Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’ • Hacker News Board

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

#431

Post by beloch » Mon, Aug 26, 2019, 10:03 PM UTC

_bxg1 wrote: 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…

The verdict is not yet in on whether Beyond Meat's products are actually healthier for you than real meat. Beyond Meat certainly makes this claim, but there exists debate[1].

[1]https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/beyond-meat-burger-beef-hea...

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

#432

Post by wolco » Mon, Aug 26, 2019, 10:05 PM UTC

mynameisvlad wrote: post #411

wolco wrote: post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the extra fat/salt/antibiotics.. and 26 questionable substances out of 29 for the spices. Just like grandma.

Several things to unpack here: - Unless you are in the SLT of KFC, you have absolutely no way to know what's in their spice blend. It is one of the most closely guarded recipes in the world. - There's famously 11 spices in the original recipe. So not only could you not possibly know what's in it (and therefore what's questionable), but you didn't even get the number of ingredients right to criticize. - Based on all t…

Read the original link for details on the 29 ingredients not to be confused with spices.

Let's address the mystery of the 11 spices. Here they are..

2/3 Ts Salt 1/2 Ts Thyme 1/2 Ts Basil 1/3 Ts Oregano 1 Ts Celery salt 1 Ts Black pepper 1 Ts Dried mustard 4 Ts Paprika 2 Ts Garlic salt 1 Ts Ground ginger 3 Ts White pepper

Have fun frying tonight.

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

#433

Post by triceratops » Mon, Aug 26, 2019, 10:14 PM UTC

nightski wrote: post #91

_bxg1 wrote: 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…

Watch when it has zero impact on climate change because the extensive ingredient list on the beyond meat burger which requires a huge supply chain shipping products all around the country along with a complicated manufacturing process requiring energy ends up having a similar environmental impact to simple animal farming.

> a complicated manufacturing process requiring energy ends up having a similar environmental impact to simple animal farming.

"Simple animal farming" is slightly disingenuous. It's not like the animal is slaughtered on the farm, cut up into steaks and sent directly to supermarkets. There's tons of complicated processing and handling going on after the animal is finished growing. And that's on top of the energy losses from feeding and raising the animal.

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

#434

Post by triceratops » Mon, Aug 26, 2019, 10:15 PM UTC

hombre_fatal wrote: post #338

xvector wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if the environmental impact is nil, I'm fine with the reduction in suffering imposed on tens of billions of animals a year. The scale of suffering created by the meat industry is unfathomable so I think this is a step in the right direction regardless.

Here's just one thing our ag industry does: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_u0jxi_v-w (male chick maceration). Nice video to enjoy with your factory farmed eggs.

That'll soon be a thing of the past.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/t...

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

#435

Post by michaelmrose » Mon, Aug 26, 2019, 10:18 PM UTC

devinhelton wrote: post #428

michaelmrose wrote: post #414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize that sourcing wikipedia is kind of lazy but I lack the time to read entire books full of every sort of misinformation that happens to be going around. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vegetarian_Myth From the article: --------------------------------------------------------- For the earth to survive, Keith thinks, the human population needs to be reduced by more than 90 percent. She also argues that the hu…

Every book taking a stance on a controversial subject is going to have those kinds of criticisms from the opposite side. It doesn't make those criticisms true. I don't endorse the book or her particular worldview 100% but I believe she does bring some true evidence to light about the good aspects of meat.

The criticism doesn't appear to merely come from some "opposing side" but also from disinterested observers without a particular dog in the fight.

Her only stated expertise outside of a high school education is that she spent multiple decades unhealthy because she decided to adopt a lifestyle choice and didn't bother to simultaneously read about how to eat a healthy diet without eating meat. Instead of figuring out how to eat vegetarian without being unhealthy or simply returning to a balanced diet she has decided that we ought to somehow get rid of almost all people and go back to being hunter gathers.

The problem is that she is a writer who writes about a broad range of topics she has no understanding of. Knowing how to put words together effectively can grant one an audience but it doesn't grant one any sort of expertise. She is a crank.

