I spiced things up in the kitchen recently with Southwest style chicken-free strips by Beyond Meat.
I first learned about this company when I read a blog post about the future of food by Bill Gates. Gates is financially backing Beyond Meat, in part because he recognizes that increasing meat consumption is bad for the environment. The global population is growing, and as people become more affluent, they often transition to western-style diets. That’s neither healthy nor sustainable.
I searched for Beyond Meat at my local Whole Foods and ended up getting a couple of ready-made wraps for a picnic. So yummy! Until now, I hadn’t cooked with it, so I gave it a whirl.
I made a simple stir-fry using red pepper, broccoli and zucchini, added spices and the Beyond Chicken strips, which I’d cut into cubes.
Beyond Chicken is made primarily with non-GMO soy and peas. It’s a complete protein, has plenty of fiber, and isn’t loaded with fat or cholesterol (in fact, it has no cholesterol, saturated or trans-fat and is just 5% fat).
I served my stir-fry over a rice pilaf for a quick, simple, and delicious meal. I’m going to try their beef-free crumble next for a taco meal!
I like that technology is helping reinvent meat and that through technology we can harness plants to create healthy delicious meat alternatives. It has a lot of potential in developing nations too, not just on the plates of people in the developed world.
Biz Stone, vegan and founder of Twitter, is also financially invested in Beyond Meat. Perhaps the future of meat is vegan.
Sunshine and Slaughter 
That is interesting that Bill Gates is supporting a plant-based diet; I think I’ll read that post. Thanks.
It’s an interesting post – interactive and eye-opening. Frustratingly, I don’t think Gates is vegan. I hope he pulls an Al Gore and starts to practice what he preaches 🙂
It is suspiciously market-based and financially-driven in my mind so I suppose it depends on whether or not you would agree that the ends justify the means! I have re-posted this site on my FB page and group and I am going to add it to my blog right now as I find it a very interesting development nonetheless.
I agree. Biz Stone, founder of twitter, is a vegan and likely also has ethical reasons for investing (besides financial ones). Gates is involved in bettering the situation of developing nations (vaccines, technology), but I suspect his is more of a financially motivated push. I’ll take it! As long as it helps. I suspect businesses will embrace veganism only if it’s profitable (especially non-vegan-owned businesses). Vegans need to make money too but their motives will be different. I’ll go to your FB page and see what people think.
We can only hope that the future of meat is vegan alternatives…..
I didn’t know that the founder of Twitter is vegan – how cool!! 🙂