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Fake meat isn't just inferior to real meat. It's inferior to just plain old vegetables. It's a crazy product designed for a society with weird eating habits.

Fake meat isn't just inferior to real meat. It's inferior to just plain old vegetables. It's a crazy product designed for a society with weird eating habits. They're not trying to cook the best vegetable dishes. They're not trying to cook dishes that use less meat. They're not trying to expand your palettes and reintroducing liver, sweetbreads or other weird cuts. All these "green" products convince you to not do the most important things: REDUCE and REUSE.

10u152 4y ago
Never thought about it but you’re spot on. A big roasted field mushroom with a dash of balsamic and perhaps some feta cheese is 1000% tastier than a weird processed vegetable patty.
- i_am_proteus 4y ago
  A real good way to do it is to saute some thin-sliced shiitakes and creminis in a pan with salt, pepper, and a shallot; once you get a good fond, put the shrooms in between two slices of bread with a bit of cheese (fresh mozzarella is a good one here, so is gruyere), deglaze the pan with butter, and then throw the sandwich in the pan until it's done the way you like your grilled cheese. I call it "beyond beyond meat."
wrldos 4y ago
Completely agree with this. As a vegetarian I'd really prefer to eat meat over the synthetic meats. The reason being the texture, flavour and nutritional value isn't there. They're also expensive, covered in horrible packaging, don't keep very well and are difficult to cook. 99% of the important bits of a dish don't come from making something meat-like but cooking something that isn't bland and uninteresting. And you don't need fake meat to work around that.
m4tthumphrey 4y ago
I have been a pescatarian (eat fish, no meat) since 2018. For me, this has almost nothing todo with being healthy and all about the animal welfare (yes I eat fish but to me, a fish and a pig are two very different things). But, sometimes I just fancy a McDonalds Big Mac (McPlant), or chili nachos (Quorn, Meatless Farm) , or a dirty burger (Impossible, Beyond). I know its not healthy, I know its not good for me but it just satisfy my meat eating days craving every now and then. The rest of the time I eat delicious unprocessed veggies, rice, beans etc. There is a place for these meat substitutes but should they be eaten all of the time; no. Education around veggies is the key for solving the meat production issues.
- zepolen 4y ago
  I have been a carnivore since reading your comment. For me, this has almost nothing to do with being snarky and all about the plant welfare.
theshrike79 4y ago
Fake meat isn't for vegans who want to eat meat-like products. It's supposed to be a gateway product that will eventually entice hardcore meat eaters to first try fake meat and then maybe dare to try a non-fake meat vegan product. The best vegan products aren't "meat thing but vegan", they're all just gateway stuff. The best vegan food is stuff you couldn't do with meat at all. Just look at Indian or Thai/Vietnamese cuisine. The protein doesn't really matter, 99% of the taste is in the sauce.
- 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
  It's supposed to be a gateway product that will eventually entice hardcore meat eaters to first try fake meat I agree, but I don't think it's a gateway. They want to replace all those beef burgers with Impossible meat burgers. However things like Impossible meat, while very impressive, cost more than the real thing and don't taste right. It's the uncanny valley of meat. The best vegan food is stuff you couldn't do with meat at all. Just look at Indian or Thai/Vietnamese cuisine. That's my point. There's plenty of good meat free or meat reduced food. But we're not running campaigns to encourage less meat consumption or promoting the cuisines of other cultures. Instead they created a company to make and sell hyper realistic fake meat. If you were really concerned about your meat consumption and it's impact on the environment, you'd just eat less meat. It's 100% actionable without these companies and tastes better.
cameronh90 4y ago
I'm vegetarian and I love the fake meat products. I like vegetables too, obviously, but sometimes I just want a burger.
relativ575 4y ago
> It's a crazy product designed for a society with weird eating habits. Expand your research a little bit. Fake meat has been very popular in buddhism countries for very long time, often to entice people to switching to non animal food. https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/plant-based-meat-china-taiwan-buddhist-vegetarian https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/plant-based-m...
- 2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
  I don’t want to point out specific cultures. But that article is not the counter point you think it is: To compensate for her homesickness, Ng decided to sell her own line of vegetarian imitation meats, and partnered with manufacturers in Taiwan to develop and import many of the dishes that she grew up with. In 1994, she opened up May Wah Vegetarian Market in New York City's Chinatown, and stocked it full with packets of imitation steak, spare ribs, shrimp, mutton, and grilled eel—all made some sort of combination of soy, seaweed, wheat gluten, or mushrooms. It didn't land well. "Unfortunately it was not a good beginning for us. People were hesitant about trying these products," Lily says. "They wanted to stick to tofu and beans, and it was very hard for us to get people to try it. We ended up giving a lot of stuff away. You can get the Chinese fake meat as snacks from your local Asian supermarket. I have Weilong brand fish tofu and barbeque gluten right now. These are meaty, but no where near as convincing as impossible meat. My fish tofu and barbeque gluten snacks have a fish cake like texture and are full of MSG. They appear to be vegan though. We’re pointing to a culture that is used to a wide range of flavours and textures every day. They don’t needed that much convincing to try a not meat product, but it’s also easier to fake certain meat products. (Their existing fake meats are way cheaper than impossible meat though.) But Impossible meat wasn’t designed for the Chinese. Or even Asians in general.
sct202 4y ago
For me at least, these fake meats are to get more protein heavy texture options into a dish. Vegetable are way too low in that regard, and there's only so many things I can do with tofu or beans.
Attrecomet 4y ago
Except, despite all the hate because it's not "unprocessed" (a stupid categorization), it does REDUCE: No more need to stuff a meat machine with plant based products for a 10% or worse ROI. BAM. REDUCTION.

