Not too long ago, imitation meats, including plant-based products from brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, appeared poised to help save the world from the environmental, health and ethical harms that often go along with eating animal flesh.

But that was before concerns grew that the products were “ultraprocessed,” a message amplified both by adherents of whole food diets and meat industry proponents.

Since then, sales of plant-based meat are beginning to stabilize. But, as I report in an article published today, the sector is still grappling with a bit of an identity crisis.

If it’s to grow, the imitation meat industry needs to figure out how to appeal to more customers, said John Baumgartner, a consumer food analyst at Mizuho Americas, a financial services group.

“Effectively, what is the problem to solve?” Baumgartner wrote in an email. “Is it health concerns? Is it climate concerns? Is it neither?”

Countering the narrative

Research has shown that swapping in plant-based meats for conventional meat can reduce cardiovascular risk factors, and that those benefits can outweigh the fact that the products are processed. But the growing public perception was that the products were unhealthy because they are ultraprocessed, and sales declined.