Is Plant-Based Meat Fizzling In the US? (theguardian.com) 282
Citing McDonald's shelved meat-free burger trial and a 70% dip in Beyond Meat's stock, The Guardian suggests plant-based meats may not interest Americans as much as investors thought. From the report: Getting meat eaters in the US to adopt plant-based alternatives has proven a challenge. Beyond Meat, which produces a variety of plant-based products, including imitations of ground beef, burgers, sausages, meatballs and jerky, has had a rough 12 months, with its stock dipping nearly 70%. Multiple chains that partnered with the company, including McDonald's, have quietly ended trial launches. In August, the company laid off 4% of its workforce after a slowdown in sales growth. Last week, its chief operating officer was reportedly arrested for biting another man on the nose during a road rage confrontation. It's a dramatic reversal of fortune. Just two years ago, Beyond Meat, its competitor Impossible Foods and the plant-based meat industry at large seemed poised to start a food revolution.
For a time, Wall Street went vegetarian. In 2019 Beyond Meat was valued at over $10 billion, more than Macy's or Xerox. The most bullish investors believed that plant-based meat would make up 15% of all meat sales by 2030. But the reality of Americans' interest in plant-based meat has proven more complicated than investors thought, and the adoption of meat alternatives has been slower than what was once hoped. Today Beyond Meat is valued at just over $900 million. The sobering story is similar to those experienced by many new ventures that see exhilarating hype after a flood of Silicon Valley venture capital cash, fueled by excitement about innovation. Bill Gates backed Beyond Meat, and a number of venture capital firms that typically invest in tech startups funneled money to startups making plant-based meat. Even the meat industry's biggest players have, ironically, invested in companies coming up with plant-based meat. While eating plant-based meat (or no meat at all) has been shown to be the most effective thing individual consumers can do to fight climate change, "consumers seem hesitant to adapt their behavior when the environment -- not their health or wallets -- is the sole beneficiary," reports The Guardian. "Despite the increasing alarm over climate change, the number of Americans who are vegetarian or vegan has remained relatively stable over the last 20 years."
"Even when participants in a study conducted at Purdue University in Indiana were given information about the carbon footprint of meat production, participants were more likely to go with regular meat over a plant-based alternative."
For a time, Wall Street went vegetarian. In 2019 Beyond Meat was valued at over $10 billion, more than Macy's or Xerox. The most bullish investors believed that plant-based meat would make up 15% of all meat sales by 2030. But the reality of Americans' interest in plant-based meat has proven more complicated than investors thought, and the adoption of meat alternatives has been slower than what was once hoped. Today Beyond Meat is valued at just over $900 million. The sobering story is similar to those experienced by many new ventures that see exhilarating hype after a flood of Silicon Valley venture capital cash, fueled by excitement about innovation. Bill Gates backed Beyond Meat, and a number of venture capital firms that typically invest in tech startups funneled money to startups making plant-based meat. Even the meat industry's biggest players have, ironically, invested in companies coming up with plant-based meat. While eating plant-based meat (or no meat at all) has been shown to be the most effective thing individual consumers can do to fight climate change, "consumers seem hesitant to adapt their behavior when the environment -- not their health or wallets -- is the sole beneficiary," reports The Guardian. "Despite the increasing alarm over climate change, the number of Americans who are vegetarian or vegan has remained relatively stable over the last 20 years."
"Even when participants in a study conducted at Purdue University in Indiana were given information about the carbon footprint of meat production, participants were more likely to go with regular meat over a plant-based alternative."
Maybe, but (Score:4, Funny)
I'm waiting for meat-based fruits and vegetables, some with a bit of Spam in them (for Monty Python fans) ...
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You will eat crickets...errrrr, you will smoke roaches and be happy.
-John Cleese
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You will eat crickets...errrrr, you will smoke roaches and be happy.
-- John Cleese
Ha! I actually have some Cricket Powder [amazon.com] for baking and smoothies. It's pretty tasty, and a little crunchy, mixed into stuff. I got it to try after watching the NOVA episode, Edible Insects [pbs.org] (S48:E14).
Re:Maybe, but (Score:5, Funny)
A top executive at plant-based food company Beyond Meat has been charged with felony battery after a fight outside a college football game in which he was accused of biting a man's nose.
