Jenna Blumenfeld, Freelancer

February 27, 2016

Natural consumers have a tendency to romanticize where their food comes from. We like to think that butter should come from a solitary cow standing in acres of bucolic pasture; potato chips should be sliced and kettle-cooked by the same person who grew the potatoes. To some natural shoppers, food production is like a Williams-Sonoma catalog, where farm tools are monogrammed and handcrafted with a “natural wax finish,” and the copywriting is excellent. Processing facilities, laboratories and complicated food science don’t fit into this fairytale.

But food production happens on a large scale. And food science plays an important part in making the values natural consumers hold so dear—like sustainability, ethical sourcing, animal welfare, soil health and more—become a reality.

So kudos to Beyond Meat, makers of plant-based meat alternatives, for making this video that invites consumers inside their laboratory and facility, and explains how pea protein is realigned to mimic the texture of meat. The vegan company successfully busts through a seemingly hard-to-understand process—making meat from plants—and communicates to the viewer how yes, you probably can’t do this in your home kitchen, but it’s not something to be afraid of. 

A prime example of green-tech transparency that should be emulated.

Watch it, and let us know what you think in the comments below.

 

About the Author(s)

Jenna Blumenfeld

Freelancer

Jenna Blumenfeld lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she reports on the natural products industry, sustainable agriculture, and all things plant based. 

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