Fungi: A Potential Future Meat Substitute

Abstract

The consumption of meat is increasing continuously throughout the world. The growing meat industries causes environmental issues and demands more water and energy use in addition to the emission of unwanted gases during the meat production. Though the nutritional value of meat makes it as a preferable food, excessive intake is not suggested due to its high fat content. In addition, the meat industry struggles to cope up with the increasing demand for the meat. Hence, it is necessary to produce nutrient-rich meat substitutes to reduce the above issues. However, the development of meat substitutes is at the early stages of development. The main sources of meat alternatives can be plants, animals, or microbial products. Among the microbes, the fungal biomass formed by the growth of filamentous fungi serves as a rich source of mycoprotein that can be processed and used as human food. This chapter discusses the importance of meat and sustainable diet, the need of searching for meat alternatives, the importance of artificial meat, types of nonmeat proteins and their limitations, mycoprotein as meat a substitute and its production, and the future of meat substitutes.