Everyone likes real meat !
Re:Maybe, but (Score:5, Funny)
A top executive at plant-based food company Beyond Meat has been charged with felony battery after a fight outside a college football game in which he was accused of biting a man's nose.
Everyone likes real meat !
Trevor Noah covered that on The Daily Show, commenting, "When vegans have a cheat day, they really go hard."
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How about meat-based carrots from Arby's?
https://www.foodandwine.com/ne... [foodandwine.com]
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Re: Maybe, but (Score:4, Insightful)
Meat-based meat. Meat! (Score:3)
Well... that varies. For example, I want a non-animal-kill meat that's meat, so cultured or vat grown or whatever.
My only assumption/presumption involving people in general is that we all need a more environmentally friendly way of producing high quality meat because raising large numbers of meat animals seems to be quite a bad thing, environmentally speaking. Meat consumers in general may not want an alternative, but they (and t
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You give a vegan dish to a normal person and you're thoughtfully expanding their horizons. Give a meat dish to a vegan and suddenly you're a monster.
Perhaps that's because veganism is more of a religious belief system than a diet.
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too processed, too expensive (Score:5, Informative)
most vegitarians want whole organic food. I don't mind veggie burgers but I'd prefer good quality and less processing over some psuedo-meat 'product'
besides, not interested in factory food, real food comes from farms, processing should be done in the kitchen
Re:too processed, too expensive (Score:4, Informative)
A normal veggie burger, that doesn't try to be meat like, is fine. The beyond beef and such are just way too expensive.
Re:too processed, too expensive (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:too processed, too expensive (Score:4, Insightful)
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There's one brand I get occasionally that costs ~$6 per patty.
I imagine in times of inflation, things like that are the first thing that people who are struggling to make ends meet abandon.
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It tends to be crazy expensive. Some is also not all that healthy. For example, the "Impossible Whopper" contains more sodium than is recommended for an entire day's food, nearly twice as much as a meat based whopper.
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Granted, if you eat at Burger King a lot... you may be well down that road.
To put it in perspective, an Impossible Whopper has less sodium than a single package of Top Ramen.
Not to say that Top Ramen is "healthy", but it hasn't killed 99% of the college kids in the world (or me)
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Any links for any of your sources? Thanks.
I spent about an hour reading all the literature I could find on the subject. I suggest you do the same.
The short and skinny of it, is that evidence for any conclusion is bad, altogether.
There are only really 2 clinical tests done on the subject, and both used prehypertensive individuals.
There seems to be bad faith arguing in both directions, but some things can't be denied: The Japanese eat far more salt than us, and live longer, with lower incidences of cardiovascular events.
Reducing salt has zero not
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Way to be wrong, fuckwit
Thank you for your polite, thoughtful, fact-filled comment.
I found it very helpful.
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I buy my meat from a local butcher that sources from local ranchers, he does aged grass-fed beef that is really good. I'm with you, factory made plant-based meat goes in the same category as Velveeta, non-dairy creamer, and many other fake foods.
Re:too processed, too expensive (Score:5, Interesting)
The key to traditional vegetarian food it that it was traditional, or only tried to fit a form factor. Such as burgers. Beans and rice are traditional, just leave out the meat. Biscuit and gravy is traditional. Just use other base for the gravy. There were a whole gamut of grains like quinoa and kamiya that were just not empty calories but traditional. Burger kind would serve you a black bean burger
The key to the current generation though tries very hard to be meat. So for fast food places they are simply asking current customers to switch to fake meat. No existing person who does not eat meat is going to buy this crap, so no new customers are acquired. And in the case of McDonaldâ(TM)s where they have 30 years or experience acquiring cheap meat, the significant added expense of fake meat serves no purpose.
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Beyond Meat is expensive, doesn't taste as good as meat, and isn't as good for you as meat. There's no reason to get it unless you are a vegetarian.
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Actually, nutritionally it's about the same as meat. As in, don't consume often
The goal if plant based meat is not for vegetarians. It's to encourage meat eaters to explore vegetarianism. You ever hear of meatless mondays?
It's a way to explore without leaving your comfort zone, or feeling unsatisfied because you only had a salad.
