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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBig Food is ready to sell you more plant-based meat
Animal agriculture accounts for around 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions yet lawmakers largely ignore it when crafting policy to combat climate change.
That neglect extends to the food industry more broadly, which for a long time has paid even less attention to its emissions than the energy or transport sectors. But as big fast food chains, grocers, and food manufacturers roll out sustainability plans, some are specifically committing to increasing and promoting their plant-based offerings, which are much less carbon-intensive than conventional meat and dairy products.
Panera Bread kicked things off two years ago when it announced in January 2020 that it would make half of its menu plant-based in several years, up from 25 percent vegetarian at the time. Earlier this month, Burger King UK went a step further by announcing a plan to make its menu 50 percent plant-based by 2030 as a way to achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent by 2030. And this week, McDonalds announced plans to trial its McPlant burger made with Beyond Meat in 600 San Francisco and Dallas-Fort Worth area locations starting February 14.
The change has been swift. In a report published late last year, FAIRR, or Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return a nonprofit that lobbies food corporations to address the environmental and social risks of factory farming found that the 25 companies it lobbies are all at work developing their own plant-based products, while seven of them have announced specific targets to expand their plant-based sales.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22883795/food-industry-plant-based-vegan-meat-dairy-climate-pledges
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OK for lots of people, not for me. The components of most "fake meat" have BAD effects on me. You don't wanna know.
live love laugh
(13,003 posts)tinrobot
(10,848 posts)For some reason, I still don't trust the big conglomerates to fill those patties with stuff that is actually good for you.
Call me old-fashioned, but I'll stick to eating plants from the produce aisle.
renate
(13,776 posts)But wow, for people who can eat it without problems, Beyond Burger is so good! After thirty-five years of vegetarianism, it's such a treat to have a "real" hamburger. Highly recommended. We've also had good luck with Gardein; their fish is amazingly close to the texture that I remember.
Sorry if that's rubbing it in for vegetarians who can't eat faux meat, or who think it's gross, but I did want to share since meal planning is so much easier now than it was just a few years ago.
Oh! Another nice cooking trick I've found as a vegetarian who misses meat is smoked salt--if you like the smoky flavor of things cooked on the grill, this is an easy way to get a little of that flavor back.
Phoenix61
(16,952 posts)Celerity
(42,655 posts)GoCubsGo
(32,061 posts)Dr. Praeger's is another example. I was a vegetarian in my twenties. It's like night and day now. Back then, faux meats were practically inedible. I'm back to being an omnivore, but I've been eating more vegetarian than not over the past few years. I'd rather have a Dr. Praeger Perfect Burger than the real thing. I just wish these realistic faux meats weren't so damned expensive.
Gardein needs to cut back on the salt, especially in their breakfast "sausage." Yikes! Wish Quorn would bring theirs back.
Chipotle chilies are also good for adding smokiness, btw.
Fiendish Thingy
(15,367 posts)They are based on peas, and their burgers are tasty. Impossible burgers are pretty good.
Beats Soylent Green any day
bif
(22,560 posts)They're pretty darn close to the real thing!
StarryNite
(9,364 posts)A Beyond burger lettuce wrap is sooo yummy!
Deminpenn
(15,246 posts)plants/vegetables processed to look like meat. If you like fruits, vegetables, grains, eat them directly. It's a lot healthier, too, I'm sure.
Silent3
(15,018 posts)...and/or reduce animal suffering?
It's far easier to accept a close-substitute for something you already like than it is to convince yourself you don't like it anymore and want something else.
Jilly_in_VA
(9,852 posts)Silent3
(15,018 posts)Yes, eating less might reduce your environmental impact too, but you seem to have some distaste for the idea that other people might want a substitute for meat instead. Why is that?
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)Deminpenn
(15,246 posts)Sometimes, you just want a hamburg or steak or meatloaf. Unless you are committed vegetarian or vegan, go ahead. Red meat does have vitamins one's body needs.
Silent3
(15,018 posts)Why are you so against that option?
Amishman
(5,540 posts)I've tried Beyond, Impossible, Gardein, and plenty of others. They don't taste right or that good to me.
I had an argument with my sister over this last fall. We made a bet I couldn't tell the difference in a blind taste test, I was three for three. They all taste almost right at first (maybe a bit more bland), but the plant based proteins all have this sour and vaguely soaplike aftertaste. Doesn't matter if they are soy or pea based, same weird aftertaste. I think it must be some common additive used in processing I'm picking up and not the main plant matter.
just not worth it to me, so I'll be sticking to actual meat. Thankfully being out in the country, I have plenty of local sources where the animals are free range and well cared for.
Silent3
(15,018 posts)But some of these other posters spoke as if plant-based meat substitutes shouldn't be an acceptable alternative for anyone, not able to see beyond their own "why not do this other thing instead?" recommendations.
I was at Aldi's awhile back and picked up a package of two Beyond Burgers. I made a burger with one - thought it tasted similar to beef but I got the lingering aftertaste and it wasn't too appealing in my mouth. I sautéed the other burger with some onions, green pepper and my homemade marina. Poured it over whole grain pasta and it was delicious. I've also made tacos with the BB - seems like the added cumin, chili powder and cayenne helps soften the aftertaste. Beyond Burger has become an occasional treat in my diet.
