What Is the Role of Plant-Based Alternatives to Animal Foods in the Great Food Transformation: A Narrative Review

TL;DR

This review explores how plant-based alternatives to animal foods can help shift diets but warns of potential nutritional risks.

Contribution

The paper highlights the nutritional trade-offs and policy implications of using plant-based alternatives in the Great Food Transformation.

Findings

Substituting animal foods with plant-based alternatives may lead to micronutrient deficiencies in some populations.

Soy-based alternatives are most similar to animal dairy in nutritional content.

Plant-based meat alternatives often have higher carbohydrates and sodium than meat.

Abstract

Several plant-based alternatives to animal foods (PBAFs) have been introduced to the market in the past decade to provide consumers with an easy substitution for animal protein. Despite the extensive literature on the nutritional composition of these plant-based products, these products must be assessed considering their impacts on diets, the environment, and society. This critical review aims to evaluate the role of plant-based alternatives to animal foods in the Great Food Transformation and their potential health effects. Results of 9 diet modeling studies have indicated that substituting animal foods with plant-based alternatives would put certain populations at risk of inadequate intake of micronutrients, particularly of bioavailable iron, vitamin B12, calcium, and iodine. Nutritional composition studies have shown that meat alternatives are generally similar to meat in protein and micronutrient content but with higher carbohydrates and sodium. Milk and yoghurt alternatives made from cereals, coconut, and nuts have significantly lower protein levels compared with their animal counterparts, whereas soy-based alternatives are the most comparable to animal dairy products. This review shows that there are nutritional pitfalls from the substitution of animal foods with PBAFs. There is a window of opportunity to use these industrially produced foods to improve nutrition. This review concluded that PBAFs could be used to ease the Great Food Transformation by providing foods that resemble function and appearance to consumers, by offering familiar tastes and dishes. Moreover, PBAFs should be considered in future nutritional policies.