When non-vegetarians start loving plant-based meats

Meat alternatives are not new in Thailand, what is new is that meat eaters are developing a taste for them. 

Traditionally, plant-based meats – primarily wheat and soy-based – are intended for vegetarian Buddhists who seek to avoid eating animals for religious reasons.

See: Vegetarianism in Thailand

In 2020, however, innovative new products made from a more diverse range of ingredients began to attract a lucrative and unlikely audience…meat eaters.

For Southeast Asia's agricultural nations, this shift could mean an unprecedented infusion of funds.

The fact that plant-based meats are beginning to appear on some Asian menus at several internationally renowned restaurant chains shows how much the paradigm has shifted.

While many foodservice providers struggle, new plant-based offerings continue to launch, recording net sales and growth rates that outpace their animal-based counterparts.

This growth is partly due to growing consumer fear of animal diseases and demand for natural products.

Indeed, despite the pandemic putting the global food system under extraordinary stress and uncertainty, Asia-Pacific companies focused on alternative proteins like plant-based meat have raised more than €187 million (6.87 billion baht) in funding over the past year to accelerate their growth.

As highlighted in a new report titled "Asian Cropportunities," producers of certain commodities stand to benefit from this shift in society away from animal meat.

One such commodity that has huge growth potential in Thailand is jackfruit.

See: The Many Health Benefits of Jackfruit

Already a common ingredient in curries, jackfruit's fibrous texture has been compared to that of pork and absorbs any added seasoning, making it a popular alternative for consumers seeking "less processed" products.

Jackfruit is rich in fiber and is one of the few fruits rich in B-complex vitamins.

Despite its nutritional benefits and usefulness, most jackfruit, which is often grown as roadside flora rather than in orchards, is wasted in a given year, meaning a huge amount of bioavailability develops naturally.

In a recent interview, Danai Pathomvanich, managing director of NR Instant Produce PCL, a Thai food export company, said his company doubled its jackfruit sales because "consumer interest in health is a huge trend right now and the growth potential is huge."

See also: Company makes fortune turning jackfruit into pork

Mr. Danai said herbal products currently account for about 7% of his company's revenue, but he expects that figure to rise to 30% within four years.

But beyond the ingredients already available in Thailand, there are other "opportunities" waiting for local producers and investors.

Konjac—an underutilized root vegetable that has become a key ingredient for mimicking certain textures in plant-based seafood—lends itself well to expanding cultivation, given that it can be successfully planted alongside rubber, which is already big business locally.

Aside from its textural benefits, konjac is perhaps best known as an ingredient in dietary supplements designed to help people lose weight.

In many Asian markets, one of the main drivers for consumers to adopt a more plant-based diet is weight loss.

A plant-based meat product containing konjac therefore has the potential to be very attractive.

Giving up conventional animal meat has many benefits that go beyond our own health.

Meats made from innovative plant-based ingredients like jackfruit and konjac also have a much lower climate footprint than their animal-based counterparts.

In fact, the raising and slaughter of animals for food are among the two or three leading causes of the most serious environmental problems, at every scale, from global to local.

To produce chicken meat, for example, you have to feed an animal nine calories of chicken feed to get back only one calorie in the form of edible meat.

In a world of increasing climate risk and dwindling natural resources, this is an inefficiency that Thailand would be wise to reduce or eliminate.

Thailand's national leaders have already implemented numerous programs to support what has been described as "smart agriculture" by integrating new technologies to increase production and modernize farming practices.

See also: Self-sufficiency economy in Thailand, the gift of Rama IX

This government support provides a great incentive for local producers and business leaders to capitalize on the rush toward alternative proteins and plant-based meat – if they are forward-thinking enough to seize it.

See also:

3.8% of vegetarian festival dishes contain meat

The Vegetarian Festival in Phuket and throughout Thailand

An article by Ryan Huling, Communications and Program Manager at the Good Food Institute Asia Pacific.

Source: bangkokpost.com