Author: Julie Pollock, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Richmond

When you bite into a juicy hamburger, slice into the perfect medium-rare steak or gobble down a plateful of chicken nuggets, your senses are most likely responding to the food’s smell, taste, texture and color. For a long time, these four attributes set meat apart from other food groups. But in recent years, food companies have started to focus on the development of meat alternatives. Many people believe that transitioning away from meat-heavy diets can help with environmental sustainability as well as improve their own health. The two main focuses of research have been on plant-based meat alternatives and lab-grown…