Less meat, more plants on the plates in 2022

Even though most of us cannot imagine life without meat, limiting its consumption is an undeniable trend around the world. Research shows that this attitude lowers the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. It is also beneficial for our planet due to lower greenhouse gas emissions. In the following article, we indicate that the veggie movement is only one of the trends of conscious eating. Radical giving up meat is not a must.

Planetary Diet: Satisfying Your Appetite with Mother Earth in Mind.

One of the trends that will enjoy growing popularity in the coming year is the planetary diet. This nutritional approach assumes a diversification of the menu with the dominant share of legumes, nuts, fish, grains, and fruit and vegetables.

The idea behind this style of eating is to consume meals with your health and planet in mind. According to scientists, in the current model of food production, meat production is responsible for 60% of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. The planetary diet helps to reduce this number.

People who are terrified by the thought of giving up pork chops can rest easy - the planetary diet doesn't require it.  However, it is recommended that animal products only supplement the diet.
 

Functional food: health on the plate

Another trend related to healthy eating, which will continue to gain popularity, is the looking for functional products in our diets. Products whose purpose - in addition to satisfying hunger itself - is to improve our physical and mental health, as well as to prevent the emergence of various diseases.

It should be emphasized that we are not talking about enriched food with vitamins or minerals. Functional products in themselves have a beneficial effect on human health. In the case of this group of products, there are several areas where they are to affect the human body.

• Functional foods are rich in nutrients such as vitamins, minerals as well as healthy fatty acids and fibre.
• These products protect against the development of diseases, including by reducing inflammation or improving cognitive functions.
• They support child development in the early years of life through the presence of ingredients such as: vitamin D3, Omega-3 fatty acids, zinc and folic acid.

Functional food covers a long list of products whose health-promoting properties have been confirmed by research. These include fish meat rich in omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, white tuna, halibut), turmeric, apple cider vinegar, ginger, avocado oil, walnuts, xylitol, spinach, oats, whole grains, beans, olive oil, green tea.

It is easy to see that functional foods and the planetary diet are closely related terms. In fact, functional foods are components of the planetary diet.
 

Meat and fish analogs: longing for the well-liked flavor.

According to the research, as many as 7% of Poles in the 18-29 age group are on a vegetarian diet, and 1% are vegans. For many people, the reason for giving up meat is not its taste. On the contrary: many people miss him. This means that a huge field is created here for the production of plant-based products, which reflects the taste qualities of meat products. 

Thanks to the available technologies, it is possible to give vegetable products the characteristics of meat - both in taste and in texture. The ingredients that most often serve as a meat substitute are vegetable proteins, wheat gluten, soybeans and other legumes. 

PROMAR follows the current trends and behaviours of consumers, and makes food products  based on plant ingredients that are difficult to distinguish with taste and aroma from food of animal origin. Oftentimes, those who eat meat on a regular basis are surprised that our plant-based products reflect these characteristics so well. 

For many years, PROMAR has already noticed the growing interest in veggie trends and each year enriches its offer with new plant substitutes for traditional dishes of animal origin.