daily choices impact our health and the health of the world around us, consider opting for more plant protein. It can taste just like chicken.