What is v2?

v2 is on a mission to maximise environmental and human health by revolutionising the meat we eat. Meat made from plants might sound space-age, but it actually comes off the back of 100+ years of CSIRO research and expertise. Here we walk through the typical thought process of someone who’s never heard of v2 before, and answer some of the questions that might pop up.

What is v2?

Put simply, v2 is a product for anyone who loves the taste of meat but wants to minimise the environmental impact of the meat they consume. v2 looks, cooks and tastes like meat but is made from plants.

Why bother? I love my steak!

We love the taste of meat, and the data suggests most of the world does too. But if we were to keep eating meat at current rates, the Eat Lancet report predicts we’d need another whole planet to grow the animals necessary to meet this demand when the world’s population hits 10 billion in 2050. So we’re facing a future in which billions of people are going to need sustainable, nutritious meat to eat, but we’re not going to be able to do this with animals alone. v2 exists to give the planet a way to get that meaty taste we love from plants rather than animals.

Oh, so you’re a veggie burger.

Nup. Veggie burgers taste like the vegetables they’re made from - think falafel or potato patties. v2 is designed to look, cook and taste like meat - not the legumes we get the protein from.

What’s the point of that then? You’re a veggie burger with no vegetables, and a beef burger with no beef!

Ouch. We look at things differently. The way we see it, we’ve been able to mimic the great qualities of meat - namely its great taste and high protein, iron and B vitamin content - while slashing cholesterol and adding in the goodness of dietary fibre. We’re all about maximising the health of our customers and our planet. We’re about having the best of both worlds… without actually needing another world to support it.

Then how is v2 made?

It’s a long story, but an important one, because v2 is on a mission to support sustainable agriculture in the way we grow and make our products. Here’s the main points: Legumes grow. These little powerhouses take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, put nutrients back in the soil, and release oxygen for us to breathe. Win! The legumes are harvested, crushed, and filtered to get rid of fats and husk and leave us with just high quality plant protein. The harvested field is now ready to be replanted with something else, or to grow grass for cattle which return nutrients to the soil. We take this protein and mix it with the other ingredients that will make v2 look and cook like meat, such as fibre, fats, oils,and colours. We then add flavour. With the help of the scientists at CSIRO, we’ve been able to identify the specific amino-acids which are responsible for the natural flavour of meat. We just get these using natural processes, without animals. The meat then gets shaped into mince, sausages and burger patties, ready for you to enjoy!

So it’s processed.

Yes! But...

But isn’t that terrible for me?!

No! It’s true that historically, ‘processed’ foods have been synonymous with products that have had all the goodness stripped from them to make something at low-cost that lasts a ridiculously long time. But ‘processing’ in and of itself just means using a process to combine or modify ingredients to get the result you want. For example, you ‘process’ your food every time you blitz up some pesto or boil some rice. At v2 we do the minimum amount of processing we can to enhance the nutrition and taste of the meat we make, and nothing more. The bottom line is, with animal meat, all the magic of combining protein, amino acids, water and fat to make some tasty meat happens inside the cow. For plant-based meat, you have to look outside the cow for your ingredients, and develop new processes for mixing these ingredients together for the same outcome.

Ok then, hit me. What are your ingredients?

Our main ingredient is soy. From this we get protein, iron and some vitamins, plus the meaty structure of v2. We use cornflour and fibre as thickeners, coconut and vegetable oil for a juicy, chewy bite, and non-meat amino acids which mimic the flavour of animal meat. We get then add colours such as beetroot and burnt sugar - no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives here! Finally we fortify our meat with B12 to make sure you get the same nutritional whack from v2 as you would from red meat.

Are you vegan?

Our products do not contain any ingredients derived from animals and v2 is not tested on animals (unless you count the guy who ate 30 Rebel Whoppers the month they launched). We want everyone to have the freedom to enjoy v2 in whatever way makes sense for their diets and preferences. This means that each of our customers will have their own way of preparing v2 appropriate for their kitchens and cuisine. Some will cook v2 on the same broilers as meat, or mix v2 with other animal products. Some will prepare and serve v2 as an entirely plant-based meal. We recommend you always double check these details at the point of purchase to ensure the product matches your dietary requirements.

So where can I buy it?!

We’re on a mission to make our v2 available everywhere you’d normally find animal meat. Whether that’s a supermarket chain, burger franchise or family-owned cafe, we want people to have the freedom to enjoy v2 in their home cooked dinners as well as big nights out. You can check out the map on our ‘Where to Buy’ page to see where v2 is currently sold, and stay tuned to our socials for more exciting partnerships to come! Know somewhere you think would be a good fit for v2? Let us know here!