From fast food restaurants expanding their menus to lab-grown options in supermarkets’ meat aisles, plant-based food is ample in Canada for a month of vegan eating and beyond.

By: Aru Kaul

When you think of a plant-based diet, what comes to mind? You might think of fruits and vegetables, but what if I told you that burgers can also be a part of your meal plan? And if you need another reason to give plant-based food a go, we currently still have a few days until the end of Veganuary — a concept coined by the namesake non-profit that encourages people around the world to try veganism for at least the first month of the year.

In 2019, the Canada Food Guide started promoting plant-based proteins — a major change from previous years. This caused the plant-based diet to grow in popularity and it became adopted by many fast food restaurants.

In 2019 and 2020, McDonald’s tested a plant-based burger at select locations in Canada. In fall 2021, they came out with the McPlant burger in some American locations, which is made using a plant-based meat substitute called Beyond Meat. The burger has been more popular than expected.

This change echoes what many other fast food restaurants have been doing. Places like A&W, Burger King and KFC all have plant-based burgers made from either Beyond Meat or other plant-based meat substitutes such as Lightlife. Yes, you read that right — even Kentucky Fried Chicken has plant-based options.

However, as previously reported by CanCulture, not all plant-based fast food is as healthy as it seems. When making the transition to a healthy plant-based diet, Canadians should opt for beans, lentils, chickpeas, soy products like tofu and tempeh and whole grains.

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A Los Angeles reporter reviews the McPlant burger in November 2021, shortly after the item hit stores.

A common misconception about plant-based protein is that it does not taste as good as real meat. However, a 2019 survey indicates that 80 per cent of Canadian respondents either like or love plant-based alternatives.

With its widespread availability, plant-based food has undoubtedly become more accessible. The number of people in Canada who eat a meat-free diet has increased. As of 2020, there are 2.3 million vegetarians and 850,000 vegans in Canada. In addition, the retail sales of plant-based meat substitutes have almost doubled since 2015.

It goes without saying that eating plant-based is the healthier option, but how healthy exactly? According to a 2021 study, a plant-based diet can reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and even cancer! In comparison, the chemicals found in red and processed meat can increase the risk of cancer.

Not only does a plant-based diet improve an individual’s physical health, it can also boost mental health. According to the Nutrition Journal, this is because a plant-based diet has a lower intake of saturated and trans fats — which negatively affect mental health in high amounts.

A plant-based diet also has a lower carbon footprint than a meat-based diet — almost half, to be exact. A meat-based diet is one of the biggest causes of climate change. Meat production contributes to forest fires, deforestation and the use of toxic pesticides, which kill essential wildlife.

Now, over a quarter of the world’s entire land area is used for farm animals, so if everyone ate plant-based, this would result in 75 per cent less farmland being used. Continuing to make plant-based diets more accessible does not only benefit an individual’s personal health; it also benefits the environment.

The plant-based movement benefits the planet humans thrive on by limiting animal consumption. (Matthias Zomer/Pexels)

However, one of the biggest barriers to accessing a plant-based diet is the inability to make lifestyle changes. Traditionally speaking, meat is a large part of a Canadian diet. However, plant-based alternatives have resulted in Canadians changing their attitudes towards a plant-based diet: a 2020 survey shows that 40 per cent of respondents are willing to reduce their meat consumption.

Another barrier is the lack of understanding about a plant-based diet. The term is often used interchangeably with vegan or vegetarian, which can make people think they are not capable of following it. However, the term “plant-based” can mean any diet that is primarily made of food from plants, which means this can look like many different things. And with plant-based options at everyday fast food places helping to break both the accessibility barrier and the misunderstanding barrier, people are increasingly accepting that a plant-based diet is not as hard to adopt as they may have thought before!

So, what are you waiting for? Before Veganuary ends, try something new and see if it sticks!

Beyond Meat products are becoming popular in restaurants, grocery stores and fast-food chains, but how healthy is the plant-based meat alternative?

By Allie Murray

Since its release in 1942, Canada’s Food Guide suggested that Canadians eat between two to three servings of meat or alternatives a day. In early 2019, Health Canada released an updated version of the food guide, which moved away from the recommendation of meat products and suggested eating more plant-based products instead.