Meat isn't bad, but beef is resou
Re:too processed, too expensive (Score:5, Interesting)
Most vegetarians (Not whackadoodle vegans, just the regular vegetarians) arent particularly interested in the faux meats either.
I'll admit there was a delicatesan run by a couple of budhist guys from thailand around the corner from me that had a "chicken" pie with faux meat that I would eat for nearly a year before realising it was actually faux meat (Honestly the word "vegetarian" on the deli ought have been a give away lol, I just figured the thais had an unusual definition of vegetarian lol). And some folks I know seem to think the hungry-jacks (burger king in the US I believe its called) faux meat burger is pretty good but I found it dry and weird.
But the vegetarians I know seem to hate the stuff with a passion. Then again, these are people who dont eat meat because they just dont *like* the stuff rather than some moralistic type reason, so I'm not surprised they'd find fake meat a bit obnoxious.
Honestly, I think the future is vat meat. We can solve the environmental issues with mass beef production, whilst dealing with the ethical issues (I get it, I dont like killing, but I also *really* like them tasty pork chops!) and still eat a good and tasty steak. But we're still some way off that, and its not clear its actually a truly solveable problem due to the fact much of why a steak tastes great and a liver tastes like hell is because of texture, a product of structure, something we are far away from solving.
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But the vegetarians I know seem to hate the stuff with a passion. Then again, these are people who dont eat meat because they just dont *like* the stuff rather than some moralistic type reason, so I'm not surprised they'd find fake meat a bit obnoxious.
I only rarely eat meat due to a psychological hangup I have over finding chunks of artery or vein in my beef. I just can't do it.
However, I fucking love the taste of the stuff.
I have found that the fake meats taste *very* close to the real thing, so I buy a lot of it.
Personally, I don't think anyone can say "Most vegetarians..." anything. But who knows.
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Believe it or not some people actually like the things they give up when they go vegetarian or vegan and enjoy the more accurate substitutes.
No one likes the one on the high horse dictating what should be enjoyed or not.
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Exactly this..
Vegetarians don't want to eat heavily processed foods designed to resemble meat. They would rather eat real fresh fruit and vegetables. Many people who choose a vegetarian diet do so because they don't actually like the taste of meat.
Meat eaters don't want to eat heavily processed fake meat.
If you eat a piece of meat, you know what it is and where it came from. Have any of these fake meat products ever fully explained the process and ingredients that go into their products?
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While eating plant-based meat (or no meat at all) has been shown to be the most effective thing individual consumers can do to fight climate change, "
The entire credibility of the article is put in to doubt with this one line. No, eating a plant-based diet only has not been shown to be the most effect thing individual consumers can do. What has been shown is walking or bicycling more and not taking a car or other fossil fueled vehicle.
BEANS BEANS BEANS BEANS BEANS (Score:2)
Re:BEANS BEANS BEANS BEANS BEANS (Score:4)
I tried a few, and it's impossible to get past the fact they just taste like meat flavored beans (since they are meat flavored processed beans).
I think you must be thinking about the old-style veggie burgers, like Morningstar Farms or Gardenburger, which indeed were basically just beans.
The new ones like Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat don't taste like beans.
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The vegetable patties like Morningstar Farms are perfectly good as long as you're not expecting meat.
Why would you eat fake meat? (Score:3, Insightful)
Why would you eat fake meat? If you want to eat meat, eat meat.
Don't eat some heavily processed mess that is supposed to taste like meat
Re:Why would you eat fake meat? (Score:5, Insightful)
because i don't want things to have to die for my meal, but i still like the taste of meat.
because i'm uncomfortable w/ the environmental impact of raising cattle, but i still like the taste of meat.
Re:Why would you eat fake meat? (Score:5, Insightful)
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"because i don't want things to have to die for my meal, "
You are not photosynthetic, so something is going to die for your meal. Whether it's a cow, a deer, a radish, or a bunch of embryo wheat plants, it will be dead when you are done.
If you think you can survive on apples, peaches and pears, go for it. However, made sure the seed/pits do not end up in the sewage treatment plants of a landfill or you have murdered them too.
