Can meat-free nuggets challenge chicken on the UK high street?

theguardian.com:

It is being called the year of the nugget as plant-based “chicken” nuggets that claim to be “better for you and the planet” compete with the real thing in UK chicken shops.

A new brand of faux nuggets, made by the high-profile US plant-based food company Impossible Foods, arrived on the high street this week and will be rolled out to thousands of takeaways, restaurants and pubs, as well as supermarkets, within the year.

Impossible Foods founder Patrick Brown said the company, which is worth about $7bn (£5.6bn) and has a star-studded cast of investors including Bill Gates, Jay-Z and Katy Perry, that it was possible to make meat from plants that is more sustainable, nutritious and delicious than animal products.

The former Stanford University biochemistry professor said: “Our mission is to completely replace the use of animals in the food system globally by 2035 and I would say we’re gonna do it. Every single day, we’re getting better and more efficient and the cow is not, and the pig is not, and the chicken is not.”

Impossible is better known for its faux burger which Brown describes as a “knock your socks off” product. However, soy leghemoglobin – known as heme – the secret ingredient it uses to create the “meaty” taste is produced by genetically modified yeast and has not been approved by the Food Standards Agency, which is considering its application.

Chicken is the country’s most popular meat, with consumption levels far outstripping beef, lamb or pork and, while less popular than burger chains, the UK’s more than 3,500 chicken shops sold close to £2bn worth of fried chicken wings, poppers and nuggets last year, according to market researchers Mintel. However the popularity of these cheap and filling foods is seen as a