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It seems to me that insect meat is the way to go taste, nutrition, and cost wise. But people are adverse to eating bugs. To me this seems to be a branding probl
by b_tterc_p 8y ago
It seems to me that insect meat is the way to go taste, nutrition, and cost wise. But people are adverse to eating bugs. To me this seems to be a branding problem. One of the plant based burger producers should advertise that their food is supplemented with natural proteins and lipids, then stuff their plant burgers with ground up crickets or meal worms or whatever.
I don’t think people would have as much a problem eating a plant burger with insect protein supplements as they would eating straight crickets
- gibolt 8y agoUntil a single article describes the actual contents and there is massive public outcry about what corporations are hiding in our food
- toufiqbarhamov 8y agoTo be fair, we’re already eating ground crickets and roaches in our food, along with rat feces and other stuff. Personally having eaten insects my problem with them is the taste and texture, but I feel the same way about bologna and hog dogs. On that note, if people are willing to eat what’s in hot dogs and Slim Jim’s, ground crickets would be a huge improvement. Mechanically separated meat is... awful. If all I’m going to taste anyway is chemical preservatives and flavoring, I’d rather eat mashed crickets than pig anus and eyeballs.
- dmix 8y agoI’ve seen those ground cricket protein powder replacements at the grocery store but they always seem so expensive. Would it be economical to include that admin part of the buffer? I’m also not sure what role they fit in the kitchen. The marketing say they can go into smoothies, sauces, and chillies but I’m not sure what ingredient it’s replaxing. I’m gusssing it’s either the traditional meat or whey protein powder part? Also apparently people with an allergy to shellfish and crusteseans can’t eat cricket powder, although I’m not sure how prevelant that condition is.
- bearcobra 8y agoI think the challenge is that a significant portion of the non-mammal meat eating population has a moral objection to eating living things, even insects. Given their roles are early adopters of these kinds of products it seems unlikely that kind of solution would get far.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- the8472 8y agoInsects have to eat something too. And some insects are carnivorous. So you would be inserting multiple layers into the food chain with all the associated efficiency losses and increases in carbon footprint. Going straight to the source seems reasonable if it can be made to work.
- b_tterc_p 8y agoYou’re not wrong, but it’s worth getting a sense of scale. Farming insects uses about 90% less land than beef, and similarly large savings in water and feed. If people like meat, bugs are a pretty good way to solve for that.
- koolba 8y agoWhat they really need to do is stop pushing fake meat as “like beef” and start pushing it as delicious on its own. Fried crickets are amazing. It’s natural to be squeamish but just like people were once scared of red tomatoes they’ll come around.
- gibolt 8y agoAs major !meat firms start scaling up, I hope it expands rapidly like the milk-alternative industry. Embrace the source. Exciting times
- tyfon 8y agoThey started doing that in Norway with some of the veggie burgers and they are delicious. I don't think I've had a meat burger in two years. I haven't been able to find insect meat here yet but it's probably coming soon if you got it in the US now. We do eat meat though, but only once or twice a week and almost never red meat anymore.
- koolba 8y agoI eat it all. Red meat, white meat, fish, you name it. If it’s not going to kill me I’ll try it and if it tastes good I’ll likely try it again. I have no qualms about eating anything and my comment is based purely on trying something new and actively enjoying in taste alone. I’d be more inclined to try something new if someone says it tastes good on its own accord vs “tastes just like X”.
- tyfon 8y agoOh yeah, I completely agree on the "tastes like X" thing. The veggie burgers I talk about tastes nothing like meat and the texture is different, but they do not market it as meat replacement just a delicious veggie burger. The different ingredients are displayed on the package so it all looks very good too :) I often find the "meat replacements" rather disgusting and I prefer to eat real meat over those.
- pastor_elm 8y agoI agree. I'd much rather eat that tbh. I'm not terribly fond of eating wheat or soy protein.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- jjallen 8y agoWouldn't people eventually look at the ingredients though? They will just find out about crickets there...
- b_tterc_p 8y agoPerhaps I overembellished. I’m not suggesting outright hiding the insects, I’m suggesting reframing them as a supplement rather than the main substance. It’s a veggie burger with bug proteins. Not just bugs.
- antisthenes 8y agoShow me an insect burger that costs the same as a beef burger and I'll gladly buy it. Alternatively - cut subsidies to meat producers, which will raise prices for animal meat, so the insect burger can be competitive. AFAIK, so far only cricket protein bars exist and they are sold at a huge premium ($4 vs $2) compared to whey protein based bars. As a consumer, I'm just not interested in paying double for an alternative. Never mind that the alternative may not even taste as good.
- lsiebert 8y agoI'd note that whey protein is from milk, not meat. It's often separated in the cheese making process.
- spraak 8y agoInsect meat is still less efficient than just eating plants for protein.