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Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

nytimes.com

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Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

#151

Post by prepend »

freitasm wrote: post #77
gwbas1c wrote: post #32

I married a vegan, and I eat a lot of vegetarian food. (I also still eat plenty of meat, just not every day.) One extremely frustrating aspect of plant meat is that they tried to aggressively push out traditional veggie burgers on restaurant menus. A familiar refrain I've heard in restaurants in the last few years is "we used to have a nice veggie patty, but they replaced it with the beyond/incredible/whatever patty.…

The thing is BM (and others) aren't trying to create vega/vegetarian meat. They are trying to make meat in a sustainable way, so it has to taste more like beef/pork than chickpeas or tofu if they want to get the main market. They are still not there.

> They are trying to make meat in a sustainable way

I mean, isn’t meat sustainable? As it’s renewable. Factory farming isn’t sustainable, but there’s plenty of pasture raised organic beef ranchers who grow meat in a sustainable way. If the goal is sustainability, then there are other ways that are likely healthier.

I thought the benefit was for ethical vegetarians who like the taste of beef but don’t want to harm animals.

Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

#152

Post by Siddarth1977 »

linuxftw wrote: post #141

People are stating that fake meat is more expensive than real meat. I'd pay more for real meat before I'd ever pay for fake meat. I don't know a single person that eats this stuff on the regular. I know a handful of people that have tried it, that was it. Nobody is being fooled that this product is healthier than real meat. I can't figure out who's buying this stuff.

I buy a bunch of it.

I quit eating meat a few years ago for ethical reasons but I still like to have a burger or brat or have a meat-like product in a pasta sauce or whatnot, and Beyond meat fills that role well.

Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

#153

Post by adam_arthur »

I can’t for the life of me figure out how they're losing so much money, yet their product is still far more expensive than actual beef.

Can a more informed follower provide some insight? Are they just grossly mismanaging their production costs?

Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

#154

Post by mcbishop »

nicpottier wrote: post #44
gwbas1c wrote: post #32

I married a vegan, and I eat a lot of vegetarian food. (I also still eat plenty of meat, just not every day.) One extremely frustrating aspect of plant meat is that they tried to aggressively push out traditional veggie burgers on restaurant menus. A familiar refrain I've heard in restaurants in the last few years is "we used to have a nice veggie patty, but they replaced it with the beyond/incredible/whatever patty.…

I disagree. I much prefer a Beyond pattie to more traditional veggie options. It is quite literally a matter of taste though, so you aren't wrong, but your perspective is just your own.

Me too. I'm eating Beyond pattie in my veggie bowl right now and I think it tastes fantastic.

Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

#155

Post by BoorishBears »

prepend wrote: post #151
freitasm wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing is BM (and others) aren't trying to create vega/vegetarian meat. They are trying to make meat in a sustainable way, so it has to taste more like beef/pork than chickpeas or tofu if they want to get the main market. They are still not there.

> They are trying to make meat in a sustainable way I mean, isn’t meat sustainable? As it’s renewable. Factory farming isn’t sustainable, but there’s plenty of pasture raised organic beef ranchers who grow meat in a sustainable way. If the goal is sustainability, then there are other ways that are likely healthier. I thought the benefit was for ethical vegetarians who like the taste of beef but don’t want to harm ani…

How is factory farming not 100x more sustainable than pasture raised organic beef?

Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

#156

Post by primax »

lm28469 wrote: post #7

It really is not that complex to understand: You either love meat and won't touch these things with a 10 feet pole or you are vegetarian/vegan and usually take care of what you put in your body, meaning probably a limited amount of junk/processed food, meaning no fake meat substitutes. The market really isn't that big imho, there are already plenty of alternative to meat for most applications, which are cheaper, less…

I agree. People complain about GMO seeds like crazy, then expect people are going to eat lab grown meat in large amounts?

Also their obvious social media astroturfing is very on the nose. I don't like being gaslit when I ask questions about why people would eat lab grown meat

Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

#157

Post by chinabot »

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #101
gwbas1c wrote: post #32

I married a vegan, and I eat a lot of vegetarian food. (I also still eat plenty of meat, just not every day.) One extremely frustrating aspect of plant meat is that they tried to aggressively push out traditional veggie burgers on restaurant menus. A familiar refrain I've heard in restaurants in the last few years is "we used to have a nice veggie patty, but they replaced it with the beyond/incredible/whatever patty.…

I’m vegan, converted about four years ago so I ate meat for decades. I ate impossible burgers for a while after Burger King got them, because there is some nostalgia/novelty in going to a fast food joint. But I’ve realized that this weird food product leaves some kind of odd taste in my stomach, and not just from Burger King. I’m pretty over these fake beef burgers now, and would way rather have a black bean burger o…

I've not eaten a real burger or sausage since the 80's and I've only had two of these impossible burgers but they tasted quite nice when I had them and no adverse reactions, but at NZ$14 (US$8.50) for two frozen burgers at my local supermarket, they wont be on my menu often.

Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

#158

Post by Lammy »

colordrops wrote: post #132
TaylorAlexander wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m vegan, converted about four years ago so I ate meat for decades. I ate impossible burgers for a while after Burger King got them, because there is some nostalgia/novelty in going to a fast food joint. But I’ve realized that this weird food product leaves some kind of odd taste in my stomach, and not just from Burger King. I’m pretty over these fake beef burgers now, and would way rather have a black bean burger o…

I see you are being downvoted, but I know exactly what you mean. When I eat Impossible and especially Beyond burgers, my stomach feels slightly off. A bit of indigestion. I don't get this with typical veggie patties.

For me it's the coconut oil / cocoa butter “marbling” that gives me the Olé Olestra problem https://web.archive.org/web/19990203160042/http://www.zug.co...

Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

#159

Post by mumblemumble »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #82
gwbas1c wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty much what I and the other vegetarians in this thread said. She doesn't like eating things that taste like meat.

We're not going to have many vegetarians if only people who don't like meat become vegetarian.

I don't think the complaint is that, per se. I'm happy to have these products coexist.

But Beyond Meat and Impossible Burgers and suchlike have been actively displacing the existing options in restaurants and grocery stores. To my palate and that of nearly all my longtime vegetarian friends, those pre-existing options were much more palatable. My (pesca) kids won't even eat these meat analogue products; they think they're disgusting. I do appreciate that these products might be making it easier for other people to cut back on their meat consumption, but I also think it's fair to miss a reduction in the already meager selection of convenience foods that I liked.

Re: Beyond Meat is struggling, and the plant-based meat industry worries

#160

Post by dhritzkiv »

Gare wrote: post #120
bgribble wrote: post #99

I try hard to avoid red meat for reasons but I do like a burger. I tried the Beyond when it was new and I was really impressed. I thought it tasted great and held together as a patty in a way that a lot of "traditional" bean and veg patties fail to do. Unfortunately after I had cooked a bunch of them I realized what the smell of uncooked Beyond reminded me of: wet cat food. Now I can't get that association out of my…

Why is wet cat food smell revolting to you? It's meat, after all.

Have you… smelled cat food? Not appetizing. It is meat, yes, but does not smell like ground meat, pâté, or hot dog meat, even. I'm not sure if it's because of the way the meat is processed (akin to potted meat), or if it's because of potentially added aromas, as cats do prefer fishy doors.
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