Meat alternatives continue to struggle to find favour with consumers

Efforts to develop more sustainable foods have resulted in some strange products, including butter made from maggots and an avocado alternative made using broad beans and hazelnuts

Beyond Meat faces lawsuits in the US, claiming its products do not contain as much protein and nutrients as claimed, and that its products contains a synthetic ingredient, methylcellulose. Picture: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

There have been difficulties for pioneers of one of the most popular new foods — plant-based "burgers".

They seemed promising when McDonald’s, the world’s most profitable burger chain, put them on the menu.