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Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

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Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#151

Post by afavour »

lambda wrote: post #132
Grimblewald wrote: post #11

I always wondered who their demographic was. The core early adopters, the ethical vegans, who actually like the taste of plants are never going to make a lab made ultra processed salt bomb their daily driver (never mind issues surrounding industrial agriculture). Health-conscious folks would take one look at the ingredient list and bail because of the heavy processing and industrial fillers. You've got bodybuilders a…

This is such a weird comment. Why do you think that "ethical vegans" like the "taste of plants" any more than anyone else? The whole point of being an ethical vegan/vegetarian is to not consume animals, not because you don't like the taste. Health conscious folks would definitely choose these over hamburgers. Sure, they're not perfect from a health food point of view, but they're lower in sodium and saturated fat tha…

> And at most restaurants, I've never noticed a "premium" for it

I just did a quick search on Uber Eats in NYC. Every Beyond Burger I found was between $3-5 more than a regular burger. That’s the reason I stopped eating them, I actually quite like the texture and flavor. I just don’t like the price.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#152

Post by Projectiboga »

Scoundreller wrote: post #135
Grimblewald wrote: post #11

I always wondered who their demographic was. The core early adopters, the ethical vegans, who actually like the taste of plants are never going to make a lab made ultra processed salt bomb their daily driver (never mind issues surrounding industrial agriculture). Health-conscious folks would take one look at the ingredient list and bail because of the heavy processing and industrial fillers. You've got bodybuilders a…

> lacks the [...] bioavailability of real animal protein I never understood this argument: what's the problem with consuming proportionately more to make up for the reduction? I'm not rushing to demand IV tylenol because its oral bioavailability is only 80%-90%, which is around the "loss" we're talking for plant vs animal protein on average. And the ultraprocessing should improve plant's profile here.

Eating raw Miso a few times a month can move one's biome to get more plant protein digested per gram than even from egg whites. So the issue with protein is somewhat overhyped. The main potential shortfalls in the vegan diet are vitamins B-12, D & K.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#153

Post by Scoundreller »

asdff wrote: post #65
sethhochberg wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

High-protein everything is riding the wave of GLP-1 popularity right now. Doctors are begging people on that class of drugs to chase protein targets more similar to what might have previously been reserved for heavy weightlifters just to prevent muscle wasting. As a result, the entire packaged food industry is pumping up protein numbers and marketing it as the primary attribute of the food (where they might have prev…

I hear the most ironic stuff on glp from the people I know on it. So doctor is obviously a reasonable person with an interest in making people healthy, not trying to set up glp addicts, and are encouraging better diet and increased exercise while eventually tapering and getting them off the glp entirely as the final end goal. The whole time they are telling me this I can't help but wonder what the hell is the point o…

> while eventually tapering and getting them off the glp entirely as the final end goal

It's an honourable goal but the evidence isn't great for that

> You still have to improve diet and regularly exercise anyhow

You don't have to. Should though.

When the drugs are working as intended, you'll lose weight without 'trying' to improve your diet, exercise will speed up the weight loss, but isn't strictly necessary for it to "work". Encouraged, sure, but you'll get weight loss from the appetite suppression alone.

The 'high protein' advice is because a lot of glp1 consumers had poor diets to begin with, and they're catabolic drugs. Combine that with reduced appetite and you're at risk of insufficient protein consumption to maintain whatever muscle mass you started with.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#154

Post by deaux »

markdown wrote: post #60
3rodents wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beyond Meat aren't unique, there are dozens of brands offering the same product. Tens of millions of people eat these type of products. Any (or most) burger-serving restaurant in Europe will have a Beyond Meat or equivalent on the menu. They're not always advertised as vegan (because of preparation and extras) but these fake burgers are very popular, for many reasons.

Fake? In my part of the world, a burger is a type of sandwhich, and the definition doesn't require meat. So it's a burger whether it contains beef, fish, chicken, a vegan patty, a large slice of tomato, or whatever.

This comment getting downvoted is one of the most "US Defaultism" expressions I've seen on HN. Should've posted it when the US is asleep!

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#155

Post by etbebl »

VladVladikoff wrote: post #148
Grimblewald wrote: post #11

I always wondered who their demographic was. The core early adopters, the ethical vegans, who actually like the taste of plants are never going to make a lab made ultra processed salt bomb their daily driver (never mind issues surrounding industrial agriculture). Health-conscious folks would take one look at the ingredient list and bail because of the heavy processing and industrial fillers. You've got bodybuilders a…

Veganism is a fake health conscious diet. You can eat whatever you like while simultaneously feeling superior about it. Oreos, chips, pizza, fries, candy, soda, etc. why not also highly processed burgers? I say this after having lived with vegans who literally ate vegan pizza every day.

You can be vegan as part of a health conscious diet, but strict veganism is usually motivated by ethics, not health. (That being said obviously there's more market share if you're in the intersection of the venn diagram.)

