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Thoughts on Beyond Burger and other fake meat
Replies
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janejellyroll wrote: »In the spirit of today, an article on the subject of whether or not faux meat products are appropriate if one is avoiding meat for Lent: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-beyond-impossible-burger-fake-meat-lent-20200225-ldbyyq74lzadzgmiqhcdaqmuo4-story.html
Interesting. I think it really does depend on "why" you observe Lent or any other religious or spiritual fasting convention. Kind of a "letter of the law" vs "spirit of the law" sort of thing.
Yeah, I can see if the point is to live mindfully through the practice of temporarily giving up something, then replacing it with something that is designed to be indistinguishable is kind of skirting the intention (not to degrade anyone's spiritual practice if they're doing this, there may be complexities I'm not getting).
Obviously, there are fasting practices that have different purposes than Lent (as least Lent as I was raised to understand it) and faux meat may fit well into those.
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Real meat eater here for life. Although, I do believe in moderation when it comes to eating red meat. Hell NO to fake meat!
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SlayLikeAWarrior wrote: »Real meat eater here for life. Although, I do believe in moderation when it comes to eating red meat. Hell NO to fake meat!
Why? What is inherently objectionable about faux meat?3 -
SlayLikeAWarrior wrote: »Real meat eater here for life. Although, I do believe in moderation when it comes to eating red meat. Hell NO to fake meat!
real meat eater here who also enjoys and appreciated beyond burgers etc (sister is a vegan and we try different restaurants when she visits)4 -
janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »In the spirit of today, an article on the subject of whether or not faux meat products are appropriate if one is avoiding meat for Lent: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-beyond-impossible-burger-fake-meat-lent-20200225-ldbyyq74lzadzgmiqhcdaqmuo4-story.html
Interesting. I think it really does depend on "why" you observe Lent or any other religious or spiritual fasting convention. Kind of a "letter of the law" vs "spirit of the law" sort of thing.
Yeah, I can see if the point is to live mindfully through the practice of temporarily giving up something, then replacing it with something that is designed to be indistinguishable is kind of skirting the intention (not to degrade anyone's spiritual practice if they're doing this, there may be complexities I'm not getting).
Obviously, there are fasting practices that have different purposes than Lent (as least Lent as I was raised to understand it) and faux meat may fit well into those.
It reminded me of jokes about people violating the spirit by having some fancy, expensive seafood based meal on a Friday in Lent, like going to a nice sushi place or having lobster.
I would agree with the comment above that it depends on how one is understanding the sacrifice -- it can be "to have to be mindful that I am doing this and then remembering why" which I think would be consistent with having the Beyond Burger.2 -
janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »In the spirit of today, an article on the subject of whether or not faux meat products are appropriate if one is avoiding meat for Lent: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-beyond-impossible-burger-fake-meat-lent-20200225-ldbyyq74lzadzgmiqhcdaqmuo4-story.html
Interesting. I think it really does depend on "why" you observe Lent or any other religious or spiritual fasting convention. Kind of a "letter of the law" vs "spirit of the law" sort of thing.
Yeah, I can see if the point is to live mindfully through the practice of temporarily giving up something, then replacing it with something that is designed to be indistinguishable is kind of skirting the intention (not to degrade anyone's spiritual practice if they're doing this, there may be complexities I'm not getting).
Obviously, there are fasting practices that have different purposes than Lent (as least Lent as I was raised to understand it) and faux meat may fit well into those.
It reminded me of jokes about people violating the spirit by having some fancy, expensive seafood based meal on a Friday in Lent, like going to a nice sushi place or having lobster.
I would agree with the comment above that it depends on how one is understanding the sacrifice -- it can be "to have to be mindful that I am doing this and then remembering why" which I think would be consistent with having the Beyond Burger.
Yeah, when I was a kid, I was allergic to fish, so on Fridays during Lent we would have things like shrimp or cheese pizza. These were treats and we looked forward to them, which does kind of defeat the purpose of a "sacrifice".
I also remember as a kid thinking that vegetarians should HAVE to eat meat on Fridays during Lent as their sacrifice. 5 -
Given the original purpose of giving things up for Lent was to eat simply and cheaply, ( not just eat, I think some people did other self discipline things like no sex) then here in Australia eating fish doesn't really achieve that
Fish is no cheaper and really no simpler a meal than meat - and of course fancy lobster and seafood all you can eat buffets are not simple or cheap at all.
It makes more sense to me to give up something you like that is a 'fancy extra' like meat was in those days - self discipline is good
Even better if you donate the money you would of spent on the fancy thing to a charity.
I have given up chocolate for the 6 weeks of Lent sometimes with that reasoning and am thinking of giving up cappacinos this year.
