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Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

nytimes.com

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Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#211

Post by scott_s »

alpaca128 wrote: post #194
gnicholas wrote: post #176

Are they cooked separately from the meat burgers? Some people don’t care, but some definitely do. Carl’s Jr. doesn’t keep their Beyond Burgers separate, apparently.

Just out of interest, what's the reasoning behind a strict separation of the two? I understand it in the case of gluten free products because that can really have health implications, but when you are vegan for ethical reasons it shouldn't make a difference, right? But I'd say this is great news either way. I like meat, but when there's a way to get the same taste and texture without the bad consequences for animals…

For some vegetarians and vegans, they are greatly troubled if they consume even any animal by-product. There was a point when I felt this way; I stopped after a while, and told people "Don't worry, I'm not religious about it."

I think there can be digestive concerns; eating a non-meat thing that was soaked in beef-grease may cause digestive trouble for someone who hasn't had beef in a very long time. But I've also heard of former vegetarians who had no trouble when they started eating meat again. Personally, I've suspected if some minor digestive trouble after various meals was caused by stray meat by-products making their way into my food, but I can't be sure what caused it.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#212

Post by xutopia »

I tried the V1 and found it lacking in terms of flavour and texture. It looked decent until you bite into it, at which point it looked less like meat and more like ground up veggies. I applaud the effort and look forward to tasting V2. That said I don't believe it is necessarily healthier for someone.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#213

Post by monetus »

intuitionist wrote: post #169
moosey wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carl's also has the beyond burger, which I personally think is superior. My wife disagrees, and prefers your standard veggie burgers (we are vegans of 15 years).

My current diet is “intermittently vegan,” and when I’m not eating meat, I find myself preferring the taste of actual veggies in my veggie burgers. Where traditional veggie burgers fall short in my experience is their texture. No matter how much breadcrumbs or potato starch or xanthan gum you add, a patty based on beans and veggies is gonna be squishier than one based on muscle fibers.

I had a homemade one once, of brussel sprouts, where the leaves must have intermeshed in such a way as to be pretty damn similar in texture. No similarity in taste, though.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#214

Post by nickik »

josefresco wrote: post #165
natalyarostova wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's cool, I mean definitely do what is best for you. I think there is a lot of room for self-discovery of our own optimal diets. The salt debate is one of those things where nutrition science can't seem to settle on it, depending on the survey.

High salt consumption is linked to high blood pressure, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. You're right in that there's some debate around salt, and what amount is the "right" amount. However, for people with auto immune diseases (like me) it's a valid concern. https://www.cdc.gov/features/sodium/index.html

If you have a specific disease its one thing but please do not advocate and claim what is healthy or not for most people based on that. Many vegi burgers that people would eat as replacements are far more unhealthy.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#215

Post by bena »

udkl wrote: post #135
djakjxnanjak wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My first complaint about the nutrition of the Morningstar burger is the ratio of carbs to protien. Restaurants are already throwing tons of carbs at me. I really want protein in my burger patty.

Wait, are you really complaining about nutrition at a fast food restaurant ?

I really hate this take that if something is not perfect, you might as well just give up completely.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#216

Post by asavadatti »

inciampati wrote: post #25
54mf wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"First: The vegetarians that I know don't like meat." Hi, nice to meet you! Vegan for almost a decade, the smell of a burger on the grill in the summer gives me hella cravings. We exist. "Second: When I tasted an Impossible Burger, it was awful. It tasted like a horrible veggie burger." I'm jealous, you must not have ever eaten a truly horrible veggie burger. I had a Gardenburger in like 2005 that literally tasted li…

The cravings are probably a sign that you are missing something essential that is in the burger. It tastes good because it is nutritious. I would eat a burger occasionally to stay healthy.

This is specious reasoning. A whiff of cigarette smoke can trigger cravings for nicotine. That doesn't mean one is missing something essential or that its nutritious. (or that one should eat a cigarette occasionally to stay healthy ;)

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#217

Post by bbrian »

alpaca128 wrote: post #194
gnicholas wrote: post #176

Are they cooked separately from the meat burgers? Some people don’t care, but some definitely do. Carl’s Jr. doesn’t keep their Beyond Burgers separate, apparently.

