Table 1.

Food products for vegetarian and vegan consumers.

Products	Definition and Sources	Advantages	Disadvantages	References
Plant-Based Protein Products	Protein rich products from plant foods: soy (tofu, tempeh, texturized soy protein); wheat gluten (seitan); legumes (pea, lentil, lupine, chickpea); seeds (rapeseed, canola).	Perception of being healthier and more sustainable than meat. Higher acceptance when it resembles processed meat (burgers, sausages, nuggets). More familiar to consumers than mycoprotein or cultured meat. Lowest environmental impact of all meat alternatives. Products have been on the market for decades.	Meat consumption is highly ingrained in culture; willingness to stop or reduce meat consumption is low. Taste, texture and appearance often unappealing to meat consumers. Inconvenient to find in stores, high prices and difficulty in cooking. Push to ban meat terms for meat alternative products.	Kumar et al. [18] Malav et al. [19] Kyriakopoulou et al. [20] Aschemman-Witzel et al. [11] Pohjolanien et al. [21] Piazza et al. [22] Michel et al. [23] Corrin and Papadopoulos [24] Bryant [25] Koning et al. [26] Clune et al. [5] Soret et al. [6] Sanchez-Sabate and Sabaté [7] Carreño and Dolle [27]
Mycoprotein	Product obtained from fermentation of the fungus Fusarium venenatum.	Land use is substantially lower than that used for conventional meat production.	Estimated global warming impact higher than chicken, pork and soy-based alternatives.	Finnigan [28] Filho [29] Smetana [30]
Cultured Meat	Meat produced from the growth of cultured animal cells in a nutrient rich medium. Livestock cells	Highest resemblance to original livestock meat. Land use estimated 99% lower than livestock meat production. Minimal use of animals for meat production.	Perception of being unnatural worries about safety. Higher CO2 emissions than meat, inefficient water and feedstock expenditure. Requirements according to novel food regulation.	Chriki and Hocquette [31] Bryant and Barnett [32] Siegrist et al. [33] Alexander et al. [34] Lynch [35] Bhat and Fayaz [36]
Plant-Based Milk Alternatives	Water-soluble extracts from plant material broken down and extracted in water for further homogenization: legumes (chickpeas, soybeans); cereals (oats, rice); pseudo-cereals (quinoa, teff, amaranth); nuts (almonds, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, coconut); seeds (sesame, sunflower).	Perception of being more sustainable. Positive perception of taste when flavored. Fermentation can improve nutritional bioavailability and sensory properties. More sustainable than cow’s milk (except almond milk).	Bland taste when not flavored. Concerns of added sugars and artificial sweeteners. Regulatory barriers to use protected dairy terms. Almond milk has higher environmental impact due to irrigation.	Sethi [37] Silva et al. [15] Palacios et al. [38] Palacios et al. [39] Villegas et al. [40] Schyver and Smith [41] Schiano et al. [42] McCarthy et al. [43] Ritchie et al. [44] Grant and Hicks [45] Leialohilani and de Boer [46] Tangyu et al. [47]
Cheese Alternatives	Products from milk protein and milk fat that are partially or totally replaced by vegetable proteins (i.e., peanut or soybean protein) and vegetable fats and oils (i.e., partly hydrogenated vegetable fat like soybean, palm, etc.): soy, nuts, coconut, tapioca, nutritional yeast.	High quality protein when soy is used. Possibility to alter lipid profile and reduce saturated fat content. Cost reduction for food manufacturers when substituting cheese as an ingredient for cheaper alternatives. Longer shelf life.	Some cheese alternatives are not nutritionally equivalent and can lack relevant nutrients if not added. Palm oil used for cheese alternatives can come from non-sustainable sources. Some products have high saturated fat content from coconut and palm oil.	Bachmann [48] Gesteiro et al. [49] Saswattecha et al. [50]
Egg Alternatives	Products, ingredients or mix of ingredients used to substitute egg: xanthan, guar, arabic gums; proteins from soy, sunflower, pea, tomato seed, wheat, white lupin and faba bean; applesauce, aquafaba, flax seeds, tofu, ripe bananas and tapioca starch.	Able to imitate the functional properties of egg protein (solubility, emulsification, foaming and gelling) for backing and cooking. Allows for preparation of cholesterol-free products (e.g., mayonnaise).	Soy and pea used as egg substitute can give an unpleasant flavor to the final product.	Söderberg [51] Garcia et al. [52] Nikzade et al. [53] Ali and EL Said [54]
Fish Alternatives	Products, ingredients or mix of ingredients used to substitute fish and seafood: soy and wheat, gluten, algae, mushrooms, vegetables.	Does not contribute to overfishing.	Most alternatives are nutritionally deficient in protein and essential fatty acids EPA and DHA.	Caporgno and Mathys [55] Malchira et al. [56]
Microalgae	Microscopic algae, ingredients or products, rich in protein, carbohydrates, lipids and other bioactive compounds: Chlorella sp, Arthrospira sp. Schizochytrium sp.	Requires less land use than livestock. Does not compete for agricultural land. Helps fix CO₂. Source of EPA and DHA.	Regulatory issues if GMO microalgae are used to improve composition. Ecological and environmental risks of GMO microalgae must be properly assessed. Acceptance might be low due to marine taste.	Koyande et al. [57] Charles et al. [58] Caporgno and Mathys [55]

EPA, Eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA, docosahexanoid acid; GMO, genetically modified organism.