But if I hated meat or was already a vegetarian I don't see what purpose eating beyond burger would be, in regards to Lent1 -
SlayLikeAWarrior wrote: »Real meat eater here for life. Although, I do believe in moderation when it comes to eating red meat. Hell NO to fake meat!
Well, I guess we all have things that are Hell, no! For us just on personal taste or 'the thought of it' reasons.
I'm like that with liver, tripe and similar
Nothing inherently wrong with eating them, but for me personally Hell, no!
Says nothing about the product though, just about my personal bias - so as an actual point in a debate, pretty meaningless.
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paperpudding wrote: »Given the original purpose of giving things up for Lent was to eat simply and cheaply, ( not just eat, I think some people did other self discipline things like no sex) then here in Australia eating fish doesn't really achieve that
Fish is no cheaper and really no simpler a meal than meat - and of course fancy lobster and seafood all you can eat buffets are not simple or cheap at all.
It makes more sense to me to give up something you like that is a 'fancy extra' like meat was in those days - self discipline is good
Even better if you donate the money you would of spent on the fancy thing to a charity.
I have given up chocolate for the 6 weeks of Lent sometimes with that reasoning and am thinking of giving up cappacinos this year.
But if I hated meat or was already a vegetarian I don't see what purpose eating beyond burger would be, in regards to Lent
Lent has very strict rules here, so the one or two times during Lend that we can eat fish, we absolutely will regardless of how expensive it is. It's usually eaten to celebrate certain special days during Lent so being a celebration, eating expensive fish and drinking wine does not break the "spirit" of it in our case.1 -
That's the difference I suppose - Lent does not at all have strict rules here, certainly not in Uniting church of Australia anyway, can't speak for all churches.
So, is up to individual to decide what and why they will give up whatever they do.0 -
paperpudding wrote: »SlayLikeAWarrior wrote: »Real meat eater here for life. Although, I do believe in moderation when it comes to eating red meat. Hell NO to fake meat!
Well, I guess we all have things that are Hell, no! For us just on personal taste or 'the thought of it' reasons.
I'm like that with liver, tripe and similar
Nothing inherently wrong with eating them, but for me personally Hell, no!
Says nothing about the product though, just about my personal bias - so as an actual point in a debate, pretty meaningless.
Yeah, if there was a debate thread on the health merits of, say, organ meat, I wouldn't consider it a meaningful contribution to come in and simply state "I'd never eat them because they gross me out."
It's very relevant information if you're cooking dinner for me. It's not meaningful otherwise.6 -
I prefer not to murder in order to eat, but also to eat healthfully, so yes, I eat them in moderation. Everyone eats in accordance with their own values and preferences; these are mine.1
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Gotta love emotive language. 7
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My hubby has been eating less meat due to GI issues and we have adopted an almost vegan diet across the board. We tried the Beyond Meat Famous Star at Carl's Jr and those things are very tasty. I decided to purchase a couple of Beyond Meat patties at the grocery store and make "burgers" at home and we enjoyed it very much.4
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just_Tomek wrote: »
But if it is processed in your body rather than a pan over a fire or stovep; THAT's okay? Everything is a chemical process.1 -
MikePYT
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 don't know where you live, so I'm not sure if it applies to you but in the UK the main food for cattle is grass. Either grazing in the summer or as silage in the winter. Most are fed some form of hard food which includes soy protein but the soy that is in it is a byproduct of what is used for human consumption. As for antibiotics, farmers don't generally use them unless its necessary (they're expensive!) Also antibiotics have very strict withdrawal periods to ensure that they have left the animals system before they are in the food chain. I am aware that not all farmers have the same practices and that there are different practices all around the world. (Not a fan of USA feedlots). In short I think that it really depends on where your beef comes from and the person who raised it, mostly farmers who love their cattle and want to produce a quality product.
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TBH, I quit reading this a long time ago when it got too involved.
But I've been eating veggie burgers smothered in onions, mushrooms, avocado, and spinach. And they are soooo good.
I figured if I was gonna eat ice cream, then veggie burgers aren't gonna kill me any quicker. 1 -
Grace_spaceship wrote: »MikePYT
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 don't know where you live, so I'm not sure if it applies to you but in the UK the main food for cattle is grass. Either grazing in the summer or as silage in the winter. Most are fed some form of hard food which includes soy protein but the soy that is in it is a byproduct of what is used for human consumption. As for antibiotics, farmers don't generally use them unless its necessary (they're expensive!) Also antibiotics have very strict withdrawal periods to ensure that they have left the animals system before they are in the food chain. I am aware that not all farmers have the same practices and that there are different practices all around the world. (Not a fan of USA feedlots). In short I think that it really depends on where your beef comes from and the person who raised it, mostly farmers who love their cattle and want to produce a quality product.
