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Impossible Burgers’ key, bloody ingredient gets long awaited nod from FDA

arstechnica.com

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Re: Impossible Burgers’ key, bloody ingredient gets long awaited nod from FDA

#31

Post by glass_of_water »

maxxxxx wrote: post #19
jlawson wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The goal isn't just to have a "veggie burger bleed", it's to replicate the experience of eating meat. Perhaps they have failed so far (according to your taste test), but the goal is valid. If someone can find a way to make a product near-indistinguishable from meat without raising and killing animals, it would be a massive victory for the environment (meat production is CO2-intensive), for the cause of bringing decen…

I think for that purpose it's better to work on lab-grown meat. Making veggies taste like meat seems misguided to me. Either eat real veggies or eat real meat.

Does it have to be one or the other though? What's wrong with funding projects such as the impossible burger until lab-grown meat is economically viable?

I feel like your position is analogous to saying, "I think it's better to focus on nuclear fusion. Why waste time working on renewables?" Of course we'd like to power everything with fusion, but it's not there yet economically or technologically. So in the mean time, it's probably a good idea to also fund intermediate solutions.

> Either eat real veggies or eat real meat.

Could you explain this stance? Precisely what do you find objectionable about other people choosing to eat plant-based foods that happen to imitate meat?

Edit: I see your position against the meat substitutes is primarily health-based. Almost certainly it would be harmful to one's health to consume foods such as the impossible burger frequently, but you should consider that the products that it's trying to replace aren't necessarily any healthier.

Re: Impossible Burgers’ key, bloody ingredient gets long awaited nod from FDA

#32

Post by maxxxxx »

astura wrote: post #21
maxxxxx wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think for that purpose it's better to work on lab-grown meat. Making veggies taste like meat seems misguided to me. Either eat real veggies or eat real meat.

What about the people who gave up meat for health reasons? There is a market for this, just because you aren't in the target market doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Fake burgers may be not be healthier. They are highly processed food made only for taste and not nutritional value. People should eat real vegetables for health reasons.

Re: Impossible Burgers’ key, bloody ingredient gets long awaited nod from FDA

#33

Post by maxxxxx »

glass_of_water wrote: post #31
maxxxxx wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think for that purpose it's better to work on lab-grown meat. Making veggies taste like meat seems misguided to me. Either eat real veggies or eat real meat.

Does it have to be one or the other though? What's wrong with funding projects such as the impossible burger until lab-grown meat is economically viable? I feel like your position is analogous to saying, "I think it's better to focus on nuclear fusion. Why waste time working on renewables?" Of course we'd like to power everything with fusion, but it's not there yet economically or technologically. So in the mean time…

I have nothing against Impossible Burgers. I just don't think it's a contribution to better nutrition or a cultural change away from meat. It's a gimmick.

My objection against imitation meat is the same I have against sugary breakfast cereals. They make people believe that they are doing something healthy but in reality they are eating highly processed food that has purely been created for taste and not for nutrition.

Re: Impossible Burgers’ key, bloody ingredient gets long awaited nod from FDA

#35

Post by wes-k »

adrianmonk wrote: post #28
maxxxxx wrote: post #14

I don't get the point of having a veggie burger bleed. I tried an Impossible Burger a while ago and didn't find it that great. It doesn't taste like real meat and is just an average veggie burger. I think it's more of a gimmick.

Actual animal-meat burgers don't literally have blood in them. They have myoglobin, which is similar to the hemoglobin found in blood, but different. So a burger doesn't bleed, it has moisture which makes it wet and myoglobin which makes it red, but the red liquid isn't blood. Anyway, there are 3 purposes I can think of: (1) Looks. The myoglobin substitute, leghemoglobin, that they put in the Impossible Burger will m…

(4) Char. I believe the heme (maybe myoglobin, I’m not a doctor) also helps when grilling to get the char and carmelization you get with normal meat burgers.

Re: Impossible Burgers’ key, bloody ingredient gets long awaited nod from FDA

#36

Post by dghughes »

maxxxxx wrote: post #14

I don't get the point of having a veggie burger bleed. I tried an Impossible Burger a while ago and didn't find it that great. It doesn't taste like real meat and is just an average veggie burger. I think it's more of a gimmick.

Many people don't care if it's meat or vegetables as long as it looks and tastes like meat to them. So the goal could be to reduce harm to the environment by reducing the amount of animals being farmed for meat. Not necessarily get rid of all animal farming just reduce it.

There is a lot of waste in the meat industry in the US and Canada. Many countries all over the world eat all the animal but in the US and Canada you never or rarely see people demanding a serving of offal, liver, kidneys, tongue, eyes, brain. If a hamburger could be made out of vegetables then I bet most people wouldn't care what it was made of.

Re: Impossible Burgers’ key, bloody ingredient gets long awaited nod from FDA

#37

Post by glass_of_water »

maxxxxx wrote: post #33
glass_of_water wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it have to be one or the other though? What's wrong with funding projects such as the impossible burger until lab-grown meat is economically viable? I feel like your position is analogous to saying, "I think it's better to focus on nuclear fusion. Why waste time working on renewables?" Of course we'd like to power everything with fusion, but it's not there yet economically or technologically. So in the mean time…

I have nothing against Impossible Burgers. I just don't think it's a contribution to better nutrition or a cultural change away from meat. It's a gimmick. My objection against imitation meat is the same I have against sugary breakfast cereals. They make people believe that they are doing something healthy but in reality they are eating highly processed food that has purely been created for taste and not for nutrition…

From a nutritional standpoint, I agree that it would be unfortunate if people replaced healthy foods in their diet with the impossible burger. But I think part of your position is predicated on the idea that real meat (specifically ground beef in this case) is healthier. I don't think it's clear yet whether or not that's the case.

Would you be willing to elaborate on the culture change point? Do you think that too few people are concerned about animal welfare to choose the impossible burger over ground beef even if it's competitive price-wise?

Re: Impossible Burgers’ key, bloody ingredient gets long awaited nod from FDA

#38

Post by melq »

I know this is a stupid thing to get upset about, but it annoys me SO MUCH that they refer to it as something that 'bleeds'. Real burgers don't bleed! Nor do steaks, or any other cut of beef you might purchase at the grocery. The red, translucent juices that come out of a burger or steak are red for the same reason the meat itself is red: myoglobin. Not blood.

Re: Impossible Burgers’ key, bloody ingredient gets long awaited nod from FDA

#39

Post by acheron »

melq wrote: post #38

I know this is a stupid thing to get upset about, but it annoys me SO MUCH that they refer to it as something that 'bleeds'. Real burgers don't bleed! Nor do steaks, or any other cut of beef you might purchase at the grocery. The red, translucent juices that come out of a burger or steak are red for the same reason the meat itself is red: myoglobin. Not blood.

Thank you, I thought the same thing.

If your meat has blood coming out of it, you need a new butcher.

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