First, there was the Impossible Burger, which was that meat-free burger by Impossible Foods that is virtually indistinguishable from a regular burger.

Now rival American company Beyond Meat are setting their sights on fake bacon that actually tastes like bacon.

No small task, people, and there have been attempts in the past – ‘facon’, for example.

You could get used to it, and it’s a passable substitute, but at the end of the day, it falls short of expectations.

Mashable thinks that the bacon coming from Beyond Meat will be different.

Decent fake bacon, if it is able to replicate the mouthwatering fatty juiciness lacking in seitan and tempeh, would be a game-changer for the entire food industry. Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown told Bloomberg the product was “improving” as it went through development, which tells us that the company knows the particular importance of this foodstuff and is taking its time to get it right.

They’d better step up their game. Impossible Foods are releasing an Impossible Steak soon, and Impossible Bacon is probably not that far behind.

So far, Impossible Food’s burger is far superior to Beyond Meat’s burger, so they already have the edge.

Whichever company finds the holy grail first, the overall trend seems inevitable. Pigs are impossibly cute and impossibly smart, so much so that they apparently know what is about to happen to them in the slaughterhouse.

They deserve to live, and live in smaller numbers, rather than spend their lives squeezed together in conditions so foul that they are forced to consume a quarter of all antibiotics sold in the U.S., just to survive a few years.

Still, those in the know are hopeful that Beyond Meat’s offering is going to change the game.

There is reason to believe Beyond’s version will be different. The company just went public and its stock has risen 700 percent in the first 3 months, so it is flush with cash for R&D. Its plant-based burgers are pretty good — not up to the Impossible Burger standard, but still the best fake burgers you can currently buy in a supermarket (plus Blue Apron is about to add them to its pre-packaged meal lineup).

Its sausages, I am reliably informed by people who eat sausages, are even better, and are now served for breakfast in Dunkin Donuts.

The race is on, and the rewards could be huge.

You’ll never win everyone over, but get it right and there could be some real cash in it.

[source:mashable]