To combat obesity, China aims to reduce meat consumption by promoting new alternative, healthy and vegetable foods, to be integrated into the diet by 2030
When we talk about obesity in the world, our thoughts go immediately to the United States and the American people, notoriously dominated by a diet rich in fat and junk food that is not very balanced. No coincidence that it is the country with the most obese adults in the world, as many as 79 million. Few know, however, that on the front ofchildhood obesity America actually wins second place while the former goes unexpectedly China, a country that in the Western imagination is often associated with a light and low calorie diet. Consider that instead the obese Chinese children are 15 million and that by 2015, the estimated obese adults were 57 million.
The Chinese government has recently decided to take serious measures regarding the food sector to stem this worrying growth, and not only that. In particular, in collaboration with China's first food technology accelerator Bits x Bites, which is investing in various international startups, has issued dietary guidelines that aim to reduce national meat consumption by 50% by 2030 and the introduction of innovative, sustainable and healthy food alternatives. The trigger of this initiative is not really only childhood obesity, but also all the problems concerning the Chinese meat industry.
In addition to the problems of food security (animal diseases) and health problems (antibiotics and hormones) linked to the industrial production of meat, there are fears that there are not enough arable land to feed the growing population or enough land to house the farms.
Let's go then to find out what the alternative protein sources will be for a healthier future.
Alternatives to soy
Although soy milk, in China as in other countries, is one of the most famous and popular vegetable drinks, in the last few years interesting alternatives are taking hold. Among the many China has decided to invest in pea milk, already widespread and appreciated in the United States, the mung bean one and the chickpea one.
Silkworm snacks
For years we have been talking about the importance of insects as a precious source of protein and with a low environmental impact as an alternative to meat. In China, an insect-loving country known forbreeding of silkworms (about 500 thousand tons a year), the government has decided to invest in a company that turns flour silkworm scraps into powder into flour, to then process this flour and produce salty snacks. This snacks, which will contain about 20% of proteins, will soon be launched on the market and already bets on its commercial success.
Synthetic meat, produced in the laboratory
The synthetic meat produced by in vitro cultivation from animal cells has become a worldwide trend, above all thanks to Beyond Meat, the American company of the famous Impossible Burger. China has decided to follow in its footsteps and invest in an Israeli company called Future Meat Technologies that produces precisely meat grown in the laboratory, non-GMO, naturally free of hormones and antibiotics and produced using a fermentation silo. The goal is to see a food product based on cellular meat to be launched on the market as soon as possible.
A bowl of a salad bowl to drink
A final investment concerns a company called Fruggie, which intends to promote a new concept of "drinkable" salad. The reason behind the development of this product, which for us Westerners may appear to be bizarre, is that the Chinese mostly love hot and cooked foods, while they are rather reluctant to eat raw vegetables and, indeed, salads. The company has therefore decided to mix together ten classic ingredients, including lettuce, avocado and chickpeas, reducing them to drink. This drink is currently only available in some parts of China.
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