Dr Simona Grasso of the University of Reading investigates the increasing popularity of hybrid meat products containing a combination of meat and plant ingredients.

Many consumers are lowering their meat consumption for health, welfare or environmental reasons. Studies have found that if we want dietary change to be effective and long term, then the new practices should not differ too much from the original behaviour^[1^]. While it is hard to switch from a meat‐centric diet to strict vegetarianism or veganism for several reasons, it has been suggested that a flexitarian diet or a semivegetarian diet (mostly plantbased with meat in moderation) is less strict but can still have a positive impact ^[2^]. Mintel in the UK reported that while on average 90% of consumers eat red meat or poultry, over a third (34%) of meat and poultry eaters and buyers have regular days when they avoid meat. The numbers rise to 38% among consumers who are 25–34 years old^[3^].

Hybrid meat products are foods in which a portion of meat has been replaced by other plant‐based ingredients and more sustainable protein sources. These products could bridge the gap between meat products and meat‐free alternatives, while providing convenience and taste. For many consumers who are very attached to meat products, it might be difficult to lower their meat consumption by switching to tofu or Quorn, so hybrid meat products could function as a transition product and widen the range of products available for flexitarians who want to lower their meat consumption without compromising on taste, flavour and texture.

雷丁大学的西蒙娜·格拉索（Simona Grasso）博士研究了包含肉类和植物成分的混合肉类产品的日益普及。

由于健康，福利或环境原因，许多消费者正在降低肉类消费量。研究发现，如果我们希望饮食改变是有效的和长期的，那么新的做法与原来的行为应该不会有太大的不同^[ 1 ^]。虽然由于多种原因很难从以肉类为主的饮食转向严格的素食主义或素食主义，但有人建议，弹性饮食或半素食饮食（主要是植物性肉食，适度食用）较不严格，但仍然可以影响^[ 2 ^]。英国的Mintel报告说，虽然平均有90％的消费者食用红肉或家禽，但超过三分之一（34％）的肉类和家禽食用者和买主有规律地避免食用肉类。在25-34岁的消费者中，这一数字上升到38％^[ 3 ^]。

混合肉制品是指其中一部分肉已被其他植物性成分和更具可持续性的蛋白质来源替代的食品。这些产品可以弥合肉类产品和无肉替代品之间的鸿沟，同时提供便利和口感。对于许多对肉类产品非常感兴趣的消费者，可能很难通过改用豆腐或Quorn来降低肉类消费量，因此混合肉类产品可以作为过渡产品，并扩大想要降低肉类含量的灵活人群的产品范围。在不影响口味，风味和质地的前提下食用肉类。