 Over 85% of the world's population consumes meat. Whether it's beef from Central Europe, fish from South Asia, or mutton from Northern Africa, meat is a staple in the diets of most cultures around the world. However, increasing rates of vegetarianism and veganism may change that percentage over the coming years. While some people refrain from eating meat due to religious reasons, many are doing it due to ethical or health reasons. Whatever the case may be, the trend of people switching away from meat consumption means a larger market for meat alternatives. This brings up many questions. What exactly are meat alternatives? Do they negatively affect the environment? And most importantly, are they healthy for you? Meat alternatives are nothing new and have been around for centuries in many different cultures. Historically, meat alternatives have been made with local ingredients so that people don't have to radically change their diets to consume them. Traditional Chinese meat alternatives, for example, are made using tofu and mushrooms. Given that the main reasons many people switch to vegetarianism or veganism is for health and ethical reasons, this seems like a great option, both healthy and ethical. However, the current craze for meat alternatives in the West have resulted in products manufactured with many unhealthy additives, such as maltodextrin, pea protein isolate, refined coconut oil, and lots of added salt. It may be ethical, but it's far from healthy. Staying on the topic of unhealthy additives, many of the meat products we eat are pumped with them. Large segments of the population are not able to afford pure meat products. As such, they eat so-called meat that may only really contain 50 to 75% pure meat. The rest consists of unhealthy additives, such as wheat, gluten, dextrose, and pea protein, very similar to what many meat alternatives also contain. As it seems, both meat and meat alternatives have the potential to consist of natural products, but oftentimes also contain unhealthy additives, which greatly reduces the health of both. Despite chemical additives in meat products, there are some natural chemicals of concern that form as a result of meat metabolism. One such chemical is trimethylamine anoxide, also known as TMAO, which is formed from the metabolism of certain nutrients in red meat products like beef, pork, and mutton. Research has been conducted to show that TMAO helps build up cholesterol on arterial walls in addition to disrupting normal clotting mechanisms that increase the risk of a heart attack and stroke. The Cleveland Clinic conducted a clinical trial in which subjects were given diets consisting of red meat, white meat, and non-meat products. Some were given saturated fat diets as well. Upon conclusion of the trial, it was found that the red meat diet increased TMAO levels threefold. It was also found that saturated fat did not significantly affect TMAO levels. Finally, upon stopping the red meat diet, TMAO levels were shown to have decreased in the individual. In addition to this trial, a study conducted by the University of Oxford found that eating processed meat of any kind doubled the risk of heart disease as compared to the risk associated with eating unprocessed red meat. Even though certain health benefits in terms of nutrients do exist, dieticians still recommend limiting red meat consumption. The evidence isn't concrete, but does point towards increased risk of heart disease. The meat industry is a multi-billion dollar industry employing millions of people and processing billions of pounds of meat. The United States meat industry contributed over $1 trillion in economic output in 2016, which is almost 5.6% of the country's GDP. This accounted for over 42 billion pounds of chicken, 26 billion pounds of beef, 25 billion pounds of pork, 6 billion pounds of turkey, and 150 million pounds of lamb and mutton. Given the size of the industry, how many people it employs and the amount of people it feeds around the world, the pushback against meat will receive equal, if not greater resistance from the meat industry. Whatever the case, the multi-billion dollar meat industry isn't going away anytime soon. While more and more people continue to stop meat consumption, the industry continues processing billions of pounds of meat. In the end, it is a matter of personal choice with risks and benefits associated with both. We hope you enjoyed this episode of The Science Verse and as always, stay tuned for more science videos.