Capturing the Same Taste of Meat…Without the Meat

But he missed the taste and texture of meat so much that he got together with scientists and chefs to create plant substitutes that capture both.

The reason there are relatively few vegetarians in many parts of the world “is not that people want to eat less sustainably, less healthily, and don’t care about animal welfare, but because they are hooked on meat,” Korteweg told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Rearing animals is a major driver of climate change—making up nearly 15 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions—and raising meat makes less efficient use of land and water than growing crops, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

While governments and scientists are looking at ways to cut back on emissions from animal farming, many experts say cutting demand for meat—particularly in wealthy countries—is what would make a big difference in combating climate change.

Mushroom Burger?

Cutting back doesn’t necessarily mean giving up meat, seen as tastier than a plate of vegetables, researchers say.

If all hamburgers eaten in the U.S. could be made of a blend of 70 percent beef and 30 percent mushrooms, for instance, it would save as many emissions as taking 2.3 million cars off the road, according to research by the World Resources Institute (WRI).

It would also save water equivalent to that used in 2.6 million American homes, and reduce the agricultural land needed to produce the burgers by an area larger than the U.S. state of Maryland, or the size of the nation of Belgium, WRI said.

“Because of the umami taste and extra moisture of mushrooms, you can end up with a better tasting burger—and it’s healthier,” said Daniel Vennard, director of the Better Buying Lab at WRI.

The part-mushroom burgers, pioneered in the U.S., where WRI estimates about 10 billion burgers are eaten each year, are now available to buy in supermarkets, and are served in some schools and office canteens as well.

On March 5, the burgers will also launch at SONIC drive-in fast-food chains around the U.S. The restaurant said it will roll out the part-mushroom burgers in all of its restaurants.

“It’s beginning to really grow in the United States. It’s getting a lot of industry and consumer traction, and we think it has the opportunity to be a global solution,” said Vennard.

Cut The Label

Eating too much meat has been linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers, pushing some governments, including China, to encourage people to cut back.

But labeling foods as “vegetarian” or “healthy” can put off shoppers and people in restaurants, some researchers say.

Linda Bacon, a behavioral scientist and former global strategy director at Mars, Inc., has studied how people’s choices in a restaurant depend on where vegetarian dishes are placed on a menu.

She found that when pea risotto and ricotta and spinach ravioli were clustered at the end of the menu under the heading “Vegetarian dishes,” people were 56 percent less likely to order them than if they were listed as the first and last dish on a unified menu—one that also included king prawns, fish and chips, steak, and hamburgers.

“This and other similar research shows that restaurateurs can influence their customers to eat more vegetables and less meat,” she wrote in a blog post. “All they need to do is change the design of the menu.”

Succulent Names

Using decadent-sounding descriptions also boosts sales of vegetable dishes, according to researchers at Stanford University.