Plant-based meat alternative brands such as Impossible and Beyond Burgers are growing in popularity, which can negatively impact the environment.

“You look at the ingredients list, there’s, like 30 ingredients, they’re all processed somewhere and they’re all from different factories potentially around the globe,”  said Ashley Case, environmental science lecturer at UNC Asheville.

Case said when looking at environmental implications of highly processed plant-based foods, a fossil fuel footprint larger than meat is left behind. 

“You start to look at the oil footprint or the fossil fuel footprint of those and they’re astronomically larger than a lot of meat products,” Case said.

UNCA environmental science lecturer Casey King said plant-based meat alternatives excite her because of the innovation and contribution to address the problem of greenhouse gas production from meat. 

“As soon as I heard anything about it, I was sort of rooting for it,” King said.

King said many reasons exist for why people become vegetarian. She said some reasons include disliking meat tastes, animal treatment, the idea of eating fellow mammals and climate change. 

According to Mia Rishel, writer for Faunalytics, a nonprofit organization providing animal advocates research on various animal-related issues, a 2019 survey found plant-based meat consumption increased with half the Gen Z population eating it at least once a month. Younger generations report purchasing plant-based meat because they said it is better for the environment. 

“ I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think that our culture is continuously changing and would potentially change perceptions overtime, especially in terms of health and cost.” Case said. 

King said she became vegetarian for animals’ welfare reasons and she’s not surprised younger people are more likely to eat plant-based meat alternatives. 

 “If you add up everything that goes into the processing, is this really less?” King said. She said she wonders if plant-based meat alternatives really reduce greenhouse gasses.

Millennials and Gen Z individuals continue to switch to plant-based diets and products, according to Rishel. 

A 2020 survey by Cambridge University Press found people eating vegetarian diets are more likely to eat processed plant-based foods.

“It’s something I am personally familiar with for a long time and then was more familiar with environmental implications in the last three to five years.”

Case, an Asheville native, said she moved in and out of vegetarianism since she was about 10 or 11 years old.

“For me it was about the animals because I grew up across the street from a farm,” Case said. 

She said the idea of eating animals she saw every day on her plate as a meal was hard for her.

“Food is part of people’s culture,” Case said. “Culture changes quickly.” 

People 18–24 years old are more likely to eat processed meat and dairy plant-based alternatives, according to Cambridge University Press. 

“We have different opinions coming forward each year,” Case said.

Many plant-based meat alternatives are ultra-processed foods and are high in energy, fat, sugar and salt, therefore having a higher environmental impact than minimally processed plant-based foods, according to Cambridge University Press.

“You hope most corporations are smart enough that they’re trying to reduce risk. And if you’re reducing risk that might be making a big investment in something that’s mitigating climate change,” said King.

Increasing consumerism of meat alternatives among young people encourages long-term growth in the plant-based food industries, according to Rishel. 

“I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think that our culture is continuously changing and would potentially change its perceptions over time, especially in terms of health,” Case said.

Young people prefer to purchase products based on peers’ or celebrities’ opinions instead of brand ads because celebrities link plant-based meats to fitness and share reviews on social media, according to publisher of open access scientific journals Frontiers.

“It can feel like that influencer is my friend, or that influencer knows me, but ultimately they’re getting paid to sell a product and they don’t have your health and wellbeing in mind,” Case said.

Celebrities increase plant-based meat substitutes popularity endorsing products on media platforms, according to research publisher Frontiers. 

Chris Paul endorsed Beyond Meat products on Jan. 1, according to Beyond Meat company.

“Worst case scenario, they’re just not totally informed. We could do a better job understanding, having pieces like this really diving into ‘what are the implications, why are you choosing it?’” Case said. Case said one possible reason celebrities endorse ultra-processed, plant-based meat alternatives is they are not completely informed of their nutritional content. 

Some people turned away from plant-based meat alternatives because they said eating meat is a cultural norm of society, according to the National Library of Medicine. 

“I’m not really surprised because it’s a cultural thing,” Case said. 

King said a large number of people eat McDonalds and fast-food burgers. She said no perfect solution exists, but plant-based meat alternatives can bring more awareness compared to tofu and tempeh because many people rely on fast food. 

“It can actually address an issue for a really large audience that tofu and tempeh are not going to address,” King said.

King said 34% or 35% of greenhouse gas emissions are from food systems and half of the number is from cattle. “I am really concerned about our food system and climate change,” King said.

King said she thinks the way to make a real dent in meat reduction would have to be large-scale plant-based meat adoption by fast food restaurants and frozen processed food.

“I was vegan because of animals and my health was also a factor,” residential counselor and UNCA psychology student Margaux Reifman said. She said she knows about plant-based meat alternatives because she was vegan two years ago.

Reifman,  25-year-old originally from Chicago, said she started eating plant-based meat because she said she did not want animals to suffer.

“I thought they were really good substitutes for meat,” Reifman said. She said plant-based meat alternatives don’t taste like meat but she said she enjoyed eating them.

Companies make plant-based meat substitutes not to hurt ecosystems, but a higher level of processing and increased ingredients usually increase environmental impact, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Reifman said the information showing plant-based meats have less of an impact on the environment is disappointing. “It’s disappointing for sure. Sadly it’s not surprising,” Reifman said.

Unlike tofu and tempeh, minimally plant-based alternatives, Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers and steaks require more processing and ingredients.

“Something alternative could have a worse impact. Marketing will make it seem like it doesn’t,” Reifman said.

With plant-based burgers being popular, negative environmental impacts increase, according to the National Library of Medicine. 

“You can be a vegetarian in a way that’s very friendly to the Earth and really friendly to your body,” Case said.