It's one of the many tests Beyond Meat puts its burgers through, but why?

這是「超越肉品公司」眾多肉品測驗的其中一個項目，但為什麼要這麼做呢？

Alternative meat sales have increased across the globe.

全球替代性肉品的銷量急遽上升。

The market is set to reach 6.3 billion in revenue by 2023.

估計在 2023 年之前，市場的營收就會達到 63 億美元。

UK-based company Quorn has been making meat substitutes since 1985, and it's on course to become a billion dollar company.

以英國為據點的 Quorn 公司自從 1985 年起就開始製作替代性肉品，現在也躋身為市值 10 億美元的公司。

Legacy meat brand are trying to get a slice of the pie, too.

傳統的肉品公司現在也想分一杯羹。

Tyson Foods, the largest meat producer in the US, was part of a 55 million round of investment in Beyond Meat.

美國第一大肉品商——泰森食品公司，就是超越肉品公司 5500 萬美元投資的其中一員。

The reason for all this growth?

替代性肉品急遽成長的原因何在？

Flexitarians.

彈性素食者。

Or, those who seek protein alternatives.

或是說那些尋求植物性蛋白質的人。

In the United States, at least 6% of people consider themselves vegan.

在美國至少有 6% 的人認為自己是素食主義者。

But in 2014, it was only 1%, and business is booming globally.

但在 2014 年，只有 1% 的素食者，而這筆素肉生意正蓬勃發展。

The demand for vegan meat exploded by 451% in Europe.

在歐洲，人們對素肉的需求激增了 451%。

Another reason for the surge in meat alternatives is the environmental impact from greenhouse gases.

另一個替代性肉類需求增加的原因是因為溫室氣體造成的環境衝擊。

About a third of which, come from emissions from livestock.

大約有三分之一的溫室氣體都是來自家畜。

Alternative meat companies are creating products to help dial back on meat consumption.

製造替代性肉品的公司希望能研發相關產品，讓肉類的消耗量減少。

And by doing so, we're changing how we see meat.

藉此，我們看待肉的態度也會有所改變。

Do you need an animal to produce a piece of meat and we've found that you really don't.

你真的需要動物作為提供你肉品的來源嗎？我們發現其實不然。

What you need is essentially four things; it's amino acids, it's lipids, it's trace minerals and it's predominantly water.

基本上你只需要這四樣東西：氨基酸、脂質、微量的礦物質和絕大多數的水。

What we can do is take those same core components from plants and assemble them through using heating, cooling and pressure into a piece of meat.

我們可以從植物中取得這些主要的原料，用加熱的方式將它們重組起來，再將它冷卻並壓成肉餅。

Brands like Beyond Meat say they don't want to be known as meat alternatives.

超越肉品公司表示他們並不想被定義為「替代性」肉品公司。

They're sold in the meat section at Whole Foods, and to them, what they're making is meat.

在全食超市，他們的產品是被歸類在肉品區，他們也的確是生產肉類。

They create plant-based proteins using some of the same components that make up a slab of beef.

他們也用跟製造素牛肉相同的原料研發了植物性蛋白。

Even restaurants are breaking in to the alternative meat market.

甚至連餐廳也成了替代性肉品市場的一員。

Homegrown Smoker in Portland has an entirely vegan barbecue menu.

波特蘭的 Homegrown Smoker 餐廳就有全素的烤肉菜單。

With all these new types of alternatives popping up, what will be the future of the actual meat industry?

當這些替代性肉品如雨後春筍般出現，肉品產業的未來將會如何？

Well, it's not going anywhere.

嗯，情況跟現在差不了多少。

Although the fake meat business is growing, the size of the US meat industry is still immense.

儘管素肉市場正在成長，美國肉品產業的規模依舊龐大。

It costs the United States up to $289 billion a year.

美國人一年會花上 2890 億美元在肉品上。

By 2050, that number could be as high as $1.6 trillion.

到了 2050 年，金額將會上看 1.6 兆美元。

But, as the flexitarian demographic continues to grow.

但隨著彈性素食者的人口日漸增長。

It means, more cows might stay in the pasture.

也代表有更多的牛可以在青青草地上繼續生活了。