In today’s world, we’re faced not only with the age-old ethical questions about eating meat, but with the reality of impending, destructive global climate change. As animal agribusiness is among the greatest contributors to global warming, with all of the greenhouse gas emissions from cows, pigs, chickens and the vast manure lagoons created by industrial animal farms, the market for animal-free, fake meats has never been riper.This spring, after more than a decade of research, scientists at the University of Missouri unveiled the first soy product that can not only be flavored to taste like chicken, but has a texture indistinguishable from chicken, according to many people who have tried it. Seth Tibbott, founder and president of Turtle Island Foods and creator of Tofurky, says that “chicken has always been the holy grail” of the vegetarian world, as its lean texture and mild flavor had for years seemed impossible to replicate. Tibbott is considering buying the new Missouri product.
This breakthrough mock chicken is made of soy-protein powder, wheat flour and water, and looks like cake batter until it’s heated to 346̊ F, firms up and forms the consistency of chicken. Dishes created using the new soy product so far include a barbecue sandwich, a tarragon “chicken” salad and fajitas. According to John Cloud, author of the Time article, “Tastes Like Chicken: The Quest for Fake Meat,” the “chicken” in these dishes has a pleasing texture – “slightly fibrous, but not fatty,” “al dente” and not “mashed together” like veggie burger.
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