10u152 4y ago

Never thought about it but you’re spot on. A big roasted field mushroom with a dash of balsamic and perhaps some feta cheese is 1000% tastier than a weird processed vegetable patty.

i_am_proteus 4y ago
A real good way to do it is to saute some thin-sliced shiitakes and creminis in a pan with salt, pepper, and a shallot; once you get a good fond, put the shrooms in between two slices of bread with a bit of cheese (fresh mozzarella is a good one here, so is gruyere), deglaze the pan with butter, and then throw the sandwich in the pan until it's done the way you like your grilled cheese. I call it "beyond beyond meat."

wrldos 4y ago

Completely agree with this. As a vegetarian I'd really prefer to eat meat over the synthetic meats. The reason being the texture, flavour and nutritional value isn't there. They're also expensive, covered in horrible packaging, don't keep very well and are difficult to cook. 99% of the important bits of a dish don't come from making something meat-like but cooking something that isn't bland and uninteresting. And you don't need fake meat to work around that.

m4tthumphrey 4y ago

I have been a pescatarian (eat fish, no meat) since 2018. For me, this has almost nothing todo with being healthy and all about the animal welfare (yes I eat fish but to me, a fish and a pig are two very different things). But, sometimes I just fancy a McDonalds Big Mac (McPlant), or chili nachos (Quorn, Meatless Farm) , or a dirty burger (Impossible, Beyond). I know its not healthy, I know its not good for me but it just satisfy my meat eating days craving every now and then. The rest of the time I eat delicious unprocessed veggies, rice, beans etc. There is a place for these meat substitutes but should they be eaten all of the time; no. Education around veggies is the key for solving the meat production issues.

zepolen 4y ago
I have been a carnivore since reading your comment. For me, this has almost nothing to do with being snarky and all about the plant welfare.

theshrike79 4y ago

Fake meat isn't for vegans who want to eat meat-like products. It's supposed to be a gateway product that will eventually entice hardcore meat eaters to first try fake meat and then maybe dare to try a non-fake meat vegan product. The best vegan products aren't "meat thing but vegan", they're all just gateway stuff. The best vegan food is stuff you couldn't do with meat at all. Just look at Indian or Thai/Vietnamese cuisine. The protein doesn't really matter, 99% of the taste is in the sauce.

2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
It's supposed to be a gateway product that will eventually entice hardcore meat eaters to first try fake meat I agree, but I don't think it's a gateway. They want to replace all those beef burgers with Impossible meat burgers. However things like Impossible meat, while very impressive, cost more than the real thing and don't taste right. It's the uncanny valley of meat. The best vegan food is stuff you couldn't do with meat at all. Just look at Indian or Thai/Vietnamese cuisine. That's my point. There's plenty of good meat free or meat reduced food. But we're not running campaigns to encourage less meat consumption or promoting the cuisines of other cultures. Instead they created a company to make and sell hyper realistic fake meat. If you were really concerned about your meat consumption and it's impact on the environment, you'd just eat less meat. It's 100% actionable without these companies and tastes better.

cameronh90 4y ago

I'm vegetarian and I love the fake meat products. I like vegetables too, obviously, but sometimes I just want a burger.

relativ575 4y ago

> It's a crazy product designed for a society with weird eating habits. Expand your research a little bit. Fake meat has been very popular in buddhism countries for very long time, often to entice people to switching to non animal food. https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/plant-based-meat-china-taiwan-buddhist-vegetarian https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/plant-based-m...

2muchcoffeeman 4y ago
I don’t want to point out specific cultures. But that article is not the counter point you think it is: To compensate for her homesickness, Ng decided to sell her own line of vegetarian imitation meats, and partnered with manufacturers in Taiwan to develop and import many of the dishes that she grew up with. In 1994, she opened up May Wah Vegetarian Market in New York City's Chinatown, and stocked it full with packets of imitation steak, spare ribs, shrimp, mutton, and grilled eel—all made some sort of combination of soy, seaweed, wheat gluten, or mushrooms. It didn't land well. "Unfortunately it was not a good beginning for us. People were hesitant about trying these products," Lily says. "They wanted to stick to tofu and beans, and it was very hard for us to get people to try it. We ended up giving a lot of stuff away. You can get the Chinese fake meat as snacks from your local Asian supermarket. I have Weilong brand fish tofu and barbeque gluten right now. These are meaty, but no where near as convincing as impossible meat. My fish tofu and barbeque gluten snacks have a fish cake like texture and are full of MSG. They appear to be vegan though. We’re pointing to a culture that is used to a wide range of flavours and textures every day. They don’t needed that much convincing to try a not meat product, but it’s also easier to fake certain meat products. (Their existing fake meats are way cheaper than impossible meat though.) But Impossible meat wasn’t designed for the Chinese. Or even Asians in general.

sct202 4y ago

For me at least, these fake meats are to get more protein heavy texture options into a dish. Vegetable are way too low in that regard, and there's only so many things I can do with tofu or beans.

Attrecomet 4y ago

Except, despite all the hate because it's not "unprocessed" (a stupid categorization), it does REDUCE: No more need to stuff a meat machine with plant based products for a 10% or worse ROI. BAM. REDUCTION.