McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu • Hacker News Board

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#291

Post by thelean12 » Tue, Nov 10, 2020, 12:21 AM UTC

dkersten wrote: post #208

markdown wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the appeal of a vegan pizza? Is it even pizza without cheese?

Most Italian pizza has rather little cheese. I remember watching something once where the chef of a fancy pizzeria said that the most important thing in pizza is the bread: it should taste great without any topping. Then the sauce and finally everything else. I've had a great vegan pizza once and between bread, sauce and toppings, it tasted like great Italian-style pizza. Sure, a sprinkle of cheese would have made it…

I grew up on pizza in the NYC/NJ area. The Italian styles with minimal cheese are a disappointment to me. Many are able to get the crust and sauce perfect, which is no small feat, and then it feels like they just gave up with the cheese.

Pizza in NYC usually not only has great crust and sauce, but it also has plenty of cheese. They don't "overload" it like many places outside the area. (I am purposely separating "Pizza in NYC" from "NYC Style" because people around the US suck at emulating it).

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#292

Post by sukilot » Tue, Nov 10, 2020, 12:22 AM UTC

PretzelPirate wrote: post #242

NewOrderNow wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is more the concept of wanting something you claim to not want by making a fake version of it. Just eat vegan products? It seems like a cognitive dissonance when I see the words vegan and burger together.

But vegans want burgers, they just don’t want to kill an animal for that burger. This is no different than someone making a turkey burger because they don’t like beef. For some reason, only vegans get called out for making substitutions.

"Vegans" aren't who really want burgers. Newbie vegans who have been indoctrinated by a lifetime burger culture.

Burgers aren't a huge deal in Asia, for example.

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#293

Post by no_wizard » Tue, Nov 10, 2020, 12:23 AM UTC

dandare wrote: post #214

markdown wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the appeal of a vegan pizza? Is it even pizza without cheese?

The appeal of vegan pizza is that no animals were industrially farmed to make it. If you think your cheese is suffering free you are lying to yourself.

The reality is, the appeal to eating a vegan pizza to some is that they know it will be cruelty free, and I admire that, to be sure.

However, if you want to win over the average consumer, or someone who has developed tastebuds over twenty years, or really anyone who doesn't already eat a vegan diet, you have to overcumb 1 crucial thing:

It needs to taste good or better than whatever you are trying to replace.

I haven't come across a vegan pizza that doesn't taste like the way I have come to expect pizza to taste, the cheese just isn't right. All the food science in the world can't seem to solve this problem (I've tried it homemade, by several skilled professionals, I've tried what was rated as some of the best vegan pizza in my city, mutiple times of the years, and the list goes on).

Until it tastes like the pizza I have fundamentally come to expect pizza to taste like, it just isn't worth switching for me.

If you can solve this problem, nobody is going to care if its vegan or not, because it just taste good.

I wish PETA and the like would focus their time and money on this, since it would actually yield the net benefit results they're looking for without the air of hositility some of their followers have.

Yes, you can debate whether its right or wrong to even think this way. The truth is, people in large already do, why not meet them where they are at?

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#294

Post by detaro » Tue, Nov 10, 2020, 12:24 AM UTC

markdown wrote: post #286

dandare wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The appeal of vegan pizza is that no animals were industrially farmed to make it. If you think your cheese is suffering free you are lying to yourself.

You shouldn't make assumptions about how others see the world. I'd prefer that my cheese came from an animal that didn't live in abysmal conditions, but TBH I just enjoy the cheese and don't care all that much where it came from.

How is that relevant to the question of what appeal vegan pizza has to people that consume it?

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#295

Post by sukilot » Tue, Nov 10, 2020, 12:26 AM UTC

sofixa wrote: post #143

markdown wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the appeal of a vegan pizza? Is it even pizza without cheese?

As someone who has eaten vegan pizza, no, it's not, it's an abomination. Just make a veggie/vegan lasagna instead...

As someone who has eaten McDonald's hamburger, no, it's not, it's an abomination. Just make a veggie/vegan burger instead...

In other woods, it's a matter of quality of ingredients and preparation.

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#296

Post by TheRealNGenius » Tue, Nov 10, 2020, 12:27 AM UTC

ckosidows wrote: post #131

abawany wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I was thrilled to see that A&W had Beyond Burgers in Canada. It is the sole reason they got my business multiple times when I used to visit that country.

Is it only in Canada? We have an A&W in town and I never would have thought to go there. But if they have plant burgers I might.

read the first sentence on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_Restaurants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26W_(Canada)

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#297

Post by sukilot » Tue, Nov 10, 2020, 12:27 AM UTC

tashoecraft wrote: post #151

sofixa wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has eaten vegan pizza, no, it's not, it's an abomination. Just make a veggie/vegan lasagna instead...

I've found so far, vegan cheese either melts and doesn't taste good or doesn't melt and tastes good. And by good I mean in comparison to mass produced cheese. It'll be awhile before there's a good, vegan alternative to homemade mozzarella. However, there doesn't need to be. The vast majority of cheesy/non-vegan food that's eaten is low quality ingredients.

That's only for the cheap fake cheese, not a good cashew cheese.

What's nice about cashew cheese is that it won't make you sick as quickly as a dairy cheese pizza will, which despite it's good taste charged a hefty tax afterward.

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#298

Post by hombre_fatal » Tue, Nov 10, 2020, 12:28 AM UTC

andreilys wrote: post #273

PretzelPirate wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But vegans want burgers, they just don’t want to kill an animal for that burger. This is no different than someone making a turkey burger because they don’t like beef. For some reason, only vegans get called out for making substitutions.

But they do want to kill plants, which can feel pain and hear themselves being eaten [1] https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/24473/20191218/a-group...

Well, meat requires more plants to “suffer” than eating the plants directly. So if this was your line if reasoning, you would be a staunch vegan. The majority of crops are grown to feed livestock.

People usually make your argument in bad faith because even when corrected you never had a moral interest in “minimizing plant suffering” to begin with. You just thought you had a good gotcha.

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#299

Post by sukilot » Tue, Nov 10, 2020, 12:30 AM UTC

sosborn wrote: post #173

stronglikedan wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and comparably healthy Every plant-based meat I'm aware of has been processed to hell and back, so I'm dubious of the claims that they are healthier.

What inherent trait of "processing" makes a food unhealthy?

In a nation where most people have an extreme caloric surplus, "processing", aka "cooking" increases the caloric intake of diners. Processing usually removes fiber also.

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#300

Post by tiew9Vii » Tue, Nov 10, 2020, 12:32 AM UTC

foxhop wrote: post #81

Plants can taste great without using mad science to change them to taste similar to animals. Vegan eggplant India curry comes to mind, so good.

Non vegan. I agree with this.

I eat specifically to get strong in the gym.

A bit of a sticking point with me and my partner is I refused to go eat at a cafe with my partners sister/husband for brunch as it was a vegan cafe. My reasoning was it was junk food, heavily processed food made to taste like meat. Nutritionaly there was nothing on the menu that suited my macros as I was training for a competition on a strict diet.

I did explain I'd happily eat somewhere that served real, whole food that was vegan, the issue wasn't about it being a vegan cafe, the issue was the food was nutritionally junk.

Whole based plant foods can be extremely tasty, healthy and simple. I quite happily eat these types of vegan meals. I actively avoid beyond meat burgers but will quite happily eat lentil burgers.

Still on the topic of McDonalds, people want beyond meat style burgers so it's good they are providing them as an option.