Meat Replacer products are a current and future problem for the beef industry. They take claim to have a better more satisfying product than beef. I heard at a cattlemen’s meeting in Joplin Mo, meat replacers increased by 22% in 2018 turning into a 1.5 billion dollar industry, as you can see this is a very big problem for the beef industry at large(Popper Nathaniel). The beef industry has shrunk by almost 500 million dollars since meat replacer products surfaced in the 2000s(Popper Nathaniel). This is a real threat to the beef industry because of the growth of the meat replacer products and the decrease in demand for beef products.

I am a little biased when it comes to Veggie Vs Beef. I believe beef is better tasting and better for you. I also understand why there is a demand for meat replacer products. One of those reasons for the demand for meat replacer products. I’ve learned that there is a disease contracted from the Lone Star or Texas tick. This disease causes a red meat allergy in which you will have an allergic reaction to eating red meat. Also with this comes people who don't really like the taste of beef. This is a small percent of the population so why are meat replacers in such high demand.

The high demand is causing competition for the beef industry. This competition between veggies and beef will cause the price of and profits to boost higher than they already are which will bring in more competition for both industries.

The meat replacer industry provides big present and future problems and benefits for the beef industry. We have to be ready the only way we can keep our profits high is by producing higher quality products like grass-fed or grass-finished beef. We can also reduce the number of feedlots. From my own experience if you go out on the Kansas/Oklahoma border on the Panhandle there's nothing but giant feedlots for about 150 miles, it stinks and is honestly disgusting. I've worked in chicken barns for years and even those don’t smell half as bad as it does out there. It’s places like that, that give the beef industry a bad name and causes people to be more attracted to Vegan products. If we don’t fix these problems consumers will continue to be more attracted to the clean, violence-free meat replacer products.

Veggie burger and beef burger nutrition facts. Your average beef burger has 20 grams of protein while a veggie burgers average out at 13 grams(Harrison Jamie). Your average veggie burger has 5 grams of fiber while beef has basically none(Harrison Jamie). Veggie has almost no saturated fat while beef has almost 20 grams(Harrison Jamie). These are just a few benefits to both veggies and beef.

Works Cited

Harrison, Jamie. "A Breakdown of What's Inside Your Veggie Burger." Spoon University, 14 June 2016, spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/breakdown-whats-inside-veggie-burger.

Popper, Nathaniel. "You Call That Meat? Not So Fast, Cattle Ranchers Say." The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Feb. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/02/09/technology/meat-veggie-burgers-lab-produced.html.

Drehle, David Von. "The Impossible Burger Is a Wake-up Call to the Meat Industry." The Washington Post, WP Company, 5 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/has-the-impossible-burger-pushed-america-to-peak-meat/2019/04/05/72235e52-57cc-11e9-9136-f8e636f1f6df_story.html.