Live data from Hacker News

Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’

theverge.com

311–320 of 528 posts

Re: Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’

#311
post #2

I think it's fascinating how all these fast-food chains are jumping on artificial meat. It makes perfect sense: meat is expensive and difficult to work with, so low-cost chains like these have been serving really disgustingly low-quality meat for quite some time now; in some cases it could barely even be called meat. Plant-based meat, on the other hand, can be both cheaper and less gross at the same time, and it migh…

> Plant-based meat, on the other hand, can be both cheaper Definitely not the case at the moment. Last week I went to Del Taco and tried their Beyond Taco. It was $2.49 each compared to the meat one which was $1.49. If I recall correctly, you can switch to an Incredible burger patty at Red Robin for $3 extra .

it actually is cheaper. its just the govt subsidizes meat and livestock feed so real meat is artificially cheaper.

Re: Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’

#312
post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

McDonalds does in fact use 100% USDA-inspected beef, with "no fillers, additives, or preservatives", and explicitly does not use mechanically separated meat. It's not "organic", but then, most beef isn't.

Then I am happy to say I am happy for their recent changes, this certainly wasn’t the case a few years ago when I wrote them off, and even more not the case 10 years ago when I was still in the industry. I think it should be promoted as an example that consumer pressure and expectations can cause companies to change for the better. I will say I remain skeptical on exactly how they can go from the ammonia wash + chemi…

I'm not saying you shouldn't write them off. McDonalds fries are solid, but everything else there is terrible. And fast food is in general bad, and I don't want to be coming off like I'm saying that people should eat more of it.

Re: Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’

#313
post #133

Why do American (and presumably westerners) vegetarians want to replace meat? I hated vegan and vegetarian food for song long until I ate meat free Indian food. It was always the meat replacements like veggie patties and tofurkey type products that turned me away. Indian food doesn’t have some weird mystery replacement I find on almost every vegan or veggie dish. I had a conversation with and Indian colleague who liv…

> Why do American (and presumably westerners) vegetarians want to replace meat

Vegetarians do not want to replace meat. (I mean, they are already vegetarian). Anecdotally, I haven't met a single vegetarian/vegan who is interested in Impossible or Beyond Meat substitutes. Such products are instead very helpful for those who want to reduce read meat in their diet.

Re: Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’

#314
post #84
post #2

I think it's fascinating how all these fast-food chains are jumping on artificial meat. It makes perfect sense: meat is expensive and difficult to work with, so low-cost chains like these have been serving really disgustingly low-quality meat for quite some time now; in some cases it could barely even be called meat. Plant-based meat, on the other hand, can be both cheaper and less gross at the same time, and it migh…

Can you make a clearer, better-cited case for "low cost chains serve meat that could barely even be called meat"? KFC serves (primarily) whole muscle chicken†, and the general US appetite for "dark meat" chicken is so low that we've been accused of "dumping" it on other countries and messing up their markets --- KFC seems to have no trouble sourcing its inputs effectively. KFC's suppliers include all the major chicke…

Intensively reared supermarket poultry is hardly a standard. Not in the UK anyway. Various respected media outlets have done undercover investigations in to the poultry supply chain. High-profile chefs have done campaigns to increase welfare and change buying habits. The RSPCA have serious concerns about intensively reared birds.

https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/latest/details/-/articleNa...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/chicken-supe...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/23/-sp-revealed-d...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/28/uks-top-sup...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/28/uks-top-sup...

Re: Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’

#316
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you make a clearer, better-cited case for "low cost chains serve meat that could barely even be called meat"? KFC serves (primarily) whole muscle chicken†, and the general US appetite for "dark meat" chicken is so low that we've been accused of "dumping" it on other countries and messing up their markets --- KFC seems to have no trouble sourcing its inputs effectively. KFC's suppliers include all the major chicke…

This[1] paper has nothing to do with KFC or their chicken per-se, but it did make me steer clear of fast food burgers for a long time. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18995204 TLDR: "Meat content in the hamburgers ranged from 2.1% to 14.8% (median, 12.1%)."

