A return to basics: unprocessed vegan food makes a comeback

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".

There's now an "increasing consumer desire to eat 'real' food that's as minimally processed as possible", said Speciality Food magazine, with an appetite for putting "the 'plant' back in 'plant-based', putting the 'veggie' back in your veggie burger and shrinking labels all over the plant-based category", said Whole Foods Market in its 2024 trend predictions. This has led to "emerging protein-forward products with mushrooms, walnuts, tempeh and legumes in place of complex meat alternatives".

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.

However, Dr Yule believes there's a simpler reason for falling sales: the economy. "The modern vegan – forced to endure the cost-of-living crisis and food inflation that is at an all-time high – is cash-strapped and time poor." Buying plant-based convenience foods "can still feel like a luxury" when their cost is "significantly higher than their meat equivalents". And, for some people, "vegan alternatives are just simply too expensive".