Just out of interest, what's the reasoning behind a strict separation of the two? I understand it in the case of gluten free products because that can really have health implications, but when you are vegan for ethical reasons it shouldn't make a difference, right? But I'd say this is great news either way. I like meat, but when there's a way to get the same taste and texture without the bad consequences for animals…

Some people seem to go vegan because they're emotionally off-kilter. I'm in a few vegan Facebook groups and I've seen posts where people are way over-reacting to food cooked on the same surface, or talking about their emotional breakdown over the suffering of animals. I'm vegan almost two years and I'm pretty sure I ate mayo on a burger two weeks ago. I ordered it explicitly without, but sending it back would just create waste and no benefit.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#218

Post by scottie_m »

scott_s wrote: post #211
alpaca128 wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just out of interest, what's the reasoning behind a strict separation of the two? I understand it in the case of gluten free products because that can really have health implications, but when you are vegan for ethical reasons it shouldn't make a difference, right? But I'd say this is great news either way. I like meat, but when there's a way to get the same taste and texture without the bad consequences for animals…

For some vegetarians and vegans, they are greatly troubled if they consume even any animal by-product. There was a point when I felt this way; I stopped after a while, and told people "Don't worry, I'm not religious about it." I think there can be digestive concerns; eating a non-meat thing that was soaked in beef-grease may cause digestive trouble for someone who hasn't had beef in a very long time. But I've also he…

Wouldn’t those same people want to avoid a place like Burger King in general? They’d be supporting the business of one of the largest consumers of beef in the world.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#219

Post by jonfw »

nickik wrote: post #196
jonfw wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given the nature of evolution, I think that the appeal to nature in nutrition is a much more substantive argument than can be immediately dismissed. Grossly speaking, natural foods have also existed for longer and been better studied, meaning we are more likely to know about the impact of natural foods than newer foods that aren't yet common to our diet. While "better because natural" isn't some infallible nutritiona…

Nature has also evolved lots of stuff that would kill you. And many things that are just plain unhealthy. And even those foods you consider 'natural' are highly evolved plants that have been optimized for human consumption by generations of humans. There is very little natural about many of the fruits and vegetables we eat that are actually truly natural.

I agree, there is a lot that's harmful in nature. But we as humans have been developing knowledge about how these natural foods affect our health for thousands of years, across a sample on the scale of billions.

Tribes completely isolated from modern society have been proven to have extremely rich knowledge of the plants in their environments. As humans, we are extremely familiar with plants found in nature.

GMO foods are chemically speaking much closer to natural than this veggie patty we are talking about. It lies on a spectrum so arguing about how neatly something fits a definition is missing the point.

Re: Burger King is introducing a vegetarian patty from the start-up Impossible Foods

#220

Post by Theodores »

alpaca128 wrote: post #194
gnicholas wrote: post #176

Are they cooked separately from the meat burgers? Some people don’t care, but some definitely do. Carl’s Jr. doesn’t keep their Beyond Burgers separate, apparently.

Just out of interest, what's the reasoning behind a strict separation of the two? I understand it in the case of gluten free products because that can really have health implications, but when you are vegan for ethical reasons it shouldn't make a difference, right? But I'd say this is great news either way. I like meat, but when there's a way to get the same taste and texture without the bad consequences for animals…

Cross contamination. You don't want your veggie burger to be prepared/fried/grilled/microwaved/burnt on the same surfaces with the same fats that are being used for the dead animal products.

Some of this is to do with pathogens, some of it is due to taste.

There are many vegetarian products designed to taste like meat, e.g. fake bacon, but plenty of vegetarians do not actually like the taste of meat even if that is acquired second hand by using the same grill or utensils.

even using the same knife to cut a meat sandwich and then a vegetarian sandwich with no washing in between is a cause of concern as far as contamination with 'animal germs' is concerned.

Quality establishments get these details right. They also tend to do better when the food inspectors come round.

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