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How do we draw the line between what we will and will not kill, in order to eat? Animals have been eating other animals as long as there have been animals. Even some plants eat animals. Why must we humans suddenly stop now that we have become "enlightened"? Wait, are we admitting that humans are different from animals, that we should no longer continue the practices of our ancestors throughout evolutionary history? Christians, Jews, and Muslims argue that humans are different from (and higher than) animals,
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So it's fine to kill people as long as I use all of the animal?
Re: Why would you eat fake meat? (Score:4, Informative)
Asserting animals aren't sentient [google.com] doesn't match observed evidence. Many a police or military dog handler would beg to disagree.
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So you've concluded that all the animal behaviors which suggest sentience [google.com] are false?
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Sentience doesn't mean complex thought, just the ability to feel.
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there's a special place in hell for callous murderers who dare to kill a fly or poison a mosquito or a mouse making a home in your attic.
You sound like the California Coastal Commission.
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What oneness? Never claimed any.
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Moral relativism taken all the way to nihilism. While I don't agree, I appreciate the measured response! Appreciated.
You grow up eating hamburgers (Score:3, Interesting)
As for why not real meat? For most it's an ethical thing. For me I find the taste/texture of real meat gross. Animal fat especially is disgusting to me. I have a weak sense of smell/taste so I mostly pick up on texture, so that actual meat is like chewy snot to me. It was a real pain growing up because people would plop these expensive cuts of meat in front of me and get upset when
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One reason, mentioned in the summary, is environmental impact. Eliminating meat from one's diet is one of the most significant ways that a person can reduce their carbon footprint.
It seems that environmentalists, as a group, are very quick to demand that wealthy corporations sacrifice profits in order to reduce their environmental impact, but very slow to change their own lifestyles to do the same. The moment this issue of giving up meat comes up, the response is one of various forms of "Hell no! I will
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Why would a vegetarian want a meat taste? (Score:2)
There's a novelty value, sure, but beyond that?
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Fake meat is not about taste. You can add yeast-based stock powder to any sauce, or processed vegetarian food to add umami and make it taste meaty.
The fake meat is maybe more about texture, mouth feel. And hopefully extra protein.
Technically the stock power / seasoning is not plant-based either, with fungi being their own kingdom and biologically more closely related to plants than animals. But that does not bother the vegans. Nor does it bother meat-eaters. Still tastes good!
Better for climate change, but not better for you (Score:5, Informative)
That stuff may taste like meat, but it's not any healthier for you. It's got tons of fat and cholesterol.
I can enjoy a good vegetarian meal, and don't need a lot of meat in my diet. but I'd rather just go vegetarian than mess around with imitation meat. It's not even close to "natural" and contains all sorts of processed and industrial products. You're much better off eating less processed food, and having a little meat once in a while if you crave it.
And guess what, imitation meat ain't gonna stop climate change. It's gonna take a wholesale revision of our lifestyle, burning much less fossil fuels. And it's already too late to avoid some really gnarly effects, and we haven't even started to take it seriously enough.
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And guess what, imitation meat ain't gonna stop climate change.
No single thing is going to stop climate change. It will take multiple different things done in all segments of the economy.
It is plausible that vegetable-based meat substitutes might contribute to one part of the solution. (But, it wouldn't be the first thing on my list of priorities, and not as high as tenth, either.)
I'd consider eating meat-alternatives, if... (Score:2)
I'd consider eating meat-alternatives, if they:
- taste at least as good as real meat;
- are cheaper than real meat;
- are unambiguously healthier than real meat.
For me, the value proposition isn't there.
Perhaps it might be, in the future.
Waiting for the vat-grown stuff (Score:2)
Soy protein is meh. There's already enough lecithin in products as it is (thankfully, soy lecithin is apparently short on isoflavones). Most of these meatless meat products are heavy on soy. Maybe not all of them, but soy is probably the easiest veggie protein to use for this application.
vat-grown stuff shows more promise in terms of end product. It'll be closer to "actual" meat, and it may make highly-desirable cuts more common once the technology matures.
vat-grown stuff from celebrity cells (Score:2)
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Tastes like pork?
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
as a vegetarian (Score:3, Insightful)
As a vegetarian I am amused by the so called vegetarian or vegan restaurants where the menue consists of fake burgers, fake chicken dishes, fake eggs and such. If you like and want to be a vegetarian (28 years being one in my case) you don't need a meet flavour substitute. If you want meet so much you are willing to eat something designed to fool you into believing you are eating steak or burger or fish or poultry or eggs, you really shouldn't torture yourself, just eat what you like. I went to a restaurant like that recently, except for a simple salad couldn't find anything to eat there. In most normal restaurants there is some choice for vegetarians, these types of fake food places there is actually nothing to eat.
