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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

#411

Post by stepanhruda »

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…

Yeah, no. I’m a vegetarian and life without these meat substitutes would be much harder.

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

#412

Post by AstralStorm »

skipkey wrote: post #388
the-smug-one wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

“Natural flavors” frequently used to mean, “this product has a small amount of MSG in it, but we don’t want to list that”. At least in the US. I am not sure if the FDA regulations still allow that though.

Not in EU it doesn't, you cannot omit an E list substance.

But Impossible still has "natural flavors" on the ingredients list. This happens to be mostly apple juice. Caramelizes and produces the right amount of tangy taste.

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

#413

Post by sofixa »

rat9988 wrote: post #188
sofixa wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the cooking itself add sodium? Salting isn't mandatory, and there are tons of spices you can add if you want some extra taste that aren't salt (i know this might be anathema to some who think seasoning starts and stops with salt and maybe pepper but it's true, try it out!).

No amount of extra spices can replace salt.

If your taste buds are accustomed to tons of salt, yes. But that's usually quite easy to adapt (over some time).

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

#414

Post by orf »

dfxm12 wrote: post #410
orf wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mostly the same for Europe. Varies by country but lots of dishes don’t rely on meat. But you’re missing the point. The bulk of American sausages sold are fake as hell. If I’m eating fake meat, why not actually eat fake meat

But you’re missing the point. The bulk of American sausages sold are fake as hell. If I’m eating fake meat, why not actually eat fake meat No one is making this point, lol. If you want to try to bash America for no reason in particular, at least wait for it to be on topic.

> so we don't need to have fake sausage on a restaurant menu

The point is you already do have “fake sausage on the restaurant menu”.

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

#415

Post by snapcaster »

cameronh90 wrote: post #246
xdennis wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Meat was a luxury product not eaten every day for most of history And nobody want's to return to those dark ages. This devil's alliance between veganism and environmentalism is what put me off environmentalism. Climate change can be softened by banning airplanes, air conditioning, and other things we don't need, not by banning food.

Eating meat is essential but airplanes and AC aren't? There are parts of the world that are uninhabitable without AC, and I know tons of people who don't eat meat, but virtually everybody in developed countries flies. My partner's family lives at the other side of the planet so banning airplanes means she would never get to see her sisters again.

Living in an "uninhabitable" place is extremely environmentally damaging right?

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

#416

Post by acdha »

ryandvm wrote: post #409
acdha wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is the key. This isn’t a business which will be an overnight success but it’ll grow over time, especially as climate change, water shortages, or rising fuel costs start making real beef more expensive.

Don't count on it. I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but in the US, the way we solve this problem is to provide ever-increasing subsidies to the entrenched corporate entities that are "sponsoring" the politicians. It will be exactly like what we've done with hydrocarbon fuels over the last 50 years. To the consumer, gasoline is seemingly half as expensive in the US when compared to the rest of the world; whic…

I’m not counting on it but I think we are hitting a breaking point which people under, say, 50 are increasingly aware of. It’s not like you can look at how much of the Colorado river goes to beef production and not see a problem.

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

#417

Post by onlyrealcuzzo »

scythe wrote: post #343
the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is definitely more and more meat alternatives in the stores now. One other curious development are these blended meats like 50% meat, 50% mushrooms or 50% meat and 50% plant.

Taco Bell has been selling this as "seasoned beef" for quite a while now.

McDonald's has been selling it as "McNuggets" for ages.

The nugget is 100% chicken breast - but that's only ~55% of what you're eating - and only about ~23% of the calories.

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

#418

Post by rubyist5eva »

I was vegan for 3 years and even then I couldn't stomach this garbage. Give me plain ground beef over this hyper-processed garbage any day.

The best "meat alternatives" were always the ones that didn't try to replicate taste and texture of meat and did their own things. Quinoa burgers are delicious.

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

#419

Post by JohnDoe124 »

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 am a lifelong vegetarian and I completely agree, and tbh the idea of eating something that tastes like meat is pretty unappealing.

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

#420

Post by boringg »

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 think the way this shakes out is that the plant-based meats like impossible burger and beyond burger marketed to people who don't eat plant focused diets to pull them away from meats whereas vegetarians typically don't like the high processed component and prefer the vegetable based patties.

Seems to be the common thread that I hear when I talk to people who are vegetarian. I myself am omni but prefer the vegetable based burgers. To your point though the vegetarian 'natural' nutty flavor is for the most part a learned palette through exposure.

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