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#156

Post by blargey »

asdff wrote: post #65
sethhochberg wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

High-protein everything is riding the wave of GLP-1 popularity right now. Doctors are begging people on that class of drugs to chase protein targets more similar to what might have previously been reserved for heavy weightlifters just to prevent muscle wasting. As a result, the entire packaged food industry is pumping up protein numbers and marketing it as the primary attribute of the food (where they might have prev…

I hear the most ironic stuff on glp from the people I know on it. So doctor is obviously a reasonable person with an interest in making people healthy, not trying to set up glp addicts, and are encouraging better diet and increased exercise while eventually tapering and getting them off the glp entirely as the final end goal. The whole time they are telling me this I can't help but wonder what the hell is the point o…

Because long-term calorie restriction is 100x harder than popping a pill and downing a protein-and-fiber shake, and you can't outrun a burger but you can outlift a calorie deficit, so lumping them all together under "improve diet and exercise somehow" is a nonsensical rhetorical flourish / troll move?

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#157

Post by hapless »

beyond meat was a super cynical bet that ordinary non-vegetarian consumers would no longer be able to afford meat, so they would turn to meat substitutes even if they were more costly than meat had been in the psat

now they are publicly listed, and their cynical premise has not born fruit

time to pivot!

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#158

Post by deaux »

6510 wrote: post #33

Maybe I've missed it but I see a much more palatable market in "light" meats. It has great flavor and texture but it needs to be part of a composition even if it is just salt and pepper. I've seen really great tasting meatballs in the wild that had less than 4% meat in them, say 5% for lazy calculations. You can feed it to 20 people and get the same results as 19 vegetarians + one meat eater. Some are so much into me…

In the UK there's a meme that Richmond's plant-based sausages taste better than their "meat" sausages because they already had years of experience making sausages with no meat in them. "Meme" in the sense of "funny because it's true", even many meat-eaters agree. In processed food so much of the "meat" product is already pork eyeballs and chicken anuses that there's zero difference in substituting it with something that doesn't count as "meat" but with a similar texture.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#159

Post by Scoundreller »

VladVladikoff wrote: post #143
Scoundreller wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> lacks the [...] bioavailability of real animal protein I never understood this argument: what's the problem with consuming proportionately more to make up for the reduction? I'm not rushing to demand IV tylenol because its oral bioavailability is only 80%-90%, which is around the "loss" we're talking for plant vs animal protein on average. And the ultraprocessing should improve plant's profile here.

>what's the problem with consuming proportionately more to make up for the reduction? Because the macros suck. If you’re trying to hit certain protein / carb / fat ratios, eating more of the “protein” means eating a lot more carbs and fat too, which often isn’t the goal. Your analogy is not accurate, it would be more like waking up in pain in the middle of the night after a bad injury, and taking t3s with codeine+ ca…

if you have only fixed-ratio food options, sure, but otherwise, no.

> and taking t3s with codeine+ caffeine, and wanting more codeine without wanting the added caffeine.

that's what tylenol #4s are for, double the codeine, none the caffeine. Take half a t#4 and half of a regular standard tylenol = T#3 without the codeine.

Re: Beyond has dropped “meat” from its name and expanded its high-protein drink line

#160

Post by lithocarpus »

lambda wrote: post #132
Grimblewald wrote: post #11

I always wondered who their demographic was. The core early adopters, the ethical vegans, who actually like the taste of plants are never going to make a lab made ultra processed salt bomb their daily driver (never mind issues surrounding industrial agriculture). Health-conscious folks would take one look at the ingredient list and bail because of the heavy processing and industrial fillers. You've got bodybuilders a…

This is such a weird comment. Why do you think that "ethical vegans" like the "taste of plants" any more than anyone else? The whole point of being an ethical vegan/vegetarian is to not consume animals, not because you don't like the taste. Health conscious folks would definitely choose these over hamburgers. Sure, they're not perfect from a health food point of view, but they're lower in sodium and saturated fat tha…

Beyond Burger ingredients:

Yellow Pea Protein, Avocado Oil, Natural Flavors, Brown Rice Protein, Red Lentil Protein, 2% or less of Methylcellulose, Potato Starch, Pea Starch, Potassium Lactate (to preserve freshness), Faba Bean Protein, Apple Extract, Pomegranate Concentrate, Potassium Salt, Spice, Vinegar, Vegetable Juice Color (with Beet).

Except for Vinegar, every one of these is an industrially processed/extracted/refined ingredient that humans never ate until within the last ~50 years.

We have no way to even know if many of these are safe let alone healthy.

I don't know of any evidence that these things are a decent substitute for meat and salt which humans have been eating for our entire history. And for those who actually believe animal fat and salt are unhealthy one could make burgers with lean meat and less or no salt.

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