3 ms·

> Plant based alternatives may not succeed. I don’t believe that. Neither do I, but it's a highly competitive market that competes with both the established in

> Plant based alternatives may not succeed. I don’t believe that. Neither do I, but it's a highly competitive market that competes with both the established industrial meat market, as well as people actually educating themselves on cooking without "meat". I've always seen people buying "meat replacements" as kind of lazy, let's just swap one thing out for another, instead of find / cook something different entirely. I see it as a kind of middle-class virtue signaling, which wasn't helped by the fact the meat replacements are (or used to be, I haven't checked) more expensive than meat. Even though on paper they should be cheaper because growing vegetables should be a lot less resource intensive and more sustainable than the meat equivalent.

grues-dinner 1y ago
Soy and oat milk is also incredibly expensive compared to cow for what it is. Same for most supermarket tofu in the West. The cheapest own-brand tofu in Tesco is the same as the beef mince (£6.50/kg). And even though I like tofu, it's 90% water and that's a terrible deal. A 500g pack of tofu doesn't go nearly as far as 500g of beef mince. Meanwhile you can buy it in a UK Chinese supermarket for under £3.50 per kg.
- chronogram 1y ago
  In the Netherlands it's dirt cheap in all supermarkets. 550g package, so 500g of tofu is €3.72/kg, soy milk is €0.80/l.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- aziaziazi 1y ago
  Perhaps there isn’t much demand in your Tesco. Store brand (organic) soy milk is 0.9€ here in Paris which is cheaper than the organic cow alternative - which is subsidized btw. 6.5£ for seems super cheap for beef and I’m sure tofu can be even cheaper when optimized. I find it here at the same price but it’s organic and grown in France. I wish it become more popular where you live so the prices become more competitive.
happyopossum 1y ago
> I've always seen people buying "meat replacements" as kind of lazy Pretty harsh to expect people to throw away their entire food culture just to cut down on meat consumption.
- hombre_fatal 1y ago
  Also why does everything need to come with a snide remark? We buy plant-based meats because we grew up with meat, love the taste, and like to recreate our favorite dishes of the past. Everyone loves to use the phrase virtue signaling but seems blind to when they do it, like how they would never do such a lazy thing like buy a plant-based meat; they're just too much of a culinary epicurean who crafts artisanal experiences in their home kitchen. Yet I'm virtue signaling when I want to eat a burger every couple weeks unless I support the beef industry when I do it.

grues-dinner 1y ago

Soy and oat milk is also incredibly expensive compared to cow for what it is. Same for most supermarket tofu in the West. The cheapest own-brand tofu in Tesco is the same as the beef mince (£6.50/kg). And even though I like tofu, it's 90% water and that's a terrible deal. A 500g pack of tofu doesn't go nearly as far as 500g of beef mince. Meanwhile you can buy it in a UK Chinese supermarket for under £3.50 per kg.

chronogram 1y ago
In the Netherlands it's dirt cheap in all supermarkets. 550g package, so 500g of tofu is €3.72/kg, soy milk is €0.80/l.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
aziaziazi 1y ago
Perhaps there isn’t much demand in your Tesco. Store brand (organic) soy milk is 0.9€ here in Paris which is cheaper than the organic cow alternative - which is subsidized btw. 6.5£ for seems super cheap for beef and I’m sure tofu can be even cheaper when optimized. I find it here at the same price but it’s organic and grown in France. I wish it become more popular where you live so the prices become more competitive.

happyopossum 1y ago

> I've always seen people buying "meat replacements" as kind of lazy Pretty harsh to expect people to throw away their entire food culture just to cut down on meat consumption.

hombre_fatal 1y ago
Also why does everything need to come with a snide remark? We buy plant-based meats because we grew up with meat, love the taste, and like to recreate our favorite dishes of the past. Everyone loves to use the phrase virtue signaling but seems blind to when they do it, like how they would never do such a lazy thing like buy a plant-based meat; they're just too much of a culinary epicurean who crafts artisanal experiences in their home kitchen. Yet I'm virtue signaling when I want to eat a burger every couple weeks unless I support the beef industry when I do it.