Cuthbert Allgood
(4,867 posts)I'm no longer surprised at how emotionally attached people are to their eating of meat to the point of being pretty judgy about others that don't.
Cuthbert Allgood
(4,867 posts)I've been a vegetarian for 30 years. I liked meat before I became a vegetarian. I became a vegetarian for animal rights and environmental reasons. If I can have something that approximates meat without the animal rights problems I have with meat, then why shouldn't I eat it.
But, in the end, people's diet really isn't any business of anyone else than the person doing the eating.
renate
(13,776 posts)I mean... it's a food! A delicious food! I'd totally eat meat if it weren't for the fact that it comes from animals, so I'm thrilled that there's a way to get that taste and have so many more meal options than we used to have. I don't mean to sound judgy but it seems as though vegetarians who object to meat substitutes have no more reason to do so than to arbitrarily object to people eating tofu. Not everybody likes tofu, after all.
If good meat substitutes mean that people can either have foods they miss or eat less meat, isn't that a good thing? Maybe there's something I just don't understand.
Deminpenn
(15,246 posts)just don't understand it.
iemanja
(53,001 posts)and I'm a vegetarian. I tend to eat a lot of beans and tofu for protein. There is something gross about that fake meat, but it's okay as a burger with a lot of toppings.
HAB911
(8,811 posts)Like you, I thought why bother. But, as a forever carnivore, I have found smoking the Beyond products bridges the divide between where I want to be and where I have been.
Spider Jerusalem
(21,786 posts)the Beyond Meat burgers don't taste like beef, quite (closer to venison, I'd say). Considering the environmental impact of livestock, eating less meat is good for everyone; giving people who might not be inclined to try vegetarian or vegan food options that are familiar and taste similar enough to meat to form an acceptable replacement is going to be an important part of reducing consumption, on a societal level. Your incomprehension is beside the point.
Jilly_in_VA
(9,852 posts)basically mean beans, veggies, and bread for us. And pasta. Soy and pea protein have, to put it delicately, deleterious effects on my digestive tract. I have honestly never really seen the point of fake meat anyway. Either eat meat or don't is my philosophy. YMMV.
Silent3
(15,018 posts)What I really would like to see take off, however, is cultured meat -- real meat, but no animal that has to be raised to produce it.
And no, I don't care if it's GMO, if it's not "natural"... if it's nutritious by scientific standards, energy efficient and low-pollution to produce, and tastes good, I'm all in.
Jilly_in_VA
(9,852 posts)for black bean burgers. Never tried them, but a friend told me they're not hard to make at all. Another friend, whose late husband was allergic to legumes, told me they substituted chopped mushrooms for meat in a lot of recipes.
iemanja
(53,001 posts)have the same animal fat as real meat?
Silent3
(15,018 posts)There would be many different varieties. I think the easiest thing is growing pure muscle tissue, which might be way too lean for most people's tastes.
I won't pretend to know all the ins and outs of tissue differentiation required to produce a good product, but I imagine the results could be customized for many different end results. The fat in the product certainly wouldn't have to be in the same proportions, or even the same kind of fat, as in a real animal.
While the healthiness of the product could certainly be improved over the real thing, that's not the only goal here. People currently eat a lot of meat regardless of health concerns. So it's still progress to meet that demand with less environmental impact, and less animal suffering, than we do by farming animals to fill the demand.
mainer
(12,013 posts)for my husband.
when we took them off the grill we got them mixed up. My husband wanted his fake burger, but we couldn't figure out which one it was! We took a taste of each and couldn't identify the fake one. That's how good an imitation it is.
hunter
(38,264 posts)... and most consumers will prefer this "fake meat."
People who eat beef hamburgers may become as rare as people who still have landline telephone service.
Don't underestimate the food scientists... they'll create a meatless burger that people prefer over beef.
Nutritionally these meatless burgers might be something along the line of Cheez Whiz in comparison to actual cheese, but it's almost certain these plant based burgers will have a much smaller environmental footprint than beef.
VGNonly
(7,430 posts)whole food vegan diet. I don't care for "frankenmeat".
Sympthsical
(8,935 posts)We're not really beef or red meat eaters in my house. We subsist on chicken, turkey, fish, and eggs when it comes to animal protein. We seriously go through chicken like whoa. Chicken is dinner/lunch probably 5-6 days a week. Get that frozen 10 lbs Costco bag of boneless skinless breasts and the bags of chicken thighs.
It'd be interesting to see if they ever manage it. The "chicken" I've had in the past is mainly thinly veiled tofu. Which, no. I like tofu. But not as chicken in disguise.
renate
(13,776 posts)And Gardein makes a pretty good version of chicken strips; I wouldn't eat them on their own but they're nice in pasta or Chinese or Thai dishes.
frogmarch
(12,145 posts)I don't eat fake meat either. As an animal lover, why would I want to pretend I'm eating one?
Raine
(30,540 posts)too much like real meat. Still I'm glad that not eating meat is accepted and becoming more mainstream plant based meat is helping in that regard.
Piasladic
(1,160 posts)and doesn't hurt animals? I went vegetarian because I couldn't stomach (hah) raising animals to eat their muscles and stuff. Hubby went vegan because he hated the taste. I'm usually vegan, but when he's not around, the mac and cheeze comes out!