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

#436

Post by ceejayoz » Mon, Aug 26, 2019, 10:18 PM UTC

chiefalchemist wrote: post #425

tptacek wrote: 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…

I've presumed that the reason Taco Bell uses the word beefy was because they can't legally call it beef. Much like cheap "cheese" is a processed dairy product and not actually labeled as cheese.

They call it "seasoned beef", because it's seasoned. As a taco should be.

https://www.tacobell.com/ingredients

> Seasoned Beef: Beef, water, seasoning [cellulose, chili pepper, maltodextrin, salt, oats (contains wheat), soy lecithin, spices, tomato powder, sugar, onion powder, citric acid, natural flavors (including smoke flavor), torula yeast, cocoa, disodium inosinate & guanylate, dextrose, lactic acid, modified corn starch], salt, sodium phosphates. Contains: Soy, Wheat

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

#437

Post by ethbro » Mon, Aug 26, 2019, 10:19 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #84

_bxg1 wrote: 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…

For those who don't know various feed conversion ratios offhand:

{Type of meat} - {FCR, Edible Weight} - {Conversion efficiency %, caloric} - {Conversion efficiency %, protein}

Beef - 36 - 2.9% - 2.5%

Pork - 6 - 9% - 9%

Chicken - 4.2 - 13% - 21%

(specifics vary according to method, but cross species comparisons remain similar)

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/10/1...

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

#438

Post by phonypc » Mon, Aug 26, 2019, 10:19 PM UTC

693471 wrote: post #398

tptacek wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless McDonalds is committing fraud by listing chicken breast fillet (and no other proteins) in the ingredients for its grilled chicken sandwich, this is likely measurement error. I have no idea what Subway is selling. Subway squicks me out, as does Taco Bell.

Little known secret: Subway's Cold Cut Combo is all turkey COLD CUT COMBO: Turkey Bologna: Mechanically separated turkey, water, contains less than 2% of: salt, corn syrup solids, potassium lactate, dextrose, sodium diacetate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, flavorings. Turkey Ham: Cured turkey thigh meat, salt, contains less than 2% of: potassium lactate, brown sugar, sodium tripolyphosphate, dextrose, sodium di…

>Parmesan (cheese byproduct and sawdust)

Nitpicky, but this is itself misleading. Canned parm is mostly actual cheese, it's just... not very good. "Sawdust" is there in small amounts for anti-caking purposes, not bulking.

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

#439

Post by Sohcahtoa82 » Mon, Aug 26, 2019, 10:24 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #84

_bxg1 wrote: 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…

> and the general US appetite for "dark meat" chicken is so low

Which is sad, IMO.

"All white meat chicken breast" is a bug, not a feature, IMO. Leg and thigh meat has so much more flavor and is much more juicy than breast meat.

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

#440

Post by jngreenlee » Mon, Aug 26, 2019, 10:26 PM UTC

michaelmrose wrote: post #414

devinhelton wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

However tasty meat may be, it’s ethically and environmentally bad. I disagree entirely, but there is no need to relitigate this debate here. If by any chance you have never read the pro-meat argument, the book The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith is a pretty good primer.

I realize that sourcing wikipedia is kind of lazy but I lack the time to read entire books full of every sort of misinformation that happens to be going around. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vegetarian_Myth From the article: --------------------------------------------------------- For the earth to survive, Keith thinks, the human population needs to be reduced by more than 90 percent. She also argues that the hu…

>I think our present trajectory is obviously unsustainable

Curious what makes you think that, with some real hard numbers, etc.

I think we've become very good as a culture at brainwashing ourselves into a doomsday attitude when it comes to planetary resources...yet we've actually done quite well at getting rid of or minimizing bad practices as we learn they are damaging. Nukes, CFCs, noxious smokestacks...sure not 100%, but getting better over decades.

Yes I'm an optimist...I think the Earth is all we need, and based on scientific advancements and slow learning over decades (we barely even use the [deserts|seas|tundra]!), we could easily live well and without abject poverty at 100 BN+ in centuries to come.