Stanford study compares the mechanical and sensory properties of plant-based and animal meat products.

From left: Skyler St. Pierre, Marc Levenston, Ellen Kuhl, Reese Dunne, Ethan Darwin, Valerie Perez Medina, and Divya Adil pose with the meat and plant-based meat they analyzed © Kurt Hickman

Science

Stanford Engineers Develop 3D Texture Tests to Make Plant-Based Meat with “Precisely Desired” Properties

Stanford University engineers have developed a new AI model for food texture testing to improve the sensory experience of plant-based meat and encourage wider acceptance, especially among meat lovers. The researchers say the method could accelerate the development of appealing vegan alternatives by replacing trial-and-error approaches with a systematic, data-driven strategy that can tailor specific features to match consumer expectations. “Instead of using a trial-and-error approach to improve the texture of plant-based meat, we could envision using generative artificial intelligence to scientifically generate recipes for plant-based meat products with precisely desired properties,” the authors state. Testing the “mechanical signature” In the study published in Science of Food, the researchers show how they used a combination of mechanical testing and machine learning to measure and replicate …

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Fruits/ Vegetables/ Healthy Food

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Health

Study: Vegan Diets Can Improve Cardiovascular Health Within Two Months

A new study by Stanford Medicine has explored the effects of vegan diets on cardiovascular health over an eight-week period. The study took 22 pairs of identical twins without cardiovascular disease, placing one twin from each pair on a balanced omnivorous diet and the other on a vegan diet. For the first four weeks, the participants received meals from a delivery service; for the final four, they prepared their own meals. A registered dietitian was on call to give nutritional advice and suggestions. The results show considerable health benefits to a vegan diet, particularly regarding low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. LDL-C transports cholesterol around the body, and should ideally be below 100 mg/DL. At the beginning of the study, participants in the vegan group had …

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cows animal agriculture

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Politics & Law

How Meat and Dairy Industry Lobbying is Stifling Alt Protein Production

An analysis by Stanford University has examined how meat and dairy industry lobbying is stifling the alt protein sector. Published in the journal One Earth, the study reviews agricultural policies from 2014 to 2020, finding that most agricultural funding is consistently devoted to livestock and feed production systems. In the U.S., about 800 times more public funding and 190 times more lobbying money goes to animal products than to plant-based or cultivated alternatives, while the meat and dairy industries are actively attempting to suppress environmental issues and regulations. The situation in the EU is similar, with about 1,200 times more public funding and three times more lobbying money going to animal products than alternatives. Furthermore, EU cattle producers rely on subsidies for at least 50% …

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