No wonder people are turning their noses up at fake meat... it's not healthy, it won't save the planet, and it tastes like burnt dog food, says food industry expert JOANNA BLYTHMAN, as sales of plant-based burgers collapse
It was the smell that hit me first: the stale yet also sterile aroma of factory processing. The puce-coloured patties looked deeply unappetising - and as I fried one, it exuded a salty-sweet pool of oil, probably because it contained more fat than protein.
On the palate, the texture felt weird; a chewy substance that didn't break down as real meat does. Instead it became watery in my mouth and left a horrible taste, as if I'd licked a barbecue rack that had over-wintered in the garden - or burnt some dog food. I couldn't wait to get all traces of it out my kitchen.
How anyone expected the Beyond Burger to replace real meat when it launched just over a decade ago, is anyone's guess. Sure enough, it appears people increasingly don't want to sample this strange and unappealing product.
This week, its makers, Beyond Meat, reported that overall sales have slumped by almost a third. Valued at $10billion as recently as 2019, the company is worth a fraction of that, at less than $1billion.
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