Thumbs Up on Plant-Based Meat

A new study just validated that plant-based food products, e.g., Impossible Food and Beyond Meat, are healthier than their animal-based counterparts, while reconfirming that they’re better for the environment.

We all need to expect the first assertion (about health) to be cause for controversy for a very long time, if the issue is ever resolved at all.  At best, studies like these are retrospective, meaning that they look back on people who eat mainly beef or plant-based meat, and compare various aspects of their health.  The problem is that these cohorts could have predispositions to better or worse heath: other morbidities, smoking, exercise, food supplements, etc.

The second assertion is completely noncontroversial.  Fewer acres of rainforest destroyed, fewer cows producing methane and waste, less water and feed consumed, are all good things.