Re:as a vegetarian (Score:5, Informative)
Completely agree. Most non-vegetarians believe that non-veg food has superior taste. That is a fallacy due to their belief that veg food is equal to their standard non-veg food minus meat. They also believe that you don't get enough protein from veg food based on the same false assumptions. Most vegetarians eat many dishes that they are not aware of. They taste good enough that you don't miss non-veg taste and they provide enough protein too.
If you are a meat eater and trying to become vegetarian/vegan, then don't just remove meat from your regular diet, That won't work. You have to substitute meat with tasty vegetarian dishes rich in proteins. You might have to try out many vegetarian dishes in order to find enough variety that you like so that you don't miss the non-veg taste.
Some are ethic vegetarian (Score:3)
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Don't try to explain away your Freudian slip - we all know you're eating PEOPLE that you meet....
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A real HUMANitarian.
McCricket (Score:2)
Fake meat is so Current Thing 2021. Zee Boogs are on deck.
The real issue is cost (Score:5, Insightful)
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Yeah, if I could get an Impossible burger at the same price as a beef burger, I'm ordering the Impossible burger every time. It's close enough to real ground beef that you can't tell the difference in a burger (or chili or many other ground beef dishes).
Unfortunately, Impossible burgers still carry a premium price, and it's not one I'm always willing to pay even if it benefits us all ecologically.
It costs 3x as much, is unhealthy, & tastes 'm (Score:5, Insightful)
The sliver of people who are vegetarians, but craving burgers, is small. Most vegetarians I've met either grew up in a culture where hamburger is either frowned upon or not the norm, like India, or are westerners who are self-righteous and enjoy being smug more than they enjoy the flavor of meat. They like vegetables, the vegetarian lifestyle, and more than anything...telling anyone in their presence about their beliefs. They either never ate burgers to begin with or don't miss it.
People like me would gladly buy some if it was the same price and healthier, but it's neither of those. I'd love to get a healthier source of lean protein that's the same price or cheaper.
The only person I know who bought it more than once it is a friend who is a virtue-signaling champion who is too hipster to go the vegan route (doesn't make her special in her deep blue town) but wants to tell everyone she's trying to reduce global warming. Even then, I don't think she buys it any more. She tried it for a few months and gave up because she likes to work out and lean animal protein is essential for physically active people. She and I both believe the health benefits of eating meat are too important to ignore.
So who is the target audience?...those who want to pay MORE to be unhealthy and have their food taste worse, but feel guilty about killing an animal?
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This. exactly. Heck, I'd even pay a bit more for something that was healthier, as long as the price difference wasn't exorbitant.
But three times as much? Not a chance. I could see as much as maybe 50% more being justifiable if it was actually healthier.
As you say, however... it is neither healthier *OR* cheaper, so
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I'd argue meat is very healthy (Score:2)
" It's LESS healthy " What is your source for this? I am not aware of any studies on this subject. We know real meat has bad health effects, but we don't know what component of the meat harms.
If meat was that harmful, India would be the healthiest country on the planet, by far. They probably have the highest proportion of vegetarians of any country and have been that way for many generations. In every list I've seen, Europe, Japan, Singapore, and Israel top the list in health metrics...countries with traditions of eating meat and some, like Switzerland, Sweeden and Norway, are definitely not famous for health food.
To answer your question, Beyond/Impossible meat is heavily processed with lot
Not the most efficient source of protein... (Score:2)
But most of these guys sure do enjoy eating a tube steak often. LOL.
...but definitely one of the most fun! Don't knock it until you've tried it, buddy! :)
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Totally agree. They actually taste like decent beers. There's a wide variety of types, including stouts. They taste GOOD. Not like 20 years ago when they all tasted wrong.
You might have to try a few brands to find what you like, but that's just like regular beer.
Zero-alcohol red wines aren't bad either. Very fruity and fresh, but that's not a bad thing.
