The Fake Meat Industry

A major tenet of our work in the not-for-profit GrassRoots Movement (GRM) is an emphasis on eating plant-based foods and supplements. However, we are aware that the plant-based descriptor is being inappropriately twisted in an effort to take over the emerging fake-food protein markets. These plant-based fake-foods and lab-grown meats are not something we would feed our family.

Problems with Lab-Grown Meat

Fake meat products are a metabolic disaster for our health. Unhealthy, genetically engineered vegetable oils and fats replace the richer, natural, healthier animal fats. The fake meats are devoid of important vitamins like vitamin A and vitamin K2. In addition, they are overloaded with the dangerous omega-6 fat called linoleic acid (LA).

Genetically Engineered Food

The tech, chemical, and GMO industries are seeking to replace animal protein like beef, chicken, dairy, and fish with synthetic biology , cultured meat , precision fermentation , cellular-based , and gene-edited foods. The global Great Reset agenda encourages synthetic meat by arguing three points: 1) synthetic meat uses a smaller land footprint, 2) helps combat climate change by eliminating methane gas from livestock, 3) is more humane since no animals are killed for food. But the devil is in the details. Meat and dairy alternatives are really just junk food and GMOs on steroids. Terms like synthetic biology and fermentation technology cover up the hidden agenda meant to transition the public from real animal food to manmade genetically engineered (GMO) ingredients. These fake foods are highly processed with significant ramifications for eating this type of 'food.'

Fetal Bovine Serum

A little-known fact is that cultured meat or cell-based meat is produced from animal tissue cells artificially grown into larger slabs. The key growth ingredient is fetal bovine serum (FBS) made from the blood of cow fetuses. FBS is a powerful growth agent for developing baby calves but its extraction is disturbing. A pregnant cow coming to slaughter has its fetus removed. A needle is inserted into the heart of the fetus while it is alive and blood is drained until the fetus dies. It is pretty bizarre to advertise cultured meat as a more humane way to promote animal welfare. Currently, Singapore is the only country allowing cultured meat for commercial sale. FSB sells for $1,000 per liter which means cultured meat has to sell for $200,000 per pound to break even. Economically this is not a winning scenario.

Synthetic Burgers

Another type of beef alternative are plant-based meat substitutes like Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat. The primary ingredients in Beyond Meat are pea protein, canola oil and rice protein. However, a class action lawsuit complains that the company "miscalculates and overstates its products' protein content and quality." A greater concern than not getting the amount of protein claimed on the label is the fats used. Industrial seed oil (genetically engineered canola oil) loaded with linoleic acid is a metabolic poison that can stay in the cells for up to 7 years and can seriously damage health. Dr. Mercola believes anything above 10 grams per day is likely to cause chronic disease.

Not Possible Burger

The Impossible Burger can have up to eleven times more glyphosate residues than the Beyond Meat burger. Glyphosate has been shown to be carcinogenic; lawsuits in California have awarded over $2 billion for the cancer connection between the glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup, and their cancer. Burger King, White Castle, Hard Rock Cafe, Red Robin, Cheesecake Factory, and hundreds of other restaurants have carried the Impossible Burger without any warning labels. Despite the use of genetic engineering, GMO soy, MSG ingredients, and modern wheat sprayed with Roundup as a dessicant, restaurants are not required to describe this product as genetically modified (GMO) on their menus.

The Problem with Soy

The soy leghemoglobin or legume hemoglobin is what gives these fake meats their bloody, meaty appearance and taste. Heme is an iron-containing molecule found in plants and animals and is essential for life. Unfortunately, these burgers are not natural. They utilize genetic engineering to make the heme from yeast modified with the gene for soy leghemoglobin. This GMO version has never been tested! When it was originally submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency refused to grant it Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status. They noted that soy leghemogloblin had never been in the human food supply and lacked adequate safety testing. In addition to these concerns, the FDA noted 47 additional untested proteins in the fermentation brew.

Investments in Fake Food

The siren call to save the planet and eliminate animal protein in favor of plant-based is powerful marketing hype. Memphis Meats, a fake meat company, has two of the biggest meat processors in the world ( Tyson and Cargill ) and billionaires Bill Gates and Richard Branson as investors to move the industry away from animal protein. According to a report from international experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), "Nearly every large meat and dairy processor/manufacturer has also acquired or developed plant-based meat and dairy substitutes, establishing footholds in a market that is growing approximately 20% each year. More than a dozen of these firms have also invested in start-ups that are attempting to commercialize lab-grown meat and fish. Vanguard and Blackrock--two of the world's biggest asset management firms--have investments in almost all the largest meat, dairy, and animal feed companies."

The Power of the Consumer​

The marketing misinformation and huge technological investments for fake food will likely continue unabated. Just like our battle against GMO food, processed food, low fat/no fat food, and pesticides/herbicide laden food, it is imperative that we share this education and warn our neighbors about the dangers associated with these fake meats. The strongest incentive for changing our food supply is still the consumer's pocketbook. Let's find, encourage and support local farmers who are raising and feeding their animals properly so we can eat what's natural, whole, non-GMO, clean, and real-- which our bodies are designed to eat. This is the most natural and humane way for both animals and humans.