Plant-based protein not thought of as comfort food

Photographs of grocery sections with empty meat and poultry sections but still filled with plant-based meat alternatives have been plentiful on the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Traditional meat products are likely being consumed more during the COVID-19 pandemic than alternative proteins, largely because meat alternatives just don't resonate with people as comfort foods, dietitian Nicole Rodriguez says. (Lance Kidwell | Freeimages.com)
Traditional meat products are likely being consumed more during the COVID-19 pandemic than alternative proteins, largely because meat alternatives just don't resonate with people as comfort foods, dietitian Nicole Rodriguez says. (Lance Kidwell | Freeimages.com)

Photographs of grocery sections with empty meat and poultry sections but still filled with plant-based meat alternatives have been plentiful on the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asked why the demand for meat alternatives has not been so high in recent weeks, Enjoy Food Enjoy Life’s Nicole Rodriguez, a registered dietitian and certified personal trainer, said the fact that traditional meat and poultry may be disappearing from the stores at a faster pace, simply because it is not what might be referred to as “comfort food.”

And at a time when people do not necessarily feel they have control over certain facets of their lives, they do want to feel comfortable with what they are eating.

“We’re in a time of comfort, we’re in a time of resurgence of middle-of-the aisle purchases,” Rodriguez, said while speaking during the Animal Agriculture Alliance Virtual Stakeholder Summit session, “Conversations that Cultivate Trust: Staking Your Claim on the Plant-Based Plate” on May 7.

People’s connection with food is very personal, Rodriguez said, and memories are a strong tie between food and comfort, which leaves out plant-based proteins.

“Some of these plant-based alternatives do not have enough of that history with the average consumers, because these are relatively new skews,” she said. “If I had to guess, I’d say there are very few individuals sitting back now and saying, ‘Oh wow, I remember that time with my grandma having the Impossible Burger.’ That’s just not a conversation that’s being had. It’s probably not desirous as a comfort food at this moment.”

Rodriguez acknowledged that there was a relative demand for meat and poultry alternatives during the pre-COVID-19 era, but a high percentage of the people purchasing those products “were largely meat-eaters who were delving into and experimenting into some of these plant-based alternatives.”

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