No shit Sherlock (Score:4, Funny)
I prefer cows that fart less (Score:3)
So let me have my real beef and real dairy, and just modify the cows to have less flatulence [nypost.com], and we get lower environmental impact and actual meat.
Re: I prefer cows that fart less (Score:2)
Itâ(TM)s probably here for awhile. The southwest is really defined by water shortages, and yet everybody craps in purified drinking water and flushes it into the ocean. You can use all the pee and compost the poo for non-food crops to feed livestock. But food crops? Gross. Non food crops lets us get profit from sequestering carbon in plants where food crops donâ(TM)t do well, things like alfalfa. Beef will be around. I just wish the fake meat guys would become vegetarian protein guys, and make NEW
Well, I'm not eating it (Score:3)
Fizzling? More like SIZZLING! (Score:2)
The results are in - America's gone ga-ga over plant-based meat! Processed pea protein isolates, rice protein, mung bean protein... I'm drooling just thinking about it! Throw another processed shrimp-shaped mass of plant matter on the barbie - it's dinner time!
- Ethan Brown
"Beyond Beef" is decent. (Score:5, Interesting)
Look, nobody would mistake it for actual meat. But, I do use it in chili occasionally. They've done a really good job of mimicking the texture of ground beef in these circumstances. And... it tastes pretty good! If you're not too hung up on the idea that it's "not meat", then you probably will find it more than tasty enough. Despite not being a vegan, nor a keto follower, nor Indian, nor vegetarian... I use a recipe for "vegan low carb keto chili" I found on an Indian food web site.
Veggie burgers (Score:3)
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Processed Food rebranding? (Score:3)
Meh. I tried an impossible slider once. (Score:2)
Once. At Whities, your standards are all ready at fast food level and it was gross. Chicken rings are better than "impossible" burgers, for fuck's sake.
No thanks. (Score:2)
I'll rely on a couple thousand years of evolution and continue eating meat. Besides, I enjoy it.
I'll eat lab grown meat some day. (Score:3)
And I'll like it, once they work out the details. Yes real meat, complete with improved DNA and fat and protein and no hormones. It is the answer to many problems: good for the climate, good for quality control, flavor, texture, etc., good for cows and good for patent holders.
At first, every effort will be made to make the product look, feel and taste like regular meat. Hey, you know that we'll get bored with that. Eventually we can expect 3D printers that can give us beef, chicken, fish, or any combination of them. We can print in festive shapes and colors; we can add spices or other additives. Just for fun we can print chicken flesh in the shape of goldfish and check to see if any of our guests notice the joke.
Not surprising. (Score:3, Insightful)
I like meat and have no ethical qualms about eating a hamburger.
Having experienced dreadful faux meat products in the distant past, the hype around Impossible and Beyond Meat suggested to me that maybe they had "figured it out" - albeit at a high cost.
So, I bought bought "ground" Impossible Meat and cooked it at home and served it just as I often do "real" hamburgers. I had a bias to believe they were going to be good given all the hype.
I was sadly disappointed as they tasted nothing like meat. They were not inedible - i.e., if I were starving, I would eat them. However, I would never eat them even if they were free if I could buy my usual "real meat" ground sirloin - let alone at the price premium.
Admittedly, the way I prepare them does make the meat stand out (thick patties cooked medium and limited condiments) rather than recede into the background behind a lot of condiments and accouterments like tomatoes. I suppose if one puts as little "meat" as possible on their hamburgers, slathers them with a bunch of other add-ons, and puts them on a thick bun with a lot of flavor, maybe the "bean patty" sensation would fade into the background a bit -- but then why not just warm up a piece of Styrofoam and put it where the patty would be.
I'll probably not try faux meat again until they perfect "lab grown" meat (taste, texture, and cost).
price was just too high (Score:3)
Went to Walmart, saw it, considered it, but one look at the price and I went to the real thing. I did try the Burger King Whopper once and it was not that bad. Could hardly tell with everything they put on the whopper. It is not something that I would regularly buy, especially since there are still questions as to how healthy it really is.
There is no such thing as "Plant Based Meat". (Score:2)
Because4 it isn't meat.
Why do vegetarians go to all this trouble to simulate meat?
