Asian appetite grows for fishless fish balls, meat-free rendang

Test for plant-based food comes as top market, U.S., loses taste for veggie burgers

20230926 beef rendang

An employee of U.S. agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland's plant-based innovation lab in Singapore prepares faux-chicken satay. © AFP/Jiji

NITHIN COCA, Contributing writer

TOKYO -- Americans are losing their appetite for meatless hamburgers and chicken nuggets, prompting plant-based food companies to bank on Asia as the sector's future.

The downturn in the top U.S. market has been bruising for leading California-based operator Impossible Foods, which in 2016 launched its flagship Impossible Burger. Many thought this was the beginning of a protein transformation that could upend the $897 billion global meat industry.

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