Alt Meat
Washington Post article on Alt Meat pricing. Was reading this in the Santa Fe New Mexican and thought to post it here for comment.
Comments
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In my opinion, the problem with commercial plant-based meat products is that they are made from soy or peas that are generally grown in mechanized, factory farms that uses herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers. This is also endangering the environment as large swaths of important habitat, including the Amazon rain forest, are being destroyed for soy plantations as the world's demand for plant-based products increase.
I have yet to see any plant based meat products in any of my local stores that are advertised as organic. I did see one ad online that said its sausage was made from organic tofu but I think organic plant-based meats are few and far between.
We need to be conscious of where all our food comes from and how it is grown/produced.
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There has definitely been a push for a few years to frame meat as “dirty” and plant-based as “clean”. I think this category will grow massively in the years to come, but it makes me sad. Instead of pushing for ultra processed vegan options, we need to pay attention to how our food is grown/raised and eat real food to be healthy. I know that for years I was easily manipulated by marketing and health trends, and it was a huge relief when I finally made the connection that, among other things, health comes when you grow your food and cook it yourself, not from artificially manipulating it to look and taste like something it isn’t. Yuck!
I’m not arguing for any particular diet, just saying we should let our meat be meat and our vegetables be vegetables!
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I have been a vegetarian for over 30 years and the reason is because I do not like the taste of meat. So besides the new meat being mostly chemicals, it also tastes like meat!
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@torey I agree with you 100%. I refuse to buy this fake meat because of what it's made of (GMO), the chemicals, and just the fact that some of it is lab grown. Just doesn't seem right. Also, like you said they're pushing it way to hard on commercials. Funny how mostly I watch cooking shows but they advertise this fake meat during those shows. A couple days ago I saw a commercial for fake chicken strips.
We are mostly plant based but we do eat some meat mostly because my husband can't live without it. But we would do without it if fake meat is all there was to buy. Hopefully, we don't make it that far!!
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Food should be real, whether its plant or meat.
I plan to cut back on meat portions but still have it. And raise real veggies and fruit too.
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Interesting how the meat companies as the article states had issues because of "Supply-chain problems and virus outbreaks in meat-processing plants".
Somehow I have not heard of these issues affecting the companies using these fake chemical laden meats. And just when they are pushing so hard for all the fake meat (such as the interview with Bill Gates who is growing some type of fake meat in a lab and says consumers will "get used to it") and vegetarian options the meat processing plants suddenly had widespread outbreaks and the whole plant was shut down (often in plants that actually had no illnesses.
If I can find the video of him saying this I will ask for permission to post it.
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@RustBeltCowgirl this is taking science to another level and I don’t believe it’s good. Like many have said here, food needs to be real. Grown and raised as organic, local, moral and grateful as it can be, wether it’s meat, fruit, vegetables, herbs or grain. Not in a Petrie dish or a lab.
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I agree food should be real. The ultra processed stuff whether it's plant or animal based leads to disease down the road but most people don't connect the dots.
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@JodieDownUnder I agree with you. I've been reading about so much of this stuff lately that my mind keeps bringing up the movie "Soylent Green".
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I refuse to eat that creepy fake lab grown meat. I'd sooner go vegetarian.
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Yep that sounds about right.
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@Lisa K The new fake meats have the taste and texture of meat because they are aimed at meat-eaters, not vegetarians.
That's why the Impossible Burger "bleeds" when you bite it.
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It's so easy to make delicious vegetarian dishes from ingredients like beans, I don't understand why people prefer stuff like this.
My husband and I are not vegetarians and we enjoy meat. But we also make and enjoy many vegetarian dishes, and we never use these factory vegetarian items.
Between black beans, kidney beans, refried beans, shellies, tofu, etc. we've never been interested in the weird stuff. Asian and Mexican cookbooks are a good source of dishes that use little or no meat.
For those of us who are not strict vegetarians, a little bit of meat in an otherwise vegetarian dish can really improve the flavor at little cost. Again, look at Asian and Mexican cookbooks for ideas. If meat becomes more expensive, we'll eat less T-bone steak and more steak fajitas, less whole chicken breasts and more chicken tacos, less pork tenderloin and more ma PO tofu made with ground pork.
People worldwide crave real meat, unless they have religious reasons for avoiding it. I've been shocked at how quickly demand for real meat has grown in cultures and societies that have been mostly vegetarian for thousands of years.
