The reasons behind the rise of alternative proteins like plant-based burgers go beyond nutrition into social and emotional considerations, according to Charlie Arnot, CEO of the Center for Food Integrity.

Consumers want greater trans­parency in knowing how their food is produced, putting particular emphasis on factors like environmental sustainability and animal well-being, he said.

“People are beginning to vote their values with their pocketbook,” Arnot said at the Iowa Farm Bureau Young Farmer Conference. 

That’s led to the emergence of plant-based meat imitators...