"The purpose of this study is to assess the content of 8 fast food hamburger brands"

It is unclear from the abstract whether they were measuring the entire hamburger, including the bun and other condiments, or just the burger portion.

Re: Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’

#317
post #222
post #2

I think it's fascinating how all these fast-food chains are jumping on artificial meat. It makes perfect sense: meat is expensive and difficult to work with, so low-cost chains like these have been serving really disgustingly low-quality meat for quite some time now; in some cases it could barely even be called meat. Plant-based meat, on the other hand, can be both cheaper and less gross at the same time, and it migh…

Why do you think plant-based meats are lower calories than regular meat? IIRC they are pretty similar as far as calories go. There's no evidence plant-based burgers are healthier. Why would eating something super processed and filled with carbs be better than eating meat?

> filled with carbs

And that's bad? After working on my property cutting down weeds and dead trees carbs are super healthy. Carbs are only not healthy if you live a sedentary lifestyle. Carbs are our main short-term fuel source.

And yes i do intermittent fasting.

Re: Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’

#318
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The impossible whooper was inevitable and brilliant. As you mentioned, the meats served were often already low quality, with fillers, and it was arguable if it was even meat. Some fast food chains served "100% beef", but it didn't taste very different from the other crap. So the bar is low. Replacing questionable meat with hype pseudo-meat is a straight win all around. I'm as carnivore as they come, but if I have to…

Fast food chains almost universally serve all-and-nothing-but beef patties, and always have. I don't understand the confusion over this. You can immediately tell from the texture.

> I don't understand the confusion over this.

Propaganda by people trying to sell the same thing as "healthier" has convinced a lot of people that it is true. It helps that the idea of a large corporation selling sawdust as meat is incredibly believable though.

Re: Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’

#319
post #293

I was a vegetarian, vegan, then back to vegetarian, then flexitarian, and now predominately carnivore -- over the course of 15 years. The me from 2 years ago would be overjoyed about this "progress", from an ethical standpoint and from believing that meat is bad for you. Present me sees this as what it is: another unhealthy product in an already oversaturated marketplace to dupe suckers.

How did your reasoning about the ethics of eating meat evolve over this time?

I learned more about human biology, how to read research studies, and to self-experiment rather than just "reason".

Having low testosterone, constant pain, mental health problems, etc. before and during my vegetarian/vegan experiment seemed like it was "NORMAL".

I read a little bit about the foods I was eating causing inflammation, which has a high impact on all of this, and how keto & carnivore diets were low inflammation, and affected biomarkers that I do not even understand.

I switched to low carb vegetarian, but this did not help much. And it was not satiating. And it's expensive. And, from what I've read from the authorities I somewhat trust, it is not as healthy.

I then switch to all meat (literally steak, eggs, butter, and salt) for a couple of weeks and my mood and body composition improved immensely. I wouldn't recommend that diet long-term, but it made me realize that life did not have to be as miserable as it was on the vegetarian diet...

Re: Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’

#320

I think the fake meat movement will go the way of Margarine. Initially it's celebrated as a feat of engineering and as the healthy alternative to meat. After about 10 to 20 years however, we'll see cancer and heart disease rates going up. And then the billions of dollars spent in health care will pile up, but nobody will readily admit it, because the fuck up will be even bigger than with Margarine. After all, Margari…

The fake meat movement is just a cash grab for those who want to eat like crap but feel good about themselves. Looking at the ingredients list, it's pretty obvious that cancer/heart disease will go up. I've already got a long-term Put Option on $BYND because not even the CEO or big celebrity investors believe it is a good long-term bet -- cashing out at its peak a few weeks back. Given the relative ease of spreading…

Let me guess: You're eating a lot of meat?
Post reply on HN