The BBC has described plant-based meat substitutes being sold in China as “fake meat.”
As lockdown restrictions from Coronavirus start to lift, restaurants around the country are re-opening.
Among these restaurants are American franchises KFC and Starbucks. As part of their new menus, Starbucks in China is offering plant-based meat alternatives.
Meanwhile, KFC will be offering meat-free chicken nuggets.
US plant-based meat company Beyond Meat said it had “seen the growing demand for plant-based meat in China.”
Partnering with Starbucks, Beyond Meat is offering three meals across 3,300 Starbucks in China.
On Beyond Meat’s website, the company describes its products as “plant-based”, not “fake.”
“Our mission is to create The Future of Protein® – delicious plant-based burgers, beef, sausage, crumbles, and more,” the company’s website reads.
China has a notoriously stereotypical reputation for making “fake” products.
Recently, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer is blaming China because he bought a “fake” PS4 controller.
Shaun Rein from China Market Research Group also emphasised the demand for “non-meat” products, not “fake meat” products.
“The demand for healthier, non-meat proteins is not as high in China as in the US because Chinese already eat more vegetables as part of their daily diet than Americans and Europeans,” Rein said. |It’s relatively rare for Chinese to say they are vegetarians.”
In related news, a UK Chinese takeaway was vandalised with “vile” racist graffiti.
