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Biotech Businesses Canada

Starbucks Embraces Fake Meat, Starting In Canada (engadget.com) 76

Starting next week, Starbucks will roll out its spring menu in stores across Canada that will include a breakfast sandwich with Beyond Meat sausage. Engadget reports: Starbucks joins a growing list of brands that have added Beyond Meat's plant-based offerings to their menus. To date, those companies include McDonald's (also a Canadian pilot), KFC, Subway, Carl's Jr., Hardee's and more. The lab-grown, plant-based meat trend is a product of science and tech, but it's also driven by a growing awareness of the environmental impacts of meat production. Earlier this year, Starbucks said it was committed to a "resource-positive future," which includes expanding plant-based options and creating a more environmentally friendly menu. The upcoming egg, cheddar and Beyond Meat sausage breakfast sandwich is the first major step in that direction.
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Starbucks Embraces Fake Meat, Starting In Canada

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  • Yuck. (Score:2, Insightful)

    Would rather go hungry. :p

    Now: cue the butthurt vegans calling me a murderer, planet-killer, etc
    Shut up, food.
    • Would rather go hungry. :p

      In a plausibly near future, nothing to eat versus a meal of nearmeat and greens, is really, no choice at all.

      • In a more plausible future, nothing to eat versus a meal of insects, is really no choice at all.
        • In a more plausible future, nothing to eat versus a meal of insects, is really no choice at all.

          If Amazon and the local purveyor stop stocking the nearmeat, I hope for a plague of delicious locusts.

          • I've had that sausage.

            Since sausage is defined more by the spices involved and the charing of the grill, it is perfectly acceptable.

            The only draw back is your shit really stinks the next day.

            Still, you can't beat a Bratwurst or Kielbasa

        • I decided to try making some muffins supplemented with mealworm flour.

          So I went on-line to buy the mealworm flour. The cheapest I could find was $50/lb.

          So if eating insects uses fewer resources, why are they so frickn' expensive?

          • Because FUD is expensive.
            On the other hand chickens are cheap and easy to raise and grow fast.
            Chicken: it's what's for dinner.
            Also, eggs.
            They can leave off the FUD, though. I've had more than my fill of it. Also the Appeal to Emotion which is the go-to logical fallacy they all use.
            • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

              On the other hand chickens are cheap and easy to raise and grow fast.
              Chicken: it's what's for dinner.
              Also, eggs.

              Chicken is the lowest demand meat - roughly 1.7lbs of feed to 1lb of chicken conversion rate. Better than pork (about 5:1) and beef (10:1).

              Though if you convert it to actual edible products, chicken is around 5:1, pork goes to 10-15:1 and beef is around... 50:1.

              So plants will always be the best. You can generally get at the bits you want, let it regrow and extract again. You can't do that with mea

              • It's a western thing, since many other cultures eat insects as part of their daily diet.

                Sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry are a "western thing"?

          • Supply and demand. Econ 101.

            Being they are not a lot of suppliers and it is considered a bit of a fad so the cost is high.

            That and these are smaller companies without economies of scale.

      • In a plausibly near future, nothing to eat versus a meal of nearmeat and greens, is really, no choice at all.

        Yep. 100% agree. I'd rather choose to go hungry. xD
        Luckily for me you're also 100% wrong. Isn't going to happen. Go spread your FUD elsewhere.

      • I don’t dislike the meat substitute. However it isn’t meat nor does it taste like meat.
        I can see them as a protein option for your meal but not a replacement for the normal omnivorous human.

        There is a need for chefs to come up with good options for these foods beyond replacing burger or sausage with Beyond Meat. Because it won’t replace an urge for a burger.

      • Eat the people eating the fake meat.

    • ... than eat at Starbucks? I heartily agree!

  • A Terminator, your able to eat. :)
  • Mmmmm bacon (Score:3, Insightful)

    by raif11152 ( 6642838 ) on Wednesday February 26, 2020 @09:42PM (#59771644)
    I like my vegie burger with bacon.
    • by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Wednesday February 26, 2020 @09:44PM (#59771654)

      Shultzy's Sausage, in Seattle's University District, used to offer an "Irony Burger" - it was a vegetarian cheeseburger topped with bacon.

      • If you don’t think food is a political statement. You may like veg protein as they are without comparing them to other foods. Bacon and cheese may not make it vegetarian or vegan. But if You like food not caring about some complex big picture that you probably missing out on a lot of details if it is good... eat it

    • Re:Mmmmm bacon (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Some Guy ( 21271 ) on Wednesday February 26, 2020 @09:52PM (#59771712)
      I do this with Beyond Meat burgers all the time. Yummy. One place I used to go to started calling it "The Confusion Burger".
    • I regularly order a vegetarian pizza add pepperoni and usually get funny looks.

    • A local pub makes their own spicy black bean burger. Add bacon and cheese, and it's fantastic. Better than their beef burger, because that one is a bit greasy. Piles of texture and flavor, no grease running down your arms so you have to wipe from your elbows to fingers. As a bonus an hour later I don't feel a bit gross due to all the fat and grease. Shredded lettuce and a fresh pico de gallo complete it.

