A return to basics: unprocessed vegan food makes a comeback

More people who eat a plant-based diet are avoiding meat substitutes and choosing to cook from scratch

Green vegetables
There's an increasing consumer desire to eat food that's 'as minimally processed as possible'
(Image credit: Tanja Ivanova / Getty Images)

Supermarket shelves, delivery services and restaurant menus now feature plenty of plant-based alternatives to meat. But there are signs that tastes may be changing, with vegans and vegetarians opting to cook more from scratch using recognisable ingredients.

Vegan alternatives to meat became more popular as they "allowed those who usually eat a lot of meat to gradually wean off a carnivorous diet – without resorting to only eating vegetables", said Xanthe Clay in The Telegraph.

Dr Jennifer Yule, a lecturer in marketing at the University of Edinburgh Business School, agreed, writing in The Guardian: "Plant-based convenience products such as meat-free burgers and ready meals have helped ease many consumers into a vegan routine."

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However, that convenience, supplied by countless brands, comes at a price. "Have you ever stopped to read what's inside these vegan meat substitutes?" asked Clay. It is possible to eat a healthy vegan diet, but many meat substitutes "fall into the category of ultra-processed food", or UPFs, generally accepted by experts as "unhealthy and probably addictive, blamed for the increasing incidence of obesity and poor health worldwide".

A grilled chicken breast, for example, is fairly minimally processed. But plant-based barbecue chicken goujons are "indubitably ultra-processed, containing over 30 ingredients, including methylcellulose, maltodextrin and dried glucose syrup", she said. Not so appetising. And UPFs don't just "trick our palates", they also confuse our bodies, "triggering hormones that encourage us to overeat".

Some plant-based meat companies' sales are shrinking, and some meat-free restaurants have closed branches, "while others have changed menus to a more balanced offering of vegan and non-vegan items", said The Guardian.

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Adrienne Wyper has been a freelance sub-editor and writer for The Week's website and magazine since 2015. As a travel and lifestyle journalist, she has also written and edited for other titles including BBC Countryfile, British Travel Journal, Coast, Country Living, Country Walking, Good Housekeeping, The Independent, The Lady and Woman’s Own.