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> Both are ultra processed foods, and their health and environmental implications are unclear. I think people may be confused about who Impossible and Beyond a
by ivraatiems 5y ago
> Both are ultra processed foods, and their health and environmental implications are unclear.
I think people may be confused about who Impossible and Beyond are marketing to. They are not marketing to people who don't want to eat a cheeseburger because it's too processed or even because it's meat. They are marketing to people who primarily want something that tastes good - not identical to meat, but delicious - and would secondarily prefer non-meat if it is available for equivalent taste. Whether something is "processed" or not doesn't come into it. Not everyone cares about how healthy or natural a food is.
You can tell this because their marketing doesn't in any way promote their food as being particularly "natural" aside from being made from plants. It's all focused on how good it tastes and looks. On their homepage (https://impossiblefoods.com/ https://impossiblefoods.com/ as of this writing), Impossible Foods' first three pitches for their product are:
1) It tastes like meat and is delicious.
2) It's better for the environment.
3) It's better for the environment.
You say their environmental impact is unclear - I don't think that's true. It is extremely difficult for even the most intensive plant-based food processes to come close to the environmental impact of meat. Even almond milk, for example, which is an environmental disaster due to its water use, is immensely better than animal milk.[0] Even if Impossible were only half as good for the environment as meat, it would still be enormously beneficial to consume Impossible preferentially, and I suspect it is much better than that.
> Are these really going to replace traditional meat products? In my mind, no.
They certainly won't replace things like whole-muscle cuts of meat. But as costs for meat rise, I could see them edging out the ground meats they intend to replace in a lot of areas. I could also see them being in an ideal position to design and produce non-animal or lab-grown cuts of meat for consumption. There are already some companies doing this: https://kuleana.co/ https://kuleana.co/ for example. If I were an investor, that's the bet I'd be making.
[0] https://ideas.ted.com/which-plant-based-milk-is-best-for-the-planet/ https://ideas.ted.com/which-plant-based-milk-is-best-for-the...