      • an hour later I don't feel a bit gross due to all the fat and grease

        See a doctor. You are unhealthy. Eating a burger, greasy or not, should not impact how you feel (other than full and happy).
        Let me guess, you're also one of the clowns who says eating at Taco Bell gives you terrible diarrhea?

  • by Kernel Kurtz ( 182424 ) on Wednesday February 26, 2020 @09:47PM (#59771678)

    Tims just gave up their experiment with Beyond Meat

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/busine... [www.cbc.ca]

    Starbucks is more upscale so maybe people with more disposable income will spend it on meat substitutes.

    I like Starbucks coffee but will pass on the faux meat myself.

    • by Lonng_Time_Lurker ( 6285236 ) on Wednesday February 26, 2020 @09:54PM (#59771718)

      Impossible burgers have been 2/$6 at BK for some time now. Don't need much disposable income to afford that.

      • Impossible burgers have been 2/$6 at BK for some time now. Don't need much disposable income to afford that.

        Fair enough, it was more a nod toward mindset than income. They may eventually succeed by positioning themselves as an alternative for people who can't afford meat, but it does not really look like that is (yet) their target market.

      • Mmm, "free mystery proteins;" more than two-dozen, apparently all unidentified.

        Fuck Impossible; I'll stick with Beyond for those times when I'm craving pea protein ("pee protein" - snicker).

      • I tried one of those. If I hadn't known what I was ordering, I'd have believed it was a real burger. That had been improperly prepared and was overwhelmed by a disgusting fake char taste.

        • If you order the Beyond bullshit at BK, it by default still gets the fake char stripes, and is not vegetarian.

          • Well, it's Impossible bullshit, to begin with.

            Second, you shouldn't eat processed food *in general* no matter your diet, we can all agree on that.

            Being 99.9%+ vegetarian is fine if your goal is to eat less meat. You're a moron if you think the world is all or nothing.

            You *can* order the Impossible burger at BK to not be put on the same grill - it gets nuked or something instead.

            But if you *are* vegetarian (or mostly vegetarian) - and you're on say, a road trip, more vegetarian fast food options are always

      • by Mashiki ( 184564 )

        You can get 2 whoppers for $7w/cheese at almost every location in Canada. Though a lot of the BK's have also dropped the 'impossible burger' from their menu because they're not selling at all. Two of them near me sold 11 in last 30 days, while they can sell upwards of 500 whopper singles in a day.

      • by tflf ( 4410717 )

        Impossible burgers have been 2/$6 at BK for some time now. Don't need much disposable income to afford that.

        Three times the price of real meat burger patties, with the bonus of processing that adds salt and other chemicals - what a bargain...

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Isn't American beef full of hormones and antibiotics? Seems like you are screwed no matter which option you pick.

      • My wife and I recently stopped by a BK. She had the impossible and I had a double bacon cheese.
        Her's was immeasurably better.

        The moral of this story is that BK serves some truly awful burgers, but the Impossible wasn't half bad and I'd eat it again.

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Next thing they will start making donuts from plants.
    • I think a big part of the problem is how they were served - they basically took the finished sandwich out of a fridge and nuked it..imagine doing that with pretty much any burger or sandwich.

    • Tims should just give up entirely. They haven't made anything decent since 3G Capital gutted them

    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Tims has been horrible as of late, and as a brand, they basically failed.

      First, Restaurant Brands International is the parent company (they own Burger King and Popeyes, too). Doesn't sound Canadian, and are owned by a Brazilian investment company. Pretty much every Canadian knows that too well, so we dont' see it as the humble Canadian brand it once was. Don't let the polite exterior fool you - they can be even more patriotic than Americans.

      Second, Tims got into very nasty fights with their franchisees. A b

      • I've never been a Tims fan myself (I don't mind their coffee but their food is awful), but judging from the line ups I see there whenever I pass by I think they are doing OK in spite of having a douchey parent company

  • Sounds like something they would do.
  • Helping the environment by slathering cheese and eggs on top of this vegetable-based meat?

    Dairy cows kept producing unnaturally large quantities of milk until they are no longer profitable are then slaughtered for beef.

    Male chicks are shredded because they aren't the breeds that are "good for meat" and they can't lay eggs.

    Why are all of the places serving Beyond "meat" plopping cheese and eggs on it?

    "Vegetarianism" (as distinct from "Veganism") was a good thing when the producing animals were tr
    • by deKernel ( 65640 )

      Those of us that know sure can tell you know ZERO about the production of consumable beef. Dairy cows that once have been used to produce milk are never sold at stock yards for human consumption. Sorry, didn't mean to screw up your ill-fitted narrative rant. Please continue.

      • You're right. I know very little about the meat "industry". But this article quotes folks who apparently know a lot about it.

        https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/02/26/cows-impossible-burger-meat-dairy/ [washingtonpost.com]

        And then there’s this: One in five pounds of beef sold come from Holstein or Jersey cows, which frequently are decommissioned dairy cows past their prime. Almost all of the meat from dairy cows is ground (it’s generally not marbled enough or muscled enough for steaks) and made into in

      • Dairy cows that once have been used to produce milk are never sold at stock yards for human consumption

        They're slaughtered nonetheless so what's your fucking point?

