The arrival of plant-based meats at chains including A&W and Tim Hortons is just the first step towards mainstream sustainable eating for Blair Bullus.

The Vancouver flexitarian and businessman has his eye on the next frontier: Fish and seafood alternatives that 91裸聊视频� like products made by Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods 91裸聊视频� mimic the look and taste of the real thing for pescatarians not quite ready to give up sashimi.

It91裸聊视频檚 still a nascent movement, but Bullus points to faux experiments that have popped up in recent years, ranging from chickpea-based 91裸聊视频渢una91裸聊视频� to carefully carved smoked carrot 91裸聊视频渟almon.91裸聊视频�

Bullus91裸聊视频� company Top Tier Foods Inc. actually sells quinoa, including an especially sticky variety designed to replace rice in vegan sushi rolls that otherwise don91裸聊视频檛 have the protein and omega-3 fatty acids of fish.

It91裸聊视频檚 available at the Quebec City-based chain Yuzu Sushi where customers can pair it with faux ahi tuna 91裸聊视频� a coral-red facsimile carved out of Roma tomatoes. Known as Ahimi, it91裸聊视频檚 made by New York91裸聊视频檚 Ocean Hugger Foods.

Bullus doesn91裸聊视频檛 expect to fool sushi eaters with the combination, but he hopes it can at least assuage any nutritional and environmental concerns by those who ditch fish.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 just becoming easier to make those decisions so you don91裸聊视频檛 necessarily have to give up sushi or you don91裸聊视频檛 have to necessarily give up your salmon and avocado roll,91裸聊视频� Bullus says.

91裸聊视频淵ou91裸聊视频檙e going to have an alternative that has the same mouth-feel as what you91裸聊视频檙e used to.91裸聊视频�

Whether the average omnivore is ready to give up their salmon and shrimp has yet to really be tested.

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Efforts to produce realistic sushi-grade varieties are dwarfed by the research, funding and marketing push behind plant-based and lab-grown beef, says Bruce Friedrich, co-founder and executive director of the Good Food Institute.

Nevertheless, he says seafood alternatives are just as necessary, describing the environmental impact of commercial fishing as 91裸聊视频渁t least as bad as cattle-ranching91裸聊视频� and akin to 91裸聊视频渢he strip-mining of our oceans.91裸聊视频� He also lambastes aquaculture for its use of antibiotics.

91裸聊视频淚f these were terrestrial farming practices, people would be horrified,91裸聊视频� says Friedrich, whose Washington, D.C.-based institute has funded open-sourced research into plant-based projects at the University of Manitoba and University of Guelph, as well as research on lab-grown meat 91裸聊视频� also known as cell-based meat 91裸聊视频� at the University of Toronto.

91裸聊视频淥bviously, you know the link between seafood and human slavery, the pathetically lax regulation of the seafood industry to the degree that you don91裸聊视频檛 even know what you91裸聊视频檙e getting, the amount of mercury and dioxin and lead and other forms of contamination. This is an industry that is ripe for transformation.91裸聊视频�

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In Canada, Maple Leaf Foods said earlier this year it is investing heavily in plant-based products, although it91裸聊视频檚 not clear if any of that will involve faux fish. Gardein91裸聊视频檚 line of meatless foods include a breaded 91裸聊视频渇ishless filet91裸聊视频� and breaded 91裸聊视频渃rabless cakes.91裸聊视频�

Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press

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