Group makes surprising discovery during blind taste test of animal-based food products: 'They have to taste good'

Plant-based meat alternatives have been making huge strides in recent years, but many consumers still prefer to buy animal-based products. However, recent tests suggest the alternatives might actually be tastier.

Nectar, an initiative of the climate philanthropy group, Food System Innovations, runs blind taste tests to study market-ready plant-based meat. In order to qualify, the diners must be omnivorous so that they have a recent experience with meat to compare to the plant-based products they consume.

All of the plant-based and animal-derived meat products are prepared by food service staff on standard equipment and are presented as they would be in common meals, like spaghetti, meatballs, and hamburgers.

In a recent taste test, it was found that the groups preferred burgers that were a blend of beef and mushrooms compared to 100% beef burgers, and that plant-based chicken nuggets were preferred over animal-based nuggets.

The food industry spends more money than big oil to lobby the government to make the general public believe that vegan diets lack nutrients and flavor. The only way to make plant-based food more appealing is to make it taste better than its meaty competition. 

Director of Nectar Caroline Cotto told the Guardian, "We don't want these products to just taste good to people that don't eat meat. We want them to taste good to people that are eating meat multiple times a week. Taste is the largest primary purchase criteria for consumers, and for these products to gain mainstream adoption, they have to taste good."

Nectar's belief that taste is the driving factor aligns with Holly Wang, an agricultural, food, and resource economics professor from Michigan State University. She has pointed to the success of plant-based milk, butter, and ice cream brands that have successfully integrated into omnivorous households and disrupted their categories.

"Among these categories [of plant-based food replacements], we see that the relatively more successful category is milk," Wang spoke to the Guardian. "It's getting accepted by even the non-vegetarian [because] the texture of almond milk is so close to the texture of traditional milk."

The mission of Nectar is not to ensure that one plant-based meat option becomes the winner; it's to make plant-based meat that much more likable for the everyday person in order to combat the changing climate. 

"We're looking at food as a key driver of decarbonization," said Cotto. Considering animal agriculture contributes the same amount of planet-warming gases as the transportation industry, it should be equally prioritized.

Why do you eat plant-based foods? The health benefits 🥗 It's cheaper 💰 It's good for the planet 🌎 I prefer the taste 😋 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

If the world prioritizes a plant-based diet, it would be choosing a diet that produces 75% less climate-heating pollution, land use, and water pollution than those who eat an omnivorous diet. Vegan diets also use 54% less water and cut down on wildlife destruction by 66%.

Overall, when choosing a plant-based option over an animal product doesn't feel like a sacrifice, consumers of all diets are more likely to choose it. 

"Any reduction [of meat] is a positive thing for the climate," said Cotto, per the Guardian. "We're hoping that if we can really make the taste as good as or better than meat, that will make it easy for consumers."

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