182
challenges have to be addressed immediately to improve the public health by
improving and providing healthy food and nutritional security. In this scenario, the
following questions are arising: whether a suitable meat substituent can be identified? If at all identified whether it can be a complete alternative for the meat? Will
people recognize and accept these alternatives? This book chapter will answer few
of these questions, and the prime answer will be fungal mycoproteins.
11.2 Importance of Meat
Worldwide, nonvegetarian consumers prefer meat as their first choice of consumption. This is because the meat is a tasty, juicy, flavor-rich, chewy-textured food with
high nutritional value. Justification of meat consumption mainly relies on Ns, i.e., it
is natural, normal, necessary, and nice (Piazza et al. 2015). Moreover, people rely on
meat for its taste and variety (Asgar et al. 2010). It is considered as the food with the
highest protein source and high biological values of vitamins and minerals. The role
of proteins present in the meat is having two main features: (i) The meat protein
contains all essential amino acids more or less closely resembling the needs of
human body, making it as more nutritious and preferable, and (ii) the functional
properties of meat proteins cannot be reproduced by any other food proteins in the
food industry (Xiong 2004).
Food industry also produces various processed meats such as slathered and marinated meat, restructured meat rolls and loaves, luncheon meats, boneless ham, sausage, frankfurters, 30% fat bologna, etc. The food industries use not only the muscle
meat but also the other parts of the animals to produce products such as sausages,
hams, and bologna which have high level of fat (Roth et al. 1997).
11.3 Health Concerns of Meat
Although meat is a preferred food, it is also having some negative aspects such as
high calorie and high fat content which impacts the human health. The main demerit
of the consumption of red meat is its increased rate of mortality. This has been
reported by several studies (Pan et al. 2012; Rohrmann et al. 2013). Moreover, it is
environmentally unfriendly by its inefficient land use and also the level of greenhouse gases it emits (McMichael et al. 2007). Green activists, People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) like organizations, and some religious ritualistic features also condemn the use of animals for the meat production. Policy makers are
also in association with these organizations which emphasize customers to make a
shift toward sustainable products (Malav et al. 2015).
Even though the nutritional value of meat makes it as a prominent food source,
excessive intake of meat is not recommended due to its high fat content (Muguerza
et al. 2004, Cengiz and Gokoglu 2005). Apart from essential amino acids, vitamins,
M. Bhuvaneswari and N. Sivakumar
challenges have to be addressed immediately to improve the public health by
improving and providing healthy food and nutritional security. In this scenario, the
following questions are arising: whether a suitable meat substituent can be identified? If at all identified whether it can be a complete alternative for the meat? Will
people recognize and accept these alternatives? This book chapter will answer few
of these questions, and the prime answer will be fungal mycoproteins.
11.2 Importance of Meat
Worldwide, nonvegetarian consumers prefer meat as their first choice of consumption. This is because the meat is a tasty, juicy, flavor-rich, chewy-textured food with
high nutritional value. Justification of meat consumption mainly relies on Ns, i.e., it
is natural, normal, necessary, and nice (Piazza et al. 2015). Moreover, people rely on
meat for its taste and variety (Asgar et al. 2010). It is considered as the food with the
highest protein source and high biological values of vitamins and minerals. The role
of proteins present in the meat is having two main features: (i) The meat protein
contains all essential amino acids more or less closely resembling the needs of
human body, making it as more nutritious and preferable, and (ii) the functional
properties of meat proteins cannot be reproduced by any other food proteins in the
food industry (Xiong 2004).
Food industry also produces various processed meats such as slathered and marinated meat, restructured meat rolls and loaves, luncheon meats, boneless ham, sausage, frankfurters, 30% fat bologna, etc. The food industries use not only the muscle
meat but also the other parts of the animals to produce products such as sausages,
hams, and bologna which have high level of fat (Roth et al. 1997).
11.3 Health Concerns of Meat
Although meat is a preferred food, it is also having some negative aspects such as
high calorie and high fat content which impacts the human health. The main demerit
of the consumption of red meat is its increased rate of mortality. This has been
reported by several studies (Pan et al. 2012; Rohrmann et al. 2013). Moreover, it is
environmentally unfriendly by its inefficient land use and also the level of greenhouse gases it emits (McMichael et al. 2007). Green activists, People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) like organizations, and some religious ritualistic features also condemn the use of animals for the meat production. Policy makers are
also in association with these organizations which emphasize customers to make a
shift toward sustainable products (Malav et al. 2015).
Even though the nutritional value of meat makes it as a prominent food source,
excessive intake of meat is not recommended due to its high fat content (Muguerza
et al. 2004, Cengiz and Gokoglu 2005). Apart from essential amino acids, vitamins,
M. Bhuvaneswari and N. Sivakumar