If you have followed BU Plant-Based on Instagram, you may have already seen our carousel breaking this down. Consider this the longer version, for anyone who wants the a fuller picture in one place.
"Alternative proteins" is the term used for foods that give us the meat, eggs, and dairy we already love, without depending on industrialized animal agriculture to get there. It is not one technology, but rather three distinct approaches, each solving the same problem in a different way.
1. Plant-Based
Plant-based meat, eggs, and dairy are exactly what they sound like: products built from plant ingredients, engineered to replicate the taste, texture, and cooking experience of the animal-based version. This is the most familiar category, the one most likely already sitting in your grocery store's freezer aisle.
Nonetheless, the science here is more sophisticated than it might seem. Formulating a convincing plant-based burger means understanding how proteins, fats, and carbohydrates from crops like soy, peas, wheat, and other plants, interact with one another, down to how they brown, how they hold moisture, and how they feel in your mouth.
2. Fermentation-Derived
Fermentation is the oldest food technology on this list, the same basic process behind bread, beer, and cheese, but now being directed at a new problem. Within alternative proteins, fermentation shows up in three distinct forms:
- Traditional fermentation ‒ uses live microorganisms to transform an existing plant ingredient, improving its taste, texture, or digestibility. This is closest to fermentation as most of us already know it.
- Biomass fermentation – grows large quantities of protein-rich microorganisms, like fungi, quickly and efficiently. The resulting biomass can itself become the final product, as with mycelium-based steaks and cutlets.
- Precision fermentation ‒ uses microorganisms as tiny factories, programmed to produce a specific molecule, such as a milk protein or an egg protein, without ever involving an animal. That molecule can then be used as a functional ingredient in other alternative protein products.
Fermentation is highly resource-efficient compared to conventional animal agriculture, and because the underlying process is centuries old, it often has a fast and clear path to consumers.
3. Cultivated
Cultivated meat is the newest and most technically ambitious category. Instead of starting with plants or microorganisms, scientists start with real animal cells, taken from a living animal without harming it, and then grow those cells in a nutrient-rich environment until they form actual muscle and fat tissue. The result is meat that is biologically identical to conventional meat, just produced without raising or slaughtering an animal.
This process happens inside bioreactors, which are vessels similar in principle to the fermentors used in brewing. Cultivated meat is still working toward large-scale commercial viability, which makes it one of the most active areas of alternative protein research today, and one of the clearest examples of why this field needs scientists and engineers from so many different backgrounds!
Why the Distinction Matters
These three categories often get lumped together in casual conversation, but the distinction matters, especially if you are considering a career or research path in this space. A plant biologist, a microbiologist, and a tissue engineer might all describe themselves as working in alternative proteins, while working on almost entirely different problems and scientific verticals. Understanding which category you are talking about is the first step toward understanding what role you might play in building this field.
Have questions about any of these categories, or curious how your own major connects to one of them? Come join us and check out more on our social media!
Until next time,
The BU Plant-Based Leadership Team