McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu • Hacker News Board

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#261

Post by walshemj » Mon, Nov 09, 2020, 11:31 PM UTC

banana_giraffe wrote: post #34

elicash wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are omnivores like me that are excited about plant-based burgers yet feel silly ordering a "McPlant." I'm so self-conscious that if I'm at a Denny's I won't order a "Moon Over My Hammy." I'm aware the person taking the order doesn't care and hears these menu names a thousand times a day and still have that aversion. Are there more than a tiny number of us? I don't know. That said, this is another benefit of the…

Last time I was at a McDonald's, it was easy, even preferred, to order from a giant touch screen, so perhaps there's less friction on silly names than there used to be. (Reminds me of a report I read ages ago about the "Ziosk" on-table ordering devices causing customers to be more likely to order desserts and other "guilty pleasure" foods.)

When my Local Mc Donalds screens broke down it was a disaster as most of the crew did no know how to work with out it.

I am actually surprised how bad many Mac Donald's are at Time and Motion - or maybe its the UK Franchises

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#262

Post by amanzi » Mon, Nov 09, 2020, 11:32 PM UTC

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #194

senkora wrote: post #74

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People can be irrational when it comes to their diets, but that doesn’t make them wrong. Some people care and some don’t. Restaurants tend to take the strictest interpretation of a diet because that minimizes angry customers.

Yeah and I don't like kale in my food. Clearly I'm not wrong, because apparently nobody is. But a busy restaurant is not the place to make a fuss over where a particular dish was cooked. I don't get to insist on a separate pot to make my meal, because it might get polluted by kale. It is wrong, it a real sense, to have unreasonable personal rules about a restaurant kitchen.

Yes but if you tell the restaurant to not put kale in your food, and they go ahead and cook it in kale juice anyway, you'd be a bit annoyed right? Burger King aren't complaining about it - they are still promoting the plant-based aspects of the burger, but aren't claiming that it's a vegetarian meal. Nobody is making a big deal about it.

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#263

Post by gjs278 » Mon, Nov 09, 2020, 11:34 PM UTC

dkersten wrote: post #208

markdown wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the appeal of a vegan pizza? Is it even pizza without cheese?

Most Italian pizza has rather little cheese. I remember watching something once where the chef of a fancy pizzeria said that the most important thing in pizza is the bread: it should taste great without any topping. Then the sauce and finally everything else. I've had a great vegan pizza once and between bread, sauce and toppings, it tasted like great Italian-style pizza. Sure, a sprinkle of cheese would have made it…

most italian pizza is trash compared to american. you’re eating a flatbread.

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#264

Post by I-M-S » Mon, Nov 09, 2020, 11:34 PM UTC

ChrisArchitect wrote: post #150

ogre_codes wrote: post #37

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> Many people have an aversion to something if it's called plant, healthy or natural. I don't think this is the issue. Nobody would eat something called "McMeat", it begs the question "What kind of meat?" and usually the assumption is the worst. When I hear "McPlant", what comes up in my head is eating a tree or grass. If you leave it to people's imagination, often what comes to mind is the worst not the best. This i…

The McRib is coming back again? (insert guy looking at girl meme, with McPlant being overlooked for McRib is Back)

It is in the US in December

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#265

Post by rangoon626 » Mon, Nov 09, 2020, 11:36 PM UTC

whimsicalism wrote: post #234

msandford wrote: post #216

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According to the WHO class 2 is "probably carcinogenic" and what was effectively a meta (or meta-meta) analysis showed that the increased risk was 18%. Do we know how bad vegetable oils are for people yet? Is there any reason to think that they're 100% A-OK? Humans have been eating meat for 10s or 100s of thousands if not millions of years. Humans have been eating highly refined vegetable and seed oils for what, a co…

I think a few hundred years is long enough that if there's any sort of clear signal that they cause cancer, it's going to be visible.

One wonders why cancer rates continue to climb

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#266

Post by oddeyed » Mon, Nov 09, 2020, 11:37 PM UTC

markdown wrote: post #141

elif wrote: post #109

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The price of animal agriculture products is artificially lowered by direct subsidy, price controls, and indirectly lowered by the unaccounted ecological costs. It is largely a matter of policy rather than a reflection of market forces. On a level playing field, the cost competitiveness is there. For instance, in New Zealand, one of the largest dairy export markets, I can buy a vegan pizza for the same price. In fact,…

What is the appeal of a vegan pizza? Is it even pizza without cheese?

There's actually a big scene of vegan cheese alternative making, it's just pretty localised right now. For example there are many companies in London making excellent vegan alternatives (e.g. I AM NUT OKAY, Honestly Tasty, Kinda Co, Mouse's Favourite), many of which offer something with pizza-melty mozzarella-like effect. Local pizza delivery places offer the vegan options too. There's even some with blue mould for that real funky cheesy flavour! It's expensive right now but the product is there.

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#267

Post by taffer » Mon, Nov 09, 2020, 11:39 PM UTC

rangoon626 wrote: post #265

whimsicalism wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a few hundred years is long enough that if there's any sort of clear signal that they cause cancer, it's going to be visible.

One wonders why cancer rates continue to climb

Easy: People are getting older. Older people have a higher risk of getting cancer.

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#268

Post by rangoon626 » Mon, Nov 09, 2020, 11:41 PM UTC

philipkglass wrote: post #255

ben_w wrote: post #232

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Oils and the carbs are the easy ones to make. Do you have a link or the name of the company?

The company is Solar Foods: https://solarfoods.fi/ It's an approach to growing single cell protein (e.g. products like Quorn) that uses hydrogen oxidizing bacteria with hydrogen from renewable-powered water electrolysis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-cell_protein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_oxidizing_bacteria I have more detailed links in this old comment of mine from when Solar Foods appeared on HN…

Soap

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

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Post by adtac » Mon, Nov 09, 2020, 11:43 PM UTC

Lorkki wrote: post #213

ejolto wrote: post #189

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Pesto isn't vegan, it's got parmesan cheese in it.

There are many ways to make pesto, and to make it plant based as well. My current favourite when preparing it myself is to grind smoked roasted almonds and nutritional yeast flakes.

It's not even funny how Italian and Indian food are so trivially made vegan!

Re: McDonald's is adding plant-based burgers to the menu

#270

Post by thefounder » Mon, Nov 09, 2020, 11:43 PM UTC

adtac wrote: post #250

coryfklein wrote: post #217

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> you are lying to yourself. Gee well that's a rather bold statement. I find this attitude of "if you're not vegan you're a liar" so insufferable. I can think of at least a few explanations for the parent comment. "If you think your cheese is suffering free..." 1. You may be underinformed 2. You've purchased free range dairy products 3. You know something I don't

>2. You've purchased free range dairy products Free range or not, cows still need to be artificially inseminated (read: industry term to fancy dress "cow rape"), the calves still need to be weaned off after only a few weeks with their mothers (once the colostrum part is over) and/or be given formula milk substitute while humans drink what's rightfully the calf's. Leaving the calf with the cow is absolutely not profit…

You almost make a religion out of this. Make the lion vegan to complete the circle. That would end the misery on this world, right?

Some animals are abused and we can work on regulation to prevent that and promote sustainable development (in EU they already have some laws about this) but I don't think making sure cows die by old age should be the end goal.