The arrival of plant-based meats at chains including A&W and Tim Hortons is just the first step towards mainstream sustainable eating for Blair Bullus.
The Vancouver flexitarian and businessman has his eye on the next frontier: Fish and seafood alternatives that B次元官网网址� like products made by Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods B次元官网网址� mimic the look and taste of the real thing for pescatarians not quite ready to give up sashimi.
ItB次元官网网址檚 still a nascent movement, but Bullus points to faux experiments that have popped up in recent years, ranging from chickpea-based B次元官网网址渢unaB次元官网网址� to carefully carved smoked carrot B次元官网网址渟almon.B次元官网网址�
BullusB次元官网网址� company Top Tier Foods Inc. actually sells quinoa, including an especially sticky variety designed to replace rice in vegan sushi rolls that otherwise donB次元官网网址檛 have the protein and omega-3 fatty acids of fish.
ItB次元官网网址檚 available at the Quebec City-based chain Yuzu Sushi where customers can pair it with faux ahi tuna B次元官网网址� a coral-red facsimile carved out of Roma tomatoes. Known as Ahimi, itB次元官网网址檚 made by New YorkB次元官网网址檚 Ocean Hugger Foods.
Bullus doesnB次元官网网址檛 expect to fool sushi eaters with the combination, but he hopes it can at least assuage any nutritional and environmental concerns by those who ditch fish.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just becoming easier to make those decisions so you donB次元官网网址檛 necessarily have to give up sushi or you donB次元官网网址檛 have to necessarily give up your salmon and avocado roll,B次元官网网址� Bullus says.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e going to have an alternative that has the same mouth-feel as what youB次元官网网址檙e used to.B次元官网网址�
Whether the average omnivore is ready to give up their salmon and shrimp has yet to really be tested.
READ MORE:
Efforts to produce realistic sushi-grade varieties are dwarfed by the research, funding and marketing push behind plant-based and lab-grown beef, says Bruce Friedrich, co-founder and executive director of the Good Food Institute.
Nevertheless, he says seafood alternatives are just as necessary, describing the environmental impact of commercial fishing as B次元官网网址渁t least as bad as cattle-ranchingB次元官网网址� and akin to B次元官网网址渢he strip-mining of our oceans.B次元官网网址� He also lambastes aquaculture for its use of antibiotics.
B次元官网网址淚f these were terrestrial farming practices, people would be horrified,B次元官网网址� says Friedrich, whose Washington, D.C.-based institute has funded open-sourced research into plant-based projects at the University of Manitoba and University of Guelph, as well as research on lab-grown meat B次元官网网址� also known as cell-based meat B次元官网网址� at the University of Toronto.
B次元官网网址淥bviously, you know the link between seafood and human slavery, the pathetically lax regulation of the seafood industry to the degree that you donB次元官网网址檛 even know what youB次元官网网址檙e getting, the amount of mercury and dioxin and lead and other forms of contamination. This is an industry that is ripe for transformation.B次元官网网址�
RELATED:
In Canada, Maple Leaf Foods said earlier this year it is investing heavily in plant-based products, although itB次元官网网址檚 not clear if any of that will involve faux fish. GardeinB次元官网网址檚 line of meatless foods include a breaded B次元官网网址渇ishless filetB次元官网网址� and breaded B次元官网网址渃rabless cakes.B次元官网网址�
Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press
Like us on and follow us on
