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Thoughts on Beyond Burger and other fake meat

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Replies

  • onward1
    onward1 Posts: 386 Member
    Yes, but blue cheese, tripe, haggis and oysters are real, there are no synthetic versions of these, at least that I know about. It's pretend food and that's okay for some folks, no judgement here.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    jm_1234 wrote: »
    Sidebar: From a fast food perspective I feel like there is a double standard when it comes to plant based burgers/sausages/etc. It seems like plant based is judged more harshly than meat based products.

    For one there seems to be more transparency with plant based ingredients and manufacturing. With meat based it seems to usually be a trade secret and only when the truth is revealed there is a major change (i.e., pink slime burgers at McDonald's).

    Is there more transparency across the board for the farming, harvesting, and processing/packaging/transporting of produce compared to meat? I'm tempted to say no. Outside of people/organizations talking about locally grown products aimed at a local market, in the US you only really hear about the production of produce in the context of migrant workers and immigration but rarely do we hear about the labor practices in any sort of detail nor do we hear about the risks for people working on these farms. Then there's things like the ways in which crops like almonds are grown in the US (more specifically California) and the amount of water and transportation of bees that that takes which isn't really talked about all that much. It's also pretty rare to hear about the effect that large farms are having on small ones (similar to the way Amazon has ended up decimating the independent bookstore industry)

    On the other hand, it isn't especially uncommon to hear about feedlots, antibiotics, free range chickens (as well as discussions about what that actually means), etc. Some of that information is coming from groups whose publications I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, like PETA, where as other information is coming from people like Michael Pollan

    I think where we do agree is that I think that things like these new engineered vegetarian (vegan?) meats do get a lot of scrutiny. I think there are a number of reasons for this - people expect it to taste like meat given the claims by the manufactures so if it doesn't there is much condemnation. People are intrigued about how these products are actually made (which I think is fair because it is a bit mindblowing).
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    aokoye wrote: »
    jm_1234 wrote: »
    Sidebar: From a fast food perspective I feel like there is a double standard when it comes to plant based burgers/sausages/etc. It seems like plant based is judged more harshly than meat based products.

    For one there seems to be more transparency with plant based ingredients and manufacturing. With meat based it seems to usually be a trade secret and only when the truth is revealed there is a major change (i.e., pink slime burgers at McDonald's).

    Is there more transparency across the board for the farming, harvesting, and processing/packaging/transporting of produce compared to meat? I'm tempted to say no. Outside of people/organizations talking about locally grown products aimed at a local market, in the US you only really hear about the production of produce in the context of migrant workers and immigration but rarely do we hear about the labor practices in any sort of detail nor do we hear about the risks for people working on these farms. Then there's things like the ways in which crops like almonds are grown in the US (more specifically California) and the amount of water and transportation of bees that that takes which isn't really talked about all that much. It's also pretty rare to hear about the effect that large farms are having on small ones (similar to the way Amazon has ended up decimating the independent bookstore industry)

    On the other hand, it isn't especially uncommon to hear about feedlots, antibiotics, free range chickens (as well as discussions about what that actually means), etc. Some of that information is coming from groups whose publications I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, like PETA, where as other information is coming from people like Michael Pollan

    I think where we do agree is that I think that things like these new engineered vegetarian (vegan?) meats do get a lot of scrutiny. I think there are a number of reasons for this - people expect it to taste like meat given the claims by the manufactures so if it doesn't there is much condemnation. People are intrigued about how these products are actually made (which I think is fair because it is a bit mindblowing).

    It's almost as if all foods might turn out to be made of chemicals.

    ( ;):lol: )

    Chemicals...everywhere! >:)
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,660 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    I buy Beyond Burger a lot and really enjoy it. If I go to a restaurant, I'd rather a beef burger, but when I cook at home, I find it a lot easier to work with. I was never very good at cooking beef burgers so my Beyond Burgers end up coming out better.

    I also find the "it's heavily processed" attack to be amusing because:

    1. Of course it's processed. It's plant based products made to mimic the taste, appearance, and nutritional profile of ground beef. Of course it's gonna be processed. It doesn't grow on the beef fruit tree plant.
    2. If people want to scare about "processed" or "funny sounding ingredients", they should look at what gets fed to commercially produced beef. Cows don't magically appear in the slaughterhouse. They are raised and fed antibiotics and all sorts of other things ingredients (I've heard people try to scare about soy being in meat replacements not realizing that it is one of the primary ingredients fed to cows). I am not much one for ingredient scaring, but if you are, it's easy to do with beef too.

