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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

#151

Post by kashunstva »

tomp wrote: post #126
planb wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Given the choice between non-processed food (meat) and ultra—high-processed food (fake meat), the former is the much healthier option.

Fortunately, though, the choice is not binary in that one could choose non-meat, non-processed foods, if one wanted.

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

#152

Post by wrldos »

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…

Completely agree with this. As a vegetarian I'd really prefer to eat meat over the synthetic meats. The reason being the texture, flavour and nutritional value isn't there. They're also expensive, covered in horrible packaging, don't keep very well and are difficult to cook.

99% of the important bits of a dish don't come from making something meat-like but cooking something that isn't bland and uninteresting. And you don't need fake meat to work around that.

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

#154

Post by armada651 »

lbriner wrote: post #148

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…

If sustainability is the goal then convinving people to switch from beef to fish and chicken is a lot easier. People don't have to go full vegetarian to make a big impact on reducing their greenhouse emissions. I feel like that's the most pragmatic approach right now.

I think the view that the only sustainable option is the vegetarian one isn't helpful. Especially since, depending on your diet, a vegetarian diet is not necessarily sustainable.

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

#155

Post by m4tthumphrey »

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…

I have been a pescatarian (eat fish, no meat) since 2018. For me, this has almost nothing todo with being healthy and all about the animal welfare (yes I eat fish but to me, a fish and a pig are two very different things). But, sometimes I just fancy a McDonalds Big Mac (McPlant), or chili nachos (Quorn, Meatless Farm) , or a dirty burger (Impossible, Beyond). I know its not healthy, I know its not good for me but it just satisfy my meat eating days craving every now and then. The rest of the time I eat delicious unprocessed veggies, rice, beans etc.

There is a place for these meat substitutes but should they be eaten all of the time; no. Education around veggies is the key for solving the meat production issues.

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

#156

Post by godzillabrennus »

dubcanada wrote: post #137

I’d feel better if the ingredients list wasn’t as long as my arm. I know it’s a bunch of stuff to make it look like meat, but it’s basically cow meat vs a burger containing 50 random items and chemicals that is worse or equal in nutritional content then cow. Like one impossible vs cow is 14g of fat vs 16g of fat. 370mg of sodium vs 90mg of sodium. They are not even that much better for you. Rather than trying to get…

I loved the beyond burger and I’m a meat eater but after experimenting with it I also stopped eating them. The laundry list of ingredients and the contradictory information from educational institutions with respected names publishing about the impact on my body for consuming these turned me off.

It’s good to know we can create delicious plant burgers. It sucks to doubt if they are even better for us than the meat.

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

#157

Post by watwut »

Moldoteck wrote: post #29

Maybe unpopular opinion, but for me, best plant based patties are those that do not try to replicate meat taste. I much prefer patties made from actual plants&vegetables/mushrooms/chickpeas/beans like potato, carrot, some spices and so on. They have like actual 'natural' flavor, almost like something homemade. Those that add a ton of additives often taste awful, even beyond/moving mountains...

I agree. I dont think this should be unpopular option.

Most of actually vegetarian food I tried tasted fine. It did not tasted like meat, but I don't even understand why I should want it to taste like a meat. It tasted like its own thing and it was made from actual fresh vegetables plus cheese, nuts and what not. I like eating meat, when I want meat I eat that. I do not need vegetarian meat that tries to pretend to be meat.

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

#158

Post by Nursie »

michaelteter wrote: post #149

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 mis…

And we don’t need people engaging in vegetarian purity contests and gatekeeping.

And we don’t have to eat the same thing all the time.

Using a meat substitute is not limiting yourself, you have no idea what people eat on other days, it can simply be an enjoyable part of a varied diet.

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

#159

Post by viraptor »

michaelteter wrote: post #149

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 mis…

We don't need any kind of specific food. Some people just like it, even if we know the alternatives. For example I enjoy both meet and vegan food, but will take Grill'd Impossible burger over a beef one. The good plant based burgers reached the level of being good on their own for me, not as a replacement.

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

#160

Post by litenboll »

dubcanada wrote: post #137

I’d feel better if the ingredients list wasn’t as long as my arm. I know it’s a bunch of stuff to make it look like meat, but it’s basically cow meat vs a burger containing 50 random items and chemicals that is worse or equal in nutritional content then cow. Like one impossible vs cow is 14g of fat vs 16g of fat. 370mg of sodium vs 90mg of sodium. They are not even that much better for you. Rather than trying to get…

> 370mg of sodium vs 90mg of sodium.

While I agree with your comment, this is very misleading unless you eat your steak raw and unsalted.

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