2023半岛星空体育·(中国)官方网站英语：《经济学人》中英读译Day228

Firms are experimenting with ever more novel ingredients in the search for meat- and dairy-like properties that will attract ever more shoppers.TerViva, an American startup, is using the oil of pongamia, an Asian tree, to mimic butter.ChickP, an Israeli firm, is using chickpea extracts to mimic the texture and nutritional value of eggs in mayonnaise.Firms are also getting better at turning such bounty into consumer products.There are now ways of using corn protein to make plant-based cheese alternatives melt and stretch.Better products and lower prices--the result of both improved manufacturing techniques and scale--have coincided with the rise of “flexitarians”, who forgo meat but not always.Some are trying to cut saturated fat for health reasons--a trend fuelled by the pandemic.

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企业正在试验更多新奇的配料，以寻找类似肉类和乳制品的特性，来吸引更多消费者。美国初创公司TerViva正在使用亚洲树水黄皮的油来仿制黄油。以色列公司ChickP正在使用鹰嘴豆提取物来模仿蛋黄酱中鸡蛋的质地和营养价值。企业也越来越善于将这种额外盈利品转化为消费品。现在有一些方法可以利用玉米蛋白来使植物性奶酪替代品具备可融化性和可拉伸性。更好的产品和更低的价格——生产技术和规模改进的结果——恰逢“弹性素食主义者”的兴起，他们不吃肉，但并非一直不吃。出于健康原因，一些人正试图减少摄入饱和脂肪--这一趋势因疫情而加剧。

Fitness fanatics on faddish diets want to develop bulging muscles without building up cholesterol.Concerns about animal welfare and greenhouse-gas emissions from rearing livestock are driving the climate-conscious to limit their animal-derived intake; producing a gram of beef generates 25 times the volume of greenhouse-gas emissions as producing a gram of tofu.For all the advantages, making a plant not taste like a plant takes work, and ultra-processed substitutes seldom match animal proteins in nutritional value.Plant-based junk food is still junk.Soya is a common allergen and can have a disruptive effect on hormones.Green-minded consumers are realising that plant-based does not necessarily mean sustainable.Farming almonds to make a milk-like drink, for example, uses huge quantities of water.

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追求时尚饮食的健身狂热者希望在不增加胆固醇的情况下练出膨胀的肌肉。对动物福利和饲养家畜产生的温室气体排放的担忧，正在驱使具有气候意识的人限制动物源性成分的摄入量；生产一克牛肉产生的温室气体排放量是生产一克豆腐的25倍。尽管有上述这些好处，但要让植物吃起来不像植物是需要付出努力的，而且超加工替代品在营养价值上很少能与动物蛋白相媲美。植物性垃圾食品仍然是垃圾食品。大豆是一种常见的过敏原，会对荷尔蒙产生干扰作用。有环保意识的消费者正逐渐意识到，植物性并不一定意味着可持续。例如，种植杏仁来制作类似牛奶的饮料需要消耗大量的水。

As inflation rises, even diehard flexitarians may turn into omnivores, and pick either the real deal (cheaper than faux animal proteins) or veg (cheaper still).Plant-based proteins are also a tough sell in giant markets like India, where diets are already plant-rich, or Nigeria, where meat-eating is a sign of wealth.That limits their global appeal.And animal products, including milk, are better for children’s bone development and nurturing gut bacteria, though lab-grown versions of meat and dairy are becoming more nutritious.All this suggests that alternative proteins have far to go to replace the animal kind.The limitations may be weighing on the firms involved.Oatly’s market value has fallen by about 80% since its listing, partly because of production difficulties.That of Beyond Meat, whose burgers feature in McDonald’s McPlant sandwich, is down by 90% from its peak in 2019.Sales slowed in 2021 and losses widened to $100m in the first quarter of 2022, compared with $27m a year earlier.Plant-based foods may no longer be only an appetiser in diets, but their makers remain one in the food business.

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随着通货膨胀加剧，即使是顽固的弹性素食主义者也可能变成杂食者，要么选择比人造动物蛋白便宜的真正的食物，要么选择更便宜的蔬菜。在印度和尼日利亚这样的大市场，植物性蛋白质也很难卖。在印度，人们的饮食已经富含素食，而在尼日利亚，吃肉是财富的象征。这限制了它们在全球的吸引力。尽管实验室培育的肉类和乳制品正变得更有营养，但包括牛奶在内的动物制品更有利于儿童的骨骼发育和肠道细菌的培养。所有这些都表明，替代蛋白质要取代动物蛋白质还有很长的路要走。这些限制可能会给相关企业带来压力。自上市以来，噢麦力的市值下跌了约80%，部分原因是生产困难。别样肉客的夹心牛肉饼是麦当劳素肉三明治的特色，该公司与2019年的峰值相比下降了90%。2021年销售额增速放缓，2022年第一季度亏损扩大至1亿美元，去年同期为2700万美元。植物性食品可能不再只是饮食中的开胃菜，但它们的制造商仍然是食品行业的一员。