I can believe that farmers may feel affection for cows as a species, but I don't believe you can love someone and choose to turn them into meat. Maybe my definition of "love" is too limited. Are there farmers who believe they have a duty of reasonable care up until slaughter? Absolutely.2 -
Funny story.
My daughter has groceries delivered.
Texted her grocery, ordered grass fed, no antibiotic, 97/3 ground beef.
They texted back, how about beyond beef?
She texted back, no, just any grass fed would do.
They texted back, how about beyond beef?
She texted back just any ground beef, as lean as possible.
They texted back, how about beyond beef?
She called them, told them what she planned to make, asked what they would recommend, ground turkey, etc?
They said nope. We recommend beyond beef. Said the only meat of any kind we have in the store right now is some hard salami.
They tried the beyond meat. They said next time they’d have scrambled eggs. Or cold cereal. Or anything else.3 -
corinasue1143 wrote: »Funny story.
My daughter has groceries delivered.
Texted her grocery, ordered grass fed, no antibiotic, 97/3 ground beef.
They texted back, how about beyond beef?
She texted back, no, just any grass fed would do.
They texted back, how about beyond beef?
She texted back just any ground beef, as lean as possible.
They texted back, how about beyond beef?
She called them, told them what she planned to make, asked what they would recommend, ground turkey, etc?
They said nope. We recommend beyond beef. Said the only meat of any kind we have in the store right now is some hard salami.
They tried the beyond meat. They said next time they’d have scrambled eggs. Or cold cereal. Or anything else.
Seems like it would have been a lot faster for them to text back "We don't have any meat other than hard salami. Are you interested in faux meat?"5 -
I eat mostly Whole Food Plant Based, and I avoid stuff like Beyond Burger. Avoid, but occasionally use. Avoiding heavily processed foods has been a great thing for me. Instead of oils, for example, I use tahini, nut-based dressings, etc. This gives me more fiber and protein with my fat and keeps me satiated. In my household, moving to WFPB eating helped those of us who needed to lose weight do so, and those who needed to gain do the same.0
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Haven't tried one yet, but do eat veggie burgers/sausages. I don't eat beef.1
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Well I finally decided to try the new Beevee strips. I’m vegan and rarely have the processed stuff because I hate the taste. It tasted really good but I couldn’t stop throwing up afterwards. I still feel so sick. So that’s a no from me.1
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I've been eating them for years. They are good. Something was changed in their burgers but they are still good. Higher on the sodium count but taste good.0
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I'm not vegan but I have 100% transitioned to Beyond Burgers whenever we do grilling! Taste so good, and although I do eat some other animal products, it's nice to hold back when possible.2
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I'm not reading 500+ posts, only things I care about are:
1. is it tasty?
2. is it cheap?
Don't eat burgers much but if they came up with a cheap, non-perishable meat replacement, I'd be all over that. Remembering to take the meat out of the freezer a few hours before cooking is a pain in the backside. ETA: and yeah, meat is expensive, I'd like it if they fixed that.1 -
Ha ha on that. I've actually been unable to eat any of the prepackaged meat substitutes of late and have just been eating beans or tofu as a sub for meat. Except when I do eat a burger it's the real deal. 0
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Just thought I'd add to this, as everyone commenting so far seems to have an abstract opinion, rather than firsthand. Beyond burgers are by far the most realistic meat replacement burgers we've had since going vegan. To the point that some vegans and vegetarians I know, don't like them because they taste too meaty. A lot of people choose to give up meat for reasons other than diet, or even the animals, there is a lot of people who have gone vegan for ecological reasons and who really miss a good steak, and I think that's what companies like Beyond and Impossible are trying to tap into, or the Veganuary crowd. The Vegan world is crazy diverse.1
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nasty over processed food by big food corporations that play on people's "emotions about meat" Waste and bad for the environment. Eat local whole foods.0
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lorimiller18 wrote: »nasty over processed food by big food corporations that play on people's "emotions about meat" Waste and bad for the environment. Eat local whole foods.
What "emotions about meat" are you referring to and how does the push for eating "local" and "whole" foods manage to avoid playing on any emotions? For that matter, how do you talk about a food being "nasty" and "over processed" and frown on "big food corporations" without having emotions come into it?
Can we reflect on how it might be USEFUL for our discussions about when and whether to use the bodies of others for food (whether we're eating them directly or using their labor to otherwise produce food) to sometimes involve emotion? We're not machines, it's okay to feel things and to allow those feelings to have a PLACE in our decisions about what is right and wrong.
I'm not arguing that our food sourcing decisions should be based exclusively on emotion, but I think it's incredibly lazy (or bad faith) to argue that those avoiding/minimizing meat consumption are emotion-driven fools and everyone else is simply making rational decisions in which emotion doesn't play a part.6
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