Why Is Fake Meat More Expensive Than The Real Thing? : The Indicator from Planet Money In recent years, meat alternatives have grown in popularity. But they remain more expensive than the real thing. Why?

Holy Cow, It's Fake Meat!

Holy Cow, It’s Fake Meat!

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The plant-based meat industry is growing rapidly. According to Bloomberg, the alternative meat market could grow to over 70 billion dollars in the next ten years. So companies that have traditionally focused on fattening cows with grass, corn, soy and other crops are now trying to take beef out of the equation. And why is making "fake" meat more expensive than producing real meat?

Andre Menezes is an entrepreneur in the plant-based meat industry. He worked at one of the largest meat companies in the world. He says a few factors contribute to the higher prices of alternative meat: marketing, research and development, and most importantly, economies of scale. The large meat producers can use their massive scale and production capabilities to dilute their upfront investment costs, whereas the newer plant-based meat companies still need to scale up and invest heavily.

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