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@VermontCathy I have friends that became vegans for health reason and since they love the taste of meat will sometimes eat the impossible meat. YUCK I did not know it actually bleeds! I completely agree with you, if you do not want meat there are vegetarian dishes that are great using real food.
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I have never found a vegetarian item that really, truly replicates the texture of meat. Some vegetarian dishes are very satisfying, but they are still different from meat.
I'm not sure long-term vegetarians really understand the craving for the texture of meat that most meat-eaters experience. It's less about taste than texture.
When it's the taste of meat you want, a very small amount added to a vegetarian dish (like ma po tofu) works very well. But when it's the texture you are craving, there is really no adequate substitute.
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On the other hand, I have never found a vegetable that can be grown fresh in cool climates for much of the year that can subsitute for the texture of a tomato.
Some writers have wondered why so many people eat those cardboard-like store tomatoes that are available out of season, but I understand it completely. Without slices of tomato, my sandwiches are missing a certain texture and "fullness" that nothing else provides.
Tomato sauce can provide the flavor, but not the texture.
Has anyone else found a good substitute for a fresh tomato?
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@VermontCathy I haven't.
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In my humble opinion, old Bill is pushing for a meatless society because he now owns more agricultural lands in the US than anyone else and he also owns the patents on many genetically modified plants. It’s interesting that he also owns the patent on the heavily advertised non meat and huge stocks in the pharmaceutical companies that provide treatments for cancers and various chronic diseases etc. Almost seems like a classic case of conflict of interest, but then, we do have the choice of not buying and eating the many poisons that are being billed as healthy and delicious.
I’m not trying to start a political discussion, I’m just saying that we had better pay close attention to prevent the loss of our current choices because big,big money is seeking to take them away.
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I don't understand why a vegetarian would want fake meat. Seems counter-intuitive. I have a mostly raw vegan friend who will eat liver once a month just to stay healthy. She loses brainpower without it. I see a lot of vegan's health go downhill after a few years but many of them are also eating this fake food. So much energy is wasted producing this kind of product.
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@Sharie These fake meat products are not aimed at vegetarians. They are designed to appeal to meat-eaters who are eating more vegetarian meals, either because of health, or because of price/availability of meat.
The vegetarians that I have talked to thing they are disgusting, but the marketers didn't have them in mind.
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@Sharie I'm actually not surprised to hear that vegans have trouble staying healthy.
Vegetarian diets have been around for thousands of years, and clearly can keep people healthy. Animals products such as eggs, milk, cheese, and butter can be combined with a predominantly vegetable/fruit-based diet to provide everything needed by the human body.
But veganism requires factory "fortified" food or supplements. Vitamin B-12, for example, is exclusively found in animal products, and it is important for health. Inadequate B-12 intake is related to anemia, nervous system damage, heart disease, and pregnancy complications.
So a truly vegan diet can only keep you healthy in a society that artificially produces B-12 in a factory and either sells you supplements that you take, or fortifies foods such as breakfast cereals with that B-12.
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I read a Consumer Report article from July 2017 rating the new meats compared to 80% lean beef and it is very interesting -
The Beyond Burger - about the same calorie-wise, less protein and 1/3 less saturated fat.
The Impossible Burger - same number of calories and protein but higher in saturated fat.
Both are on the sodium high-side.
According to the article the only real benefit is for the Planet. I think I will stick with my garden burgers.
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I do not believe these have any benefit for the planet vs. the bean burgers that we know and enjoy today.
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@VermontCathy I completely agree (my favorite are black bean burgers). I think what CR was trying to say is that the alt meats are not as healthy as advertised.
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I have never understood why anyone who did not want to eat real meat would want to eat this fake, chemical laden, highly processed crap. If you don't want meat, don't eat it. But don't try to remake something else into the item you didn't want. That is like leaving a city, state or country because you don't like the way it is run or something so you move somewhere else and try to change it into a duplicate of the place you left.
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@vickeym I agree. I moved to South America almost 10 years ago. It's surprising how many ex-pats here are trying to turn people into cloned Americans.
I read a quote years ago, "If you wanted a change, why are you complaining that it's different?
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@Tave I have noticed that as well.
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Unrepentant carnivore here. I cannot believe that the fake stuff will ever be a substitute. We must refuse to buy it.
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