Are there any vegan meat alternatives made from fungi or mycelium?

by Sandy
(Kansas City)

QUESTION:

I started out as a vegetarian, and now want to go vegan. But I still want to be able to use meat alternatives when planning meals.

It may sound weird, but as someone who hasn’t eaten meat for years, I still like to be able to make something that feels and tastes like a burger. Or even chicken nuggets!

Anyway, also a fan of mushrooms and fungi. So I wanted to know if there were vegan meat alternatives made from fungi.

Any suggestions?


ANSWER:

Sandy, hi

Good news! Yes, you can find plenty of vegan meat alternatives that are made from fungi or mycelium.

Given the current demand, many popular vegan proteins are in short supply.

In response, smart food manufacturers have been looking for new vegan meat alternatives. The latest of these plant-based protein alternatives are fungi.

Vegan food companies typically use a fermentation process to grow mycoprotein from fungi. They then use this mycoprotein in their various vegan products, like meatless burgers. And some of them make chicken nuggets too… just for you!

Here are a couple of examples of vegan meat companies that use fungi as their primary source of protein to create tasty cruelty-free meats.

Quorn makes meat alternatives by fermenting a fungus called Fusarium venenatum. It then uses the output to make fungus-based alternatives to chicken and ground beef.

Another company in this space is Meati. They use mycelium as the base of their meat alternative. Their final product is 95% mushroom mycelium.

Do a search online and you’ll find plenty of other options.

One more thing… if you want something truly vegan, be sure to read the packaging carefully. Some of these products are vegetarian, but not vegan.

Happy hunting!