full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Carolyn Beans: Which is better for you "Real" meat or "fake" meat?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


In 2021, a sevruy of over 1,000 amacriens found that nearly two-thirds had eaten plant-based meat alternatives in the past year. Many ctied potential health and ermtonnaivnel benefits as their motivation. But are these alternative meats actually better for us and the planet?

First, let’s introduce the contenders. Meat from butchered animals, which we’ll call farmed meat, is a complex structure of muscle fibers, connective tissues, and fat. You may recognize meat from its role in the huamn diet, stretching back to our species’ very bgiginnens.

Our next challenger, the plant-based meat arittavenle, may look and taste like meat, but it’s biult with poenrtis, carbohydrates, fats, and other molecules from plntas. trrosninfamg plant molecules into something that resembles meat takes eforft. Meat’s fibrous texture is created by long rod-like proteins. To replicate this structure, a plant’s ball-shaped proteins can be pushed through an extruder device which forces them to unwind and join into long fainetmls. To mimic animal fat, companies mix in fats and oils extracted from plants. One popular bnrad adds a beet juice pigment that changes the patty’s color as it cooks. Another adds an iron-containing molecule called heme, which their team says is key to its meaty flavor. The resulting products come in many frmos.

Open Cloze


In 2021, a ______ of over 1,000 _________ found that nearly two-thirds had eaten plant-based meat alternatives in the past year. Many _____ potential health and _____________ benefits as their motivation. But are these alternative meats actually better for us and the planet?

First, let’s introduce the contenders. Meat from butchered animals, which we’ll call farmed meat, is a complex structure of muscle fibers, connective tissues, and fat. You may recognize meat from its role in the _____ diet, stretching back to our species’ very __________.

Our next challenger, the plant-based meat ___________, may look and taste like meat, but it’s _____ with ________, carbohydrates, fats, and other molecules from ______. ____________ plant molecules into something that resembles meat takes ______. Meat’s fibrous texture is created by long rod-like proteins. To replicate this structure, a plant’s ball-shaped proteins can be pushed through an extruder device which forces them to unwind and join into long _________. To mimic animal fat, companies mix in fats and oils extracted from plants. One popular _____ adds a beet juice pigment that changes the patty’s color as it cooks. Another adds an iron-containing molecule called heme, which their team says is key to its meaty flavor. The resulting products come in many _____.

Solution


  1. beginnings
  2. human
  3. alternative
  4. americans
  5. environmental
  6. plants
  7. brand
  8. survey
  9. cited
  10. effort
  11. transforming
  12. forms
  13. proteins
  14. built
  15. filaments

Original Text


In 2021, a survey of over 1,000 Americans found that nearly two-thirds had eaten plant-based meat alternatives in the past year. Many cited potential health and environmental benefits as their motivation. But are these alternative meats actually better for us and the planet?

First, let’s introduce the contenders. Meat from butchered animals, which we’ll call farmed meat, is a complex structure of muscle fibers, connective tissues, and fat. You may recognize meat from its role in the human diet, stretching back to our species’ very beginnings.

Our next challenger, the plant-based meat alternative, may look and taste like meat, but it’s built with proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and other molecules from plants. Transforming plant molecules into something that resembles meat takes effort. Meat’s fibrous texture is created by long rod-like proteins. To replicate this structure, a plant’s ball-shaped proteins can be pushed through an extruder device which forces them to unwind and join into long filaments. To mimic animal fat, companies mix in fats and oils extracted from plants. One popular brand adds a beet juice pigment that changes the patty’s color as it cooks. Another adds an iron-containing molecule called heme, which their team says is key to its meaty flavor. The resulting products come in many forms.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
farmed meat 4
meat alternatives 3
red meat 3
alternative meats 2
stem cells 2
heart disease 2
greenhouse gas 2
gas emissions 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
greenhouse gas emissions 2

Important Words


  1. adds
  2. alternative
  3. alternatives
  4. americans
  5. animal
  6. animals
  7. beet
  8. beginnings
  9. benefits
  10. brand
  11. built
  12. butchered
  13. call
  14. called
  15. carbohydrates
  16. challenger
  17. cited
  18. color
  19. companies
  20. complex
  21. connective
  22. contenders
  23. cooks
  24. created
  25. device
  26. diet
  27. eaten
  28. effort
  29. environmental
  30. extracted
  31. extruder
  32. farmed
  33. fat
  34. fats
  35. fibers
  36. fibrous
  37. filaments
  38. flavor
  39. forces
  40. forms
  41. health
  42. heme
  43. human
  44. introduce
  45. join
  46. juice
  47. key
  48. long
  49. meat
  50. meats
  51. meaty
  52. mimic
  53. mix
  54. molecule
  55. molecules
  56. motivation
  57. muscle
  58. oils
  59. pigment
  60. planet
  61. plant
  62. plants
  63. popular
  64. potential
  65. products
  66. proteins
  67. pushed
  68. recognize
  69. replicate
  70. resembles
  71. resulting
  72. role
  73. stretching
  74. structure
  75. survey
  76. takes
  77. taste
  78. team
  79. texture
  80. tissues
  81. transforming
  82. unwind
  83. year