Nithin Coca: Are Plant-Based Meats a Flash in the Pan?

The new generation of veggie burgers do taste more like meat than their sawdust-leaning predecessors. And most agree that plant-based meat alternatives are a step in the right direction, considering the hefty impact that cattle have on the environment. But the Impossible Burgers and Beyond Meats of the world come with their own not-so-insignificant carbon challenges. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with environmental reporter Nithin Coca about his research for Vox.com on the impact of these popular plant-based meats on agricultural supply chains around the globe. We talk about the rapid growth of the market sector, take a look at how it affects the coconut oil and cacao butter industries, and, while we are at it, get a snapshot of lab grown meats, as well. 00:02 Narrator – This is Sea Change Radio, covering the shift to sustainability. I’m Alex Wise. 00:18 Nithin Coca (NC) – There’s a reason it was included in the European Union’s recent deforestation regulations. One of the six commodities included in that is cacao, because of the deforestation risk presented. 00:30 Narrator – The new generation of veggie burgers do taste more like meat than their sawdust-leaning predecessors. And most agree that plant-based meat alternatives are a step in the right direction, considering the hefty impact that cattle have on the environment. But the Impossible Burgers and Beyond Meats of the world come with their own not-so-insignificant carbon challenges. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with environmental reporter Nithin Coca about his research for Vox.com on the impact of these popular plant-based meats on agricultural supply chains around the globe. We talk about the rapid growth of the market sector, take a look at how it affects the coconut oil and cacao butter industries, and, while we are at it, get a snapshot of lab grown meats, as well. 01:49 Alex Wise (AW) – I’m joined now on Sea Change Radio by Nithin Coca. He’s a freelance environmental journalist based in Japan. Nithin, welcome back to Sea Change Radio. 01:58 Nithin Coca (NC)  – It’s great to be here again. 01:59 Alex Wise (AW)  – So you just submitted a piece for vox.com entitled plant burgers are way better for the planet than beef. But these two ingredients threaten tropical ecosystems, so I wanted to dive into these two ingredients in a deeper way. You really uncover the problems that go into coconut and cacao. Why don’t you start at the beginning in terms of these veggie burgers, these plant-based meats and how the industry has evolved over the last few years? 02:32 NC – Happy to. So I remember when I first heard about plant based meat, I think it was at an event like five or six years ago and there was like a big marketing push by these companies, Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, to come to these environmental and journalism conferences and kind of push this as a more sustainable alternative to normal agriculture. And it was, I think, when I was in in 2019, I was doing se