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Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

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Re: Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

#141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My values are not yours. I do not consider animal lives worth valuing or deserving of rights. This is a fundamental disagreement, the only possible peaceful solution is agree to disagree (I hope we don't come down to the non-peaceful ones)

There are also important environmental issues that come with the production of meat and other animal products.

As a meat eater, this is the main reason why I am interested in artificial meat production. The whole "living beings" argument isn't very convincing, but that's just my opinion.

Re: Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

#142

Do vegan/vegetarians really want something that reminds them of meat products? Why not just make a good meat-free sandwich that doesn't imitate another product?

It depends a lot on the person. I know vegetarians who are disgusted by anything like meat and hate the Impossible Burger because it's too close to meat. For me, though, I've been vegetarian for a few years and I have fond memories of tasty beef burgers. I've been hoping to get that experience back (without sacrificing the ethical and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet), so an excellent meat-like veggie bur…

Definitely! I'm a vegetarian (not vegan) and I don't like Impossible Burger. It is just too "real". They use beets to make the burger red and "juicier". My local burger place offers Impossible Burger as an option, but they charge an extra $4 over a beef burger. I like Beyond Meat a lot, though.

Re: Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

#143
post #3

Congrats to that team for building a great product. I hope they see a lot of success. Long term, I hope plant based meat alternatives become commoditized. If there are a bunch of alternatives that taste just as good and importantly are cheaper than meat , most people will switch. That's a huge win for the environment (and also animal rights), and I can't wait to see it happen.

I am not getting this. Highly processed foods are the source of all problems and people cheer up for synthetic food!

Re: Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

#144
post #6

That's really cool. Although I wish there were more vegan food that didn't try to replicate non-vegan textures and flavors. Imitation can only be playing catch-up. The best vegan and vegetarian food does its own thing.

I used to think that, but the thing is "non-vegan textures" is by definition a superset of "vegan textures" anyway. At the moment it's a strict superset so why not make the sets equal?

Re: Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My values are not yours. I do not consider animal lives worth valuing or deserving of rights. This is a fundamental disagreement, the only possible peaceful solution is agree to disagree (I hope we don't come down to the non-peaceful ones)

What if I don't value your life and want to keep you as a slave, would it be fair to 'agree to disagree'?

That is why violent solutions are sometimes the only possibility. There are times my values can be different from someone else, and times that different value system cannot be allowed to exist in the world.

Re: Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

#146
post #3

Congrats to that team for building a great product. I hope they see a lot of success. Long term, I hope plant based meat alternatives become commoditized. If there are a bunch of alternatives that taste just as good and importantly are cheaper than meat , most people will switch. That's a huge win for the environment (and also animal rights), and I can't wait to see it happen.

I love meat but I've always struggled to reconcile my love of eating it with my love of animals. I would be happy to pay a premium if it meant I could get meat-like taste without the guilt

Re: Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

#147
The 1.0 version was not very good, at least to this meat-lover. I tried it at White Castle several months ago and I'd never order another one. Here's hoping the 2.0 version is good enough to move me further in the vegetarian direction.

Re: Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

#148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The incomplete protein thing is a myth [1]. The amino acid profile of single ingredients is almost never a concern in practice, because meals nearly always contain complimentary proteins. It's actually really difficult to avoid complimentary proteins if you have anything like normal dietary habits. Furthermore, it's not even necessary for every meal to provide all essential amino acids, as long as your diet isn't chr…

It depends on your protein needs and goals. Survival is different from optimal performance.

Not sure what you mean by "optimal performance". Your body needs a finite daily amount of each essential amino acid for tissue growth and repair. If you're an athlete you might need more at times, and some health problems can cause usage of particular aminos to spike, but the requirement is always finite. Consuming more than those amounts has no proven benefit (unless that protein is meant to displace calories from carbs or fat, which is a completely different topic).

Optimal daily intake of all essential amino acids is easy to achieve with any sensible dietary habit, even for very active adults. If you're consuming adequate protein each day, given your activity level and health, then the amino profile of your protein intake is completely irrelevant unless your diet is really goofy.

I'd encourage you to read that Forks over Knives article.

Re: Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

#149

Why do some vegans and vegetarians want to eat something that looks like meat? This is not to say vegans and vegetarians are the only market for plant-based "meat" or "burgers".

That's a great question.

I asked this to a vegan some years ago. She explained that there is an entire culture of food surrounding meat. Meat-based foods are described in terms that sound wonderful, and people often describe how much they love those foods. She doesn't get to engage in that part of our culture because she doesn't eat those foods. It disconnects you from the people around you, and you feel left out.

In Philadelphia, eating a cheesesteak sandwich is an experience that connects you to the people and history of the city. Besides just being a tasty food, it's an iconic part of the local culture. People like engaging with their culture. And for another reason, as this article[1] explains, one restauranteur wanted to create a casual place where a non-vegan could order a cheesesteak and decide, hey, this is pretty good even without meat.

[1] http://www.philly.com/philly/food/20140320_And_the_best_vega...

Re: Meat-free 'Impossible Burger 2.0' tastes even closer to the real deal

#150
post #6

That's really cool. Although I wish there were more vegan food that didn't try to replicate non-vegan textures and flavors. Imitation can only be playing catch-up. The best vegan and vegetarian food does its own thing.

I say whatever sells more non-meat burgers is good. Telling a die-hard meat eater to just eat a mushroom or some eggplant is not going to be effective.

I'm just a sample size of one, but I'm willing to eat it if it tastes good. I think the biggest problem is habit (or I guess that overlaps with culture). People are hungry and see a burger for a decent price and know it will be acceptable. A lot of foods you can just add chicken or ground beef to.

I've had some fantastic vegan food, but the only vegan food that's a commodity for me is Indian food or faux-meat products. So convincingly good faux-meat is probably the easiest way to move people.

My big problem is that most meals without meat I'm not satiated. This also happens when the main protein is fish. For salads I hear a bunch of people joke that you get tired of eating before you get full. I also think this is habit for me. I'm not sure if meat alternatives address this.

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