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> Convincing, nutritious, cheap artificial meat could turn the world vegetarian. Which part of the world? The US? Eastern Europe? South America? The barrier t
by debacle 5y ago
> Convincing, nutritious, cheap artificial meat could turn the world vegetarian.
Which part of the world? The US? Eastern Europe? South America?
The barrier to "convincing" and "cheap" are very high.
- GhettoComputers 5y agoSeitan, tofu, lentils and tempah have long fit this criteria so it’s not exactly high. It just hasn’t happened and it won’t happen just because some tech nerds who assume it hasn’t already happened decide you can do it with Frankenstein food by heavily processing it and using enough food flavorings to mask its plant origins and convincing you to pay more for a worst product.
- debacle 5y agoI don't consider any of those "replacement meats," they're foods in their own right. Falafel fits the bill as well, maybe mushrooms. The real problem is scale. We're much more likely to develop a microbial or fungal nutrient sponge that's far easier to manage (and probably better for you + the environment) than develop some sort of highly advanced fake meat extruder. One of the biggest issues really is momentum. It will be 20-30 years before a technology can compete with a guy in muddy jeans on a tractor. We are disrupting the fossil fuel industry, but that industry is only really about a hundred and fifty years old. The agricultural industry is nearly ten thousand years old, and it's experiencing its own renaissance with the advent of IoT.
- GhettoComputers 5y agoWhy not? I ate some quorn, its rather good, but its overpriced and I would never buy the vegan one.
- ben_w 5y agoI bought the vegan one before I left the UK (can’t find it in Berlin). It’s not great, but not terrible. (Vegan cheese however, has been terrible every time I’ve tried it). Now I’m using tofu or soy mince or similar depending on what meal I’m making. Those do need flavour, not having much of their own (unless bought pre-flavoured, smoked tofu works well).
- xboxnolifes 5y agoI don't see how any of those examples are anything like a meat replacement. Just because something is high in protean doesn't make it a meat replacement. That makes it a protean replacement.
- GhettoComputers 5y agoWhat is your idea of a meat replacement?
- xboxnolifes 5y agoAt the very least it should mimic the texture and taste (to a close enough degree) of the meat it is trying to replace. Otherwise it is not a replacement, it is an alternative. I don't call chicken a beef replacement.
- GhettoComputers 5y agoI think that taste can artificially induced easily with seasonings (remember stuff like bacon salt?). The texture of seitan and some seasoned tofu are very convincing, but I found quorn (made with egg white) to be a 1:1 chicken breast replacement, but its much too expensive to be a real replacement.