3 ms·

> No one eats fake meat to be healthier. Beyond Meat is marketed as being healthier. Go to Beyond Meat's website https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/ https:/

> No one eats fake meat to be healthier. Beyond Meat is marketed as being healthier. Go to Beyond Meat's website https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/ https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/ and it begins "Imagine your favorite meaty dishes like burgers and tacos delivering the juicy, delicious taste you know and love, while being better for you..."

dymk 7y ago
The full marketing copy could use some change but not a lot - the next thing they follow it up with is "while being better for you and the planet." There are certainly benefits to eating a plant-based burger over a beef based one.
- wodenokoto 7y ago
  Whats your point? “Better for you and the planet” IS a health proposition. If only the planet part is true, then half of their benefit proposition goes away. Half the value proposition of any product is a big deal for that product.
laurex 7y ago
However, if you think of these products as a "gateway drug" to more plant-based eating, I think there's still an argument to be made that there's potentially a health benefit eventually. If all you do is eat fast food, you have no hope of dietary health. But if you start thinking, "plant-based isn't so bad' perhaps you'll consider them in other contexts as well. Most people could benefit from eating more plants, at least ones that haven't been processed into oblivion (like Beyond or other fast and convenience foods). Of course, it's possible that people will delude themselves that eating White Castle can be healthy if it's vegetarian, but that is a delusion that implies more willful ignorance than fake meat can be responsible for.
- Grue3 7y ago
  >However, if you think of these products as a "gateway drug" to more plant-based eating I like to think of them as a gateway drug to meat for vegetarians. Once they get hooked on the taste, they'll soon start craving for the rich texture of the real meat. And there's still no plant-based bacon, which is the "killer app" of meat.
x3haloed 7y ago
It shouldn’t be. Either way, it’s not the main reason that people (like myself) are clamoring for plant-based meat alternatives that recreate the meat-eating experience. pkulak is right. It’s to prevent animal cruelty and help the environment. The constant daily reminder from the media that Impossible Burgers aren’t any healthier than real burgers are an irrelevant distraction from the point. Animals don’t have to be slaughtered to enjoy a hamburger if it’s an Impossible burger. The only way to dispute that is if you claim that Impossible Burgers aren’t as good as a real one, and dammit if Impossible hasn’t done an incredible job at making a tasty burger out of freakin plants.
- loceng 7y ago
  Can you cite research to contrast the fairly well-known unsustainable agriculture practices that industrial complexes have lead to for plant based? I've yet to see an adequately done comparison between properly managed agriculture and properly managed meat production, e.g. non-monocrops vs. non-factory farming.
  - loceng 7y ago
    Hoping whoever downvoted me leaves a qualitative comment.
- ramphastidae 7y ago
  > Animals don’t have to be slaughtered to enjoy a hamburger if it’s an Impossible burger. I realize this is a bit extreme of a characterization, but this argument doesn't sit right with me at all. It sounds like 'I'm only willing to change my habits to reduce animal cruelty and help the environment if an alternative that tastes exactly like meat exists. Otherwise, what can possibly be done?!' If you are really concerned about those things, whether the Impossible Burger exists or not should not make a difference. There are plenty of delicious vegetable burgers that already exist. They just taste like the ingredients they are made of (beans, mushrooms, etc.) and not a faux replica of meat.

dymk 7y ago

The full marketing copy could use some change but not a lot - the next thing they follow it up with is "while being better for you and the planet." There are certainly benefits to eating a plant-based burger over a beef based one.

wodenokoto 7y ago
Whats your point? “Better for you and the planet” IS a health proposition. If only the planet part is true, then half of their benefit proposition goes away. Half the value proposition of any product is a big deal for that product.

laurex 7y ago

However, if you think of these products as a "gateway drug" to more plant-based eating, I think there's still an argument to be made that there's potentially a health benefit eventually. If all you do is eat fast food, you have no hope of dietary health. But if you start thinking, "plant-based isn't so bad' perhaps you'll consider them in other contexts as well. Most people could benefit from eating more plants, at least ones that haven't been processed into oblivion (like Beyond or other fast and convenience foods). Of course, it's possible that people will delude themselves that eating White Castle can be healthy if it's vegetarian, but that is a delusion that implies more willful ignorance than fake meat can be responsible for.

Grue3 7y ago
>However, if you think of these products as a "gateway drug" to more plant-based eating I like to think of them as a gateway drug to meat for vegetarians. Once they get hooked on the taste, they'll soon start craving for the rich texture of the real meat. And there's still no plant-based bacon, which is the "killer app" of meat.

x3haloed 7y ago

It shouldn’t be. Either way, it’s not the main reason that people (like myself) are clamoring for plant-based meat alternatives that recreate the meat-eating experience. pkulak is right. It’s to prevent animal cruelty and help the environment. The constant daily reminder from the media that Impossible Burgers aren’t any healthier than real burgers are an irrelevant distraction from the point. Animals don’t have to be slaughtered to enjoy a hamburger if it’s an Impossible burger. The only way to dispute that is if you claim that Impossible Burgers aren’t as good as a real one, and dammit if Impossible hasn’t done an incredible job at making a tasty burger out of freakin plants.

loceng 7y ago
Can you cite research to contrast the fairly well-known unsustainable agriculture practices that industrial complexes have lead to for plant based? I've yet to see an adequately done comparison between properly managed agriculture and properly managed meat production, e.g. non-monocrops vs. non-factory farming.
- loceng 7y ago
  Hoping whoever downvoted me leaves a qualitative comment.
ramphastidae 7y ago
> Animals don’t have to be slaughtered to enjoy a hamburger if it’s an Impossible burger. I realize this is a bit extreme of a characterization, but this argument doesn't sit right with me at all. It sounds like 'I'm only willing to change my habits to reduce animal cruelty and help the environment if an alternative that tastes exactly like meat exists. Otherwise, what can possibly be done?!' If you are really concerned about those things, whether the Impossible Burger exists or not should not make a difference. There are plenty of delicious vegetable burgers that already exist. They just taste like the ingredients they are made of (beans, mushrooms, etc.) and not a faux replica of meat.