The new food guide recommendations are why Rena Mendelson, a professor in Ryerson University’s School of Food and Nutrition, believes Beyond Meat products have become so popular.

“You see the new Canada food guidelines recommend a plant-based diet, which doesn’t mean vegetarian necessarily. It means eating more foods that are plant-based and reducing our overall intake of animal-based foods,” she said. “Beyond Meat is a product that gives people the sense that they’re moving in the plant-based direction without giving up eating hamburgers that they like.”

Mendelson explained that while Beyond Meat products have their benefits, they also have downsides.

“It’s a reasonably good substitute, but it’s high in fat, it’s high in calories, it’s high in sodium, it’s actually high in saturated fats even though it’s a plant based product; but it is high in protein as well,” said Mendelson.

Novella Lui, a registered dietician and nutrition consultant with Live to Nourish, adds that while Beyond Meat may appear healthy, it is still a processed product that is made up of about 20 ingredients. A few of those ingredients include pea protein isolate, expeller-pressed canola oil, refined coconut oil, flavouring and more.

“In order to boost the meaty flavour and texture [of] Beyond Meat products, a substance [is used] that is naturally available in soy roots but never used as a food product, called leghemoglobin,” explained NAD Nutrition registered dietician Nadine Khoury. “However, the form used has been produced artificially from yeast making it a genetically modified product.”

Khoury adds that a lot of the products contain less healthy refined oils, food additives, flavours and sugars, and may include common allergens like soy, wheat and nuts.

Healthy alternatives versus the fast-food industry

Beyond Meat has become frequently found in restaurants and fast-food chains, including Tim Hortons, which offered Beyond Meat products as a limited time offer. The chain ended up pulling back on Beyond Meat products in Canada, except for locations in Ontario and British Columbia.

“We have particularly seen positive reaction to our Beyond Meat offerings in Ontario and B.C., especially in breakfast,” an email statement from the Tim Hortons PR team reads. “The Beyond Meat breakfast sandwiches will continue to be available in Ontario and B.C., which is about 60 per cent of Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada.”

Speaking to the fast-food industry’s increased offering of Beyond Meat burgers, Lui notes that nutritionally speaking, the Beyond Meat burgers from fast-food chains aren’t much different than a regular burger.

According to Lui, an A&W Beyond Meat burger has 1,110 milligrams of sodium, which is more than half of one’s daily recommended sodium intake. It also has 500 calories, 29 grams of fat and 22 grams of protein.

On the other hand, a Teen Burger from A&W of the same serving size also has 500 calories, but has 26 grams of fat, 25 grams of protein and 200 milligrams less sodium at 910 milligrams.

Environmental and lifestyle benefits of Beyond Meat

While the believed popularity of Beyond Meat products has stemmed from the updated food guide, the plant-based alternative has also become a go-to meal for vegetarians, vegans and others who refrain from eating meat.

For a lot of vegetarians, Beyond Meat has been a solution for the ones who want to enjoy the taste of a hamburger without actually eating meat. Sydney Borton, a consumer of Beyond Meat products explained that Beyond Meat is one of the only vegetarian meat options that fits that criteria.

“I like that a lot of them don’t taste like typical veggie burgers or vegan meat alternatives,” Borton said, noting that a lot of vegetarian burgers taste dry because they’re made with soybeans, chickpeas and other dry ingredients. “But the Beyond Meat line of products is trying to do something different. They don’t taste dry or like a meat alternative, but they don’t taste exactly like real meat either. It’s a weird in between, but I really like it.”

In addition to the health benefits, Khoury also says that Canadians should start shifting towards eating plant-based products for the environmental benefits they pose.

“Another benefit is that they contain more fibre than meat products,” she said. “Eating less industrially farmed and processed meats is better for the environment and for our health.”

Mendelson, Lui and Khoury all note that in transitioning to a plant-based diet, Canadians should add more foods such as legumes like beans, lentils and chickpeas, soy products like tofu and tempeh, and whole grains.