Especially when the shit they come up with is MORE unhealthy for you than actual meat.
who was this supposed to be for? (Score:3)
Is that what they were thinking? That meat-eaters would eat the plant thing, instead? That never entered my mind. I thought it was (a) just to have some product to offer to the veggie people and (b) I would maybe might try it once just to see if it tasted good, but that it wouldn't be replacing meats.
And so I heard from all my friends who tried it, that it tasted awful, and I never tried it.
As for my vegg friends, most of them wouldn't even enter a mainly-meat restaurant, regardless of whether there was a tasty burger for them or not. Too grossed out to be around that much meat!
Beyond is on lots and lots of menus - fast food and otherwise. I've never seen anyone eating it. I've been warned away from it, so probably won't ever try it. My veggie friends don't think it's good. Why would I, when there are known-delicious things that it's trying to be a second-class (but just as expensive) replacement?
Why did they invent this, again?
No such thing as plant based meat (Score:2)
It is an oxymoron created by morons.
Unless it is cheaper than the real thing. (Score:2)
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Not under current conditions no.
But the current methods are unsustainable as the population grows. Once large countries like China and India, etc are factored in, plus global overall growth - the earth can only support so many people on current methods.
At some point we will be forced to change, or their will be problems.
You can try to change now and make it orderly, or do nothing and its going to go badly. People love doing nothing.
I find this funny (Score:3)
We need to get to Mars (Score:2)
I can see fake meat being a fantastic thing for Mars, the Moon, and other longer space missions in general. Meat in space, even if fake, is a fantastic thing. Nobody is transporting cows to Mars....going to need beyond meat.
Until then it is going to have trouble being financially viable.
The 'investors' that valued this any higher than 300M or so should in fact be kicked in the dick for every single dollar they wasted on it. Meat people never liked it. Vegetarians never liked it. This is obviously a pro
Paraphrasing the Simpsons here (Score:3)
Last week, its chief operating officer was reportedly arrested for biting another man on the nose
Do these sound like the actions of a man who prefers plants to meat??
Food is not a tech startup (Score:3)
People care, with reason, about what goes into their bodies and there are lifelong habits and cultural traditions to contend with. A realistic expectation is getting a modest market share after a decade of extensive marketing, tweaking and outreach to different groups of customers. Anyone hoping for a quick return is delusional.
Meat eater who likes black bean patties (Score:2)
I like a good hamburger. If I'm going to eat a non-meat patty, I'll choose a good black bean or other patty, that isn't intended to taste like meat. Some of them are quite good. If I want hamburger, you can't beat the real thing. Vegetarians--and meat eaters--will be better served by foods that actually taste good, rather than trying to mimic meat.
Costs too much (Score:2)
It's OK. (Score:2)
Just keep going in the unsustainable way people are now and when the whole thing crashes, people will be fucked anyway.
Some people just gotta learn the hard way.
Just giving my 2 cents (Score:2)
Some highly processed meat substitutes contain neurotoxins. Due to the process and/or chemicals used to isolate the soy protein, it introduces hexane, which is listed as a neurotoxin. study [cornucopia.org]. I'd like to reiterate, this is due to the processing technique, not all meat substitutes. Because...
Good tasting, non-highly processed meat substitutes have already existed for a l
no surprise (Score:3)
After trying most of the fake-meat products the local supermarkets have to offer, I have strong opinion on this stuff:
One, do this "revolution" without me. I'd rather replace meat with vegetables or something else that doesn't taste like sawdust.
Two, stop selling this shit with the intent to deceive, making it almost indistinguishable from real meat, putting it right next to the real meat and making the "plant-based" or whatever text that makes it clear what it actually is smaller and smaller.
If someone wants to eat that stuff - go ahead. People eat insects and snakes, so why not pressed sawdust? But stop trying to trick me into buying it. If we need to eat more meat for the planet, I'd rather just leave out the meat and cook more veggies than putting this abomination on anything.
Re: (Score:2)
What happens when everyone on planet earth wants 'real beef' and population of the earth is double, triple, quadruple what it is now?
Meat is incredibly resource hungry to make. It's way more wasteful that alternatives - which aren't as good to be fair.
But if we keep on this track, we will run into problems - not enough resources to make 'real meat' for everyone.
But by all means bury your head in the sand and ignore what's coming. Or more likely what's coming for your grandchildren and great grandchildren.