        • What else do you propose to do with the livestock once it is no longer usable?

          • Evolutionary most farm animals have been domesticated as a food animal as an evolutionary advantage. As we will protect and care for the animal for longer then their average life in the wild.

            In plants fruits have evolved to be food for animals so it’s seeds can be pollinate and distributed better then other mechanisms

      • Dairy cows are eaten by humans. You aren't going to get prime rib or ribeye steaks from an old dairy cow, but they are often ground up into hamburger.

        • And if you top it off with a slice of cheese and make it a cheeseburger, you go full circle.

        • > You aren't going to get prime rib or ribeye steaks from an old dairy cow,

          If they're grass fed in pasture for a half year their steaks are almost as good as young beef bulls, at a far lower cost. Restauranteurs in the UK are finding this more profitable and lower cost for most customers.

  • pros and cons (Score:4, Insightful)

    by kpoole55 ( 1102793 ) on Wednesday February 26, 2020 @10:21PM (#59771868)

    I tried a plant based burger offered by A&W and found it quite pleasant. Good feel and taste BUT with the recent concern about the effect of highly processed foods, any highly processed food from meat to breakfast cereal to scotch whiskey, on our systems I'm not sure about the long term effects of switching to this as a complete meat substitute. I mean, yes, it's plant based but it must take a fair bit of processing to turn the peas and/or other vegetables that make these up into something that seems to be a meat.

    • Same here. I've had them at some mid-scale restaurants, and tried them twice at Burger King. They were decent no complaints. Not sure that it's a compliment, but I could not discern the difference between the real whopper and the plant one. Granted I don't frequent BK. I also wonder about the relative healthiness of the new veggie burgers. Absent some evidence to the contrary I have to believe they aren't any worse than the beef ones.

      Same taste, same cost, same/less calories, far less water usage, f

    • "Processing" isn't the problem. If you think about it, cooking something is already processing it, but cooking our food was actually what allowed us to become who we are today. Cooking aids in digestion and means that, essentially, we need less energy to convert our food into usable energy for our body, leading to us needing less food than we would if we didn't cook it.

      What matters is how the food was processed and what process was used, how the ingredients were treated and whether our body can actually use

    • breakfast cereal to scotch whiskey,

      Truly the breakfast of champions.

      I've tried meat substitutes before. Some are ok, but I'd rather not have them due to insanely high sodium content.

  • by bobstreo ( 1320787 ) on Wednesday February 26, 2020 @11:16PM (#59772084)

    I've found a lot of local places that have much better coffee mostly for less money, and less snark, and less artificial environments than a chain like Starbucks.

    The good news is that the closest Starbucks is over 10 miles away, don't tell them.

    • Honestly, I find going to Speedway, grabbing half a cup (or less) of the Brazilian blend, and mixing it with half a cup of whole milk produces something that tastes better than anything I've tried from Starbucks. They even have a microwave there if you want to reheat it afterward (I don't -- my mouth burns very easily, part of what drove me to experiment in the first place). Sometimes the cashiers are even nice and don't charge me for a full cup of coffee since I get so little.
  • They've embraced fake coffee years ago. Or at least I think it's fake. Tastes like burnt sawdust.

    • The one time I was at a Starbucks, they asked me what flavor I want in my coffee.

      I said coffee.

      They didn't quite get it right.

  • by The Evil Atheist ( 2484676 ) on Thursday February 27, 2020 @01:31AM (#59772390)
    I heard that in parts of China where they eat cats that they will try to encourage people to switch to artificial cat meat, but that may just be fake mews.
  • Beyond Meat is riding the wave right now but it tastes so horrible compared to not only a burger but other vegan options.
  • by guacamole ( 24270 ) on Thursday February 27, 2020 @04:02AM (#59772628)

    Saving people who eat Starbucks's microwaved food is already beyond any hope. Let them have it. I prefer walking 10 meters to a Chipotle which often seem to be next door.

  • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Thursday February 27, 2020 @05:03AM (#59772710)

    Fast food using fake meat? That's news?

    In all seriousness, I doubt people will notice. The meat in those burgers is so processed and drowned in sauces and other "flavor enhancing" gunk that you could basically fry an old rag instead and not notice a difference.

  • Is this food healthy? Last I heard "fake meat" meant "chemical shitstorm".

    Religions motivations can be weird so who knows what Starbucks is up to.

  • The estrogen level found in plant-based meat is enough for a man to grow breasts if he eats enough of it.
  • Not healthier. You want to eat more plants, do so ... this is not a healthy or environmentally appealing way to do it.
  • Until they stop charging a Soy tax for Soy milk and other alternatives, I don't believe a word of it.

  • Starbucks embraced fake food a long time ago. Have you ever read the lists of ingredients on their so-called "food"? Definitely not a place to get a snack let alone lunch.

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