    I know I'm late to the party, but scare tactics about what cows eat reminded me of the Skittles story a few years back, and I googled it, and Here Ya Go: https://thecounter.org/alternative-feed-not-alternative-facts/

    I just meant to quip that the farmers only feed Soy when Skittles aren't available - but now I'm fairly horrified by some of the things that milk and meat cows are fed, regularly. It's definitely not the soy that bothers ME...
  • Avidkeo
    Avidkeo Posts: 3,190 Member
    Sylphadora wrote: »
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    Sylphadora wrote: »
    Sylphadora wrote: »
    Sylphadora wrote: »
    Nope

    Care to share what your specific concern is?

    Sure. The 21 reasons in the ingredient list

    You avoid beet juice?

    I hate beet with a passion so yes, I do avoid it, but I'm more worried about all the vegetable seed oils, starches and sugars. Also, anything with more than 5 ingredients is a frankenfood. Have you ever used 21 ingredients in a recipe?

    Yeap. Many times.

    And have you ever used methylcellulose, succinic acid, maltodextrin or any of the other chemical-sounding ingredients in a recipe? I don't buy anything with ingredients my grandmother wouldn't recognize. I'm strongly anti-processed food. The fact that it's processed vegan food doesn't make it any healthier. It still seems that it came out of a lab instead of a kitchen

    Ever used dihydrogen monoxide in food? I guarantee you have.

    Any ingredient sounds scary if you use its scientific name
  • tvm1970
    tvm1970 Posts: 161 Member
    live2dream wrote: »
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    I watched a talk show with Marco Borges, saying plant-based is the healthy way to go. BUT avoid fake meat because it's all highly processed.
    Opinions? Just curious.

    Is it to be avoided... nope. Unless you want to save money, then yeap.
    Is it highly processed... yeap. Just look at the ingredients.

    I would never buy it, high in calories, low in protein, low in nutrients and way way overpriced.... comparing to meat.

    Seriously why do people comment when they have no idea what they are talking about. It's the same amount of protein and calories as a cow burger, except without the cholesterol. Healthy to eat daily- NO. But no one should be eating any kind of burger with that high of fat daily. Once in a while to kill a craving without killing an animal- YES.

    Quoting so people read this twice.

  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    edited February 2020
    live2dream wrote: »
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    ReenieHJ wrote: »
    I watched a talk show with Marco Borges, saying plant-based is the healthy way to go. BUT avoid fake meat because it's all highly processed.
    Opinions? Just curious.

    Is it to be avoided... nope. Unless you want to save money, then yeap.
    Is it highly processed... yeap. Just look at the ingredients.

    I would never buy it, high in calories, low in protein, low in nutrients and way way overpriced.... comparing to meat.

    Seriously why do people comment when they have no idea what they are talking about. It's the same amount of protein and calories as a cow burger, except without the cholesterol. Healthy to eat daily- NO. But no one should be eating any kind of burger with that high of fat daily. Once in a while to kill a craving without killing an animal- YES.

    If you're using 80/20 ground beef yes, more or less. If you're using 95% lean (which is what I would use) then no, not at all.
    95% lean ground beef
    80% lean ground beef
    Impossible burger
    And for fun - Beyond burger, whose nutrition facts I couldn't actually find on their website but there are pictures on a Medium blog post which is what I linked to.

    It is also safe to assume that @just_Tomek is comparing the meatless patties as one would buy them at the grocery store to ground beef (or perhaps not ground) that you would buy so you can make your own hamburger patties. I say that on the basis of their posting history in the Recipies section.
  • annie5904
    annie5904 Posts: 84 Member
    I only have soy mince. As a vegan for two years I am trying not to eat soy but it is a source of protien. Becoming vegan and staying healthy doesn t just happen it is a long learning process. For me one that is worth the effort. Hopefully in the not too distant future I will be able to say I am completely plant based.
  • sbryanthc
    sbryanthc Posts: 73 Member
    edited February 2020
    How is soy not plant-based?

    Maybe they meant because soy is one of the plants that is mostly GMO. Not sure.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,926 Member
    edited February 2020
    I took Annie to be making 2 separate statements

    She is trying to avoid soy ( for unstated reason)
    And
    She is aiming to become fully plant based but is still getting there. ( separate aim to soy intake)