Plant-based meat is not healthy since it is highly processed, and manufacturers use many modifiers to make it taste like meat. However, meat is also a dangerous product that leads to type 2 diabetes, obesity, certain types of cancer, increased blood pressure, and other cardiovascular diseases (Battaglia Richi et al., 2015). Meat used in hamburgers and other fast food dishes is also heavily processed, which means that it hardly differs from plant-based meat in terms of impact on physical health. The only real difference is that plant-based meat has considerably more sodium (Gelsomin, 2019). However, it is worth noting that plant-based meat is a relatively new product, and its quality can improve in the long run. At the same time, future research may reveal other dangers of vegan meat. Therefore, from health’s perspective, it is best to stay away from both from real processed meat and plant-based meat.
However, judging from the environmental perspective, it is best to favor vegetarian meat since it does less harm to the planet. According to Swain, Blomqvist, McNamara, and Ripple (2018), livestock production takes almost one-third of all land. This fact means that the majority of forests are destroyed to feed the population with meat. Moreover, cattle breeding is associated with 14% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. The reduction in consumption of meat can lead to a decreased use of land and water, which will positively influence the environmental situation on Earth. Therefore, it becomes clear that the possibility to decrease the harm to the planet outweighs the potentially harmful ingredients in plant-based meat, especially considering that it is equally dangerous as the processed meat. However, ideally, it is best to stay away from both processed meat and vegan substitutes, as well as reduce the consumption of animal-based foods.
References
Battaglia Richi, E., Baumer, B., Conrad, B., Darioli, R., Schmid, A., & Keller, U. (2015). Health Risks Associated with Meat Consumption: A Review of Epidemiological Studies. International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, 85(1-2), 70-78.
Gelsomin, E. (2019). Impossible and beyond: How healthy are these meatless burgers? Web.
Swain, M., Blomqvist, L., McNamara, J., & Ripple, W. J. (2018). Reducing the environmental impact of global diets. Science of The Total Environment, 610-611, 1207–1209.