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Plant-based meat is turning out to be a flop

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Re: Plant-based meat is turning out to be a flop

#141

Post by 10u152 »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #128
scantis wrote: post #7

If any of the planet saving meat substitute promises are true, such a fake meat patty would cost a tenth of the beef equivalent and it would dominate the market. I read somewhere you would need 25 kg of feed to produce 1 kg of beef, ergo one could potentially produce 25 times the amount of substitute. Obviously that isn't true and such a patty is a specialized product of various highly processed plant matter. It is a…

Fake meat isn't just inferior to real meat. It's inferior to just plain old vegetables. It's a crazy product designed for a society with weird eating habits. They're not trying to cook the best vegetable dishes. They're not trying to cook dishes that use less meat. They're not trying to expand your palettes and reintroducing liver, sweetbreads or other weird cuts. All these "green" products convince you to not do the…

Never thought about it but you’re spot on. A big roasted field mushroom with a dash of balsamic and perhaps some feta cheese is 1000% tastier than a weird processed vegetable patty.

Re: Plant-based meat is turning out to be a flop

#142

Post by tannhaeuser »

Can confirm, since about last year, plant-based meat is found with heavy discounts at my place (DE). I'm not a vegan or sth but I'm eating just not that much meat (maybe once a week). Why would you eat burgers, or any meal sold as intransparent compound of fat, sugar, protein anyway if your intent is to eat healthily or sustainably? There are delicious funghi and vegetables instead. Why would you replace milk by some branded food such as allpro or whatever? Though I haven't tasted it yet, oat milk might be ok, is being offered when ordering coffee all the time here; i just don't drink my coffee with milk, at all. More and more people claim lactose intolerance; which they have because they stopped drinking milk in the first place rather than because milk is bad would be my guess.

Re: Plant-based meat is turning out to be a flop

#143

Post by kashunstva »

planb wrote: post #93
dvh wrote: post #80

[flagged]

If artificial meat would taste like the real thing and cost less, everyone would want to eat it: Meat eaters and poor people because it costs less, vegans because it tastes good and does not harm anyone and rich people because they feel good when saving the earth.

> Vegans wants meat eaters to eat this thing to prevent animal harm.

I’m a vegan of nearly 25 years. My reasons are my own. I don’t care what others eat. Eat a pig, a horse, a dog, cotton candy, pomegranate. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. But I’m doubtful there are other vegans out there who want carnivores to switch to eating processed foods like this. For my family and most vegans I know, these artificial meats are useful primarily in social situations where vegans and omnivores gather.

I like the convenience of a protein substitute on the rare occasion that I eat outside my home and am sorry to see these businesses floundering. But if they went away tomorrow, I wouldn’t rue the failure of a grand conspiracy to force alternative food choices on the unsuspecting masses.

> stupid idea

Economically unsustainable, maybe, but stupid?

Re: Plant-based meat is turning out to be a flop

#144

Post by gilgoomesh »

md_ wrote: post #84
dvh wrote: post #80

[flagged]

I don't follow. Why do meat eaters want vegans to eat this instead of soy meat? I am mostly vegetarian, and I quite like Impossible Burgers. Sadly they're not really available in Europe. They might be an idea with a small market. But in my mind this is a lot like if Silicon Valley got really pumped up about, like, unpasteurized cheeses or nutritional shakes. (Oh, wait, that last one happened.) The problem isn't with…

[flagged]

Re: Plant-based meat is turning out to be a flop

#145

Post by charcircuit »

gambiting wrote: post #138
charcircuit wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, he means that it never got PMF. Not that 0 people want to eat it. If it had PMF it wouldn't be called a flop.

What's PMF? Also - "nobody" doesn't mean "most people don't". It literally means 0 people.

PMF = product market fit

>It literally means 0 people.

Not everything is literal.

Re: Plant-based meat is turning out to be a flop

#148

Post by lbriner »

Artificial meat is a one take on the sustainability problem but a more pragmatic approach that will not solve it but make a big dent is to reduce meat consumption instead of replacing it.

Sainsburys in the UK ran an advert at one point where e.g. add 50% red beans and 50% meat to your casserole. Have one vegan day per week etc. Imagine if we could reduce meat consumption by even 50% by just being more disciplined? It would make a massive difference, we can then treat meat as a special treat so if it costs a bit more and is reared in a more friendly way then that is also good.

What might then happen is that as people get used to eating veggie/vegan, they start to realise, as I did, that they don't miss meat that much (I married a vegetarian). I have meat maybe once per week if I am out but otherwise mostly veggie (and cheat with some fish too!)

Re: Plant-based meat is turning out to be a flop

#149

Post by michaelteter »

And we don't need fake meat. It's just something that the food industry can make and sell to us instead of us just eating stuff that grows in the earth.

If you want something with a texture similar to meat, many mushrooms will do the job. If you want something reminiscent of ground beef, quinoa with seasoning will suffice. However, limiting yourself to vegetarian approaches of recreating meat dishes, then you are missing out on what good vegetarian food can be.

There are now enough great restaurants (as well as endless numbers of cook books) which can help you find very satisfying, or even excitingly new and wonderful meals that involve basic natural plants (and legumes etc.)

The problem for many people is they only know the "meat and potatoes" perspective. But they want to reduce their meat consumption, so they buy the meat replacement thing; and that replacement is not particularly healthy, nor is it usually a believable substitute. (It's hard to recreate the exact pleasure that comes from animal fats and proteins.)

Re: Plant-based meat is turning out to be a flop

#150

Post by easygenes »

tannhaeuser wrote: post #142

Can confirm, since about last year, plant-based meat is found with heavy discounts at my place (DE). I'm not a vegan or sth but I'm eating just not that much meat (maybe once a week). Why would you eat burgers, or any meal sold as intransparent compound of fat, sugar, protein anyway if your intent is to eat healthily or sustainably? There are delicious funghi and vegetables instead. Why would you replace milk by some…

I have a strong preference for Bonsoy soy milk over the flavor and texture of just about any alternative (including dairy). It is made in the traditional way in Japan. Just appreciate that you have to shake it at least 10X more than you think you ought to, as otherwise it is a watery mess followed up by soy goop at the bottom. It is better for not being homogenized like everything else, so it is a small price to pay.
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