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

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

#461

Post by seanmcdirmid »

webninja wrote: post #460
_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…

Meat has been highly produced because the gov’t of Nixon’s era and today’s era has been buying up tons of bushels of grain(1). The gov’t bought grain to help support & subsidize farmers and ranchers. Grain is convenient to offload as cattle feed. Cheap cattle feed encourages raising cattle. Cow farts contribute over 40% of the world’s methane(2). Methane contributes 34 times more towards global warming per unit than…

> Cow farts contribute over 40% of the world’s methane. Methane contributes 34 times more towards global warming per unit than carbon dioxide.

How many total units of methane are there vs. total units of CO2? Otherwise, I can’t make a value judgement about the impact of cows on global warming.

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

#462

Post by adrianmonk »

tempsy wrote: post #222
_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…

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?

Take beef vs. Impossible Burger as an example. These articles have some detailed info:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/impossible-burger#nutri... https://www.cookinglight.com/news/is-the-impossible-burger-h...

It's not a clear win for either side. Impossible Burger has more carbs and less protein, so it's inferior in that way. But it also has more fiber (beef has none), which is good. Impossible also (surprisingly) has more saturated fat than beef, but it has no cholesterol.

As one of the articles points out, Impossible's main goal isn't making healthy food. It's other stuff like saving the planet. So it is possible that another fake-meat company could prioritize health more.

The formula for beef isn't going to change, but the formula for fake meat will, so fake meat might gain ground when it comes to health.

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

#463

Post by tptacek »

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…

Exactly why would anyone care that there are "California Port wines"? That's a good thing. The Portuguese make "ports" out of all sorts of grape varietals, and California has excellent grapes.

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

#464

Post by adrianmonk »

paxys wrote: post #313
wil421 wrote: 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.

I've personally dined with three vegetarians at the meals where they went to try the Impossible Burger for the first time.

It's dangerous to make blanket statements about what all vegetarians think. For example, on the question of why someone has chosen to be a vegetarian, I've heard a long list of different reasons, including: animal welfare, environment, their own health/longevity/energy, not liking the taste of meat, not enjoying the idea of eating an animal's flesh (even if it were ethical), their religion encourages it, and/or it's their default because they were brought up that way and have never tasted meat.

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

#465

Post by webninja »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #461
webninja wrote: post #460

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meat has been highly produced because the gov’t of Nixon’s era and today’s era has been buying up tons of bushels of grain(1). The gov’t bought grain to help support & subsidize farmers and ranchers. Grain is convenient to offload as cattle feed. Cheap cattle feed encourages raising cattle. Cow farts contribute over 40% of the world’s methane(2). Methane contributes 34 times more towards global warming per unit than…

> Cow farts contribute over 40% of the world’s methane. Methane contributes 34 times more towards global warming per unit than carbon dioxide. How many total units of methane are there vs. total units of CO2? Otherwise, I can’t make a value judgement about the impact of cows on global warming.

I used to link to the EPA but I learned this week that they might be a captured agency(1). They used to have a website section devoted to methane, it’s sources, and it’s contribution but it’s either been taken down or I simply can’t find it.

However, Bill Gates writes in his blog that Agriculture contributes towards 24% of the world’s climate change and that “Cattle are a huge source of methane; in fact, if they were a country, they would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases!”(2). His blog post that I link to below is admittedly a secondary source but I think he does a pretty good job at showing the big picture.

Sources:

(1)https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture

(2)https://www.gatesnotes.com/Energy/My-plan-for-fighting-clima...

If you go on to find a good (hopefully primary) source, please reply with it here!

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

#466

Post by claudiawerner »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #439
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…

> 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.

I agree on the flavor but I think part of it is that it's a lot of hassle and just doesn't look as appealing as breast meat. There's a higher chance of biting into gristle/something hard, the meat can be "slimy", and I find that at chains that do "fried chicken", at least, they do a generally poorer job of breading the meat. It's not crunchy and battered like a "chicken tender". Thighs are a different matter since you can pick/scrape off the bone with a knife and fork, but they're also larger so the batter to chicken ratio is sub-optimal.

Wings are tolerated because they're small and predictable, but I've been seeing the rise of "boneless wings" too. People generally don't have a problem with the thighs and legs of the chicken if it's served differently or just as "chicken" in another product. But on the bone it's messy.

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

#467

Post by paulcole »

fromthestart wrote: post #130
telesilla wrote: post #103

I'm preparing a large dinner for an organisation at the moment and decided that we'd make the menu vegan/vegetarian (we use a wonderful Italian caterer, so flavour isn't going to be missed). When I mentioned it to some omnivore colleagues, they asked why and I shrugged and said "the Amazon is burning". They shrugged back and said, makes sense. It's not many years since I would have expected complaints at not catering…

>we use a wonderful Italian caterer, so flavour isn't going to be missed A non meat dish is still going to taste like a non-meat dish. Perhaps your colleagues were just being polite and avoiding treading into politically charged territory after you brought up the Amazon. Personally I'm a picky eater and vegan/vegetarian dishes simply do not compare to meat. I'm sure others feel similarly. Though for one meal I suppos…

No offense, but in the situation described by the comment you’re replying to, suck it up and eat a free meal or don’t.

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

#468

Post by SeanBoocock »

anonymouswacker wrote: post #305
phil248 wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a hard time understanding how a proponent of vegetarianism, presuming you are one, could be so dismissive of a technological advancement that will almost certainly lead to reduced meat consumption.

I am as health and environmentally conscious now as I ever was, only aware that vegetarian & vegan diets in America are atrociously unhealthy. Offering cheap, low quality, fake food is not a technological advancement. And I am not sure meat consumption is the problem. Factory farming and industrialized agriculture are the big issues: the greed of the majority of the food supply causes death, destruction, and misery o…

> only aware that vegetarian & vegan diets in America are atrociously unhealthy

That is in contradiction to every major health organization in the US and abroad. Well balanced vegan and vegetarian diets are healthy and appropriate for every stage of life.

If you care about the environment and want to make food choices that minimize your impact, don't eat animal products, especially beef.

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

#469

Post by monk_e_boy »

sametmax wrote: post #323
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…

Just anecdotal, but I was once chatting on a plane with a guy working as a meat buyer for a major dog food brand. He told me his work was to negotiate the cheapest thing that would pass legally as meat as possible, in the biggest quantity as possible. He then mentioned in passing that his toughest competition was Mc Donald's.

I've heard very similar tales. A local lad who works at a very large meat processing factory, McDonalds buy the cheapest meat possible. Other chains buy middle of the range meat.

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

#470

Post by m0zg »

jasonvorhe wrote: post #412
m0zg wrote: post #115

I've tried Beyond Meat sausages a couple of weeks ago. They suck compared to the real thing and cost twice as much. I don't know what all the hoopla is about. They're edible, but that's about the highest compliment I can offer at this time. Back to the drawing board, BM.

I always hated Curry Wurst but Beyond Meat sausages are awesome. Tastes are different. Surprise surprise.

Well yeah, if you hate real sausage, then maybe a fake one will taste better for you. Most people do like the real thing, though.
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