At the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show, plant-based titan Impossible Foods unveiled a much-anticipated new product: Impossible Pork. In January, another new creation, Impossible Sausage, was slated to sell at select Burger Kings across the US in the form of a breakfast croissant, but both of these Impossible additions have since been delayed. At CES, many were excited about a new type of plant-based meat; thanks to the runaway success of mostly “beef”-centric brands like the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat, pork seemed like a fresh new idea.
But plant-based pork isn’t exactly a novelty — it’s long been a part of vegetarian food cultures in Asia, and with the advent of better technology, today it can even taste (almost) like the real thing.
In 2012, Hong Kong-based food startup Green Monday launched with the goal of promoting a vegetarian lifestyle in a decidedly omnivorous culture. But while meat plays a prominent part in East Asian cuisines — something that Green Monday is hoping to influence — mock meat has actually been a part…