4 ms·

> alt-chocolate is here to stay, in the same way that it’s become commonplace to gorge on a passable meat-free burger Is it though? Outside of personal bubble

> alt-chocolate is here to stay, in the same way that it’s become commonplace to gorge on a passable meat-free burger Is it though? Outside of personal bubbles, does anyone see impossible/beyond ‘meat’ being regularly consumed? It’s been relegated to a tiny shelf of my grocery store’s butcher shop, to the point that I can’t recall the last time I even saw it there.

drewg123 11mo ago
I regularly consume impossible, and use it in pretty much any recipe that calls for ground beef.
- DonHopkins 11mo ago
  Instead of pure "impossible", I take the middle road and enjoy "improbable" meat / meat substitute blend.
georgeecollins 11mo ago
In Los Angeles it is still there, particularly at the fancy grocery stores. More visibly you see it on some restaurant menus. I have lived through enough food trends in my life to suspect if something is popular in California it gets popular everywhere. I don't know if that will be Impossible, I mean just meat substitutes. Also, I think this is one of those trends where people think the change will happen in 2-5 years but really its more like 10-20. There are a lot of good reasons for meat substitutes.
svelle 11mo ago
Here in Germany meat alternatives/substitutes have definitely reached a level of popularity that goes beyond a fad. The leading commercial producer of deli-meats has started producing vegetarian and vegan alternative products that now make up more than 60% of their annual revenue and they even dropped some of their original meat based products in favor of the plant-based alternatives. It might not be the burger that's going to be replaced but sliced meats and other meat based products might be.
- add-sub-mul-div 11mo ago
  So the rich didn't turn it into a culture war there? Must be nice.
  - HeinzStuckeIt 11mo ago
    I wonder if the USA is unusually obsessive about meat and meat substitutes because, thanks to vast ranches and government subsidies, it has a steak culture. Even less prosperous Americans are used to looking at big red steaks at Walmart. They might believe, ignorant of how industrially cattle are raised, that this is real, honest-to-goodness meat as it should be. So, a meat substitute is a heinous opposite of that. Meanwhile, Europeans are used to eating meat (ground beef, chicken, pork) that is processed or less visibly impressive in some way, and a new twist on processed meat that has no actual meat isn’t so shocking.
    - DontchaKnowit 11mo ago
      Idk in large swaths of the country meat is sourced from local farmers. You can just buy a cow from a farmer and have it butchered. This is pretty common in america
      - aziaziazi 11mo ago
        Does that meat represent a substantial portion of the average meat consumed there? Some says the same here in Europe but still most go to the supermarket where most of the groceries aren't vegetarian, let alone vegan. I respectfully doubt there's places where people check the milk origin of their ice cream and never go to fast foods. It's great small local farmers and food-crafters exists with great quality outcome, but how do they compare in quantity with industrial meat, milk and eggs consumed in those large swaths?
  - nicbou 11mo ago
    My discounter supermarket has a vegan meat/cheese section a few meters wide. No one will bat an eye if you buy from it. It's pretty normalised. Germany is very vegetarian-friendly.
chownie 11mo ago
I'm in a major city (>1 million pop) and with exception of the BBQ type places every eatery I've visited has had a passable meat imitation burger (or nuggets, etc) on offer. Are you based in a more rural area? That might account for why the selection is small where you are.
bigstrat2003 11mo ago
It isn't commonplace at all. It's fairly uncommon to see it even offered, much less consumed.
- lawlessone 11mo ago
  I'd try it if i seen it, but i haven't seen it.
Blackthorn 11mo ago
It's reliably available in any grocery store I've been into, and I don't particularly compare it to stuff from animals but it's pretty damn good on its own merits.
kulahan 11mo ago
They sell it at Burger King. I get one fairly regularly (with respect to how often I go at all), because it's only like $1 more.
- jmye 11mo ago
  Starbucks, KFC, Chipotle as well. So like, pretty widespread "beyond (my) personal bubble", to answer GP's question.
  - wlesieutre 11mo ago
    I can get a big bag of Beyond Burgers at Costco, and that's in Tennessee

drewg123 11mo ago

I regularly consume impossible, and use it in pretty much any recipe that calls for ground beef.

DonHopkins 11mo ago
Instead of pure "impossible", I take the middle road and enjoy "improbable" meat / meat substitute blend.

georgeecollins 11mo ago

In Los Angeles it is still there, particularly at the fancy grocery stores. More visibly you see it on some restaurant menus. I have lived through enough food trends in my life to suspect if something is popular in California it gets popular everywhere. I don't know if that will be Impossible, I mean just meat substitutes. Also, I think this is one of those trends where people think the change will happen in 2-5 years but really its more like 10-20. There are a lot of good reasons for meat substitutes.

svelle 11mo ago

Here in Germany meat alternatives/substitutes have definitely reached a level of popularity that goes beyond a fad. The leading commercial producer of deli-meats has started producing vegetarian and vegan alternative products that now make up more than 60% of their annual revenue and they even dropped some of their original meat based products in favor of the plant-based alternatives. It might not be the burger that's going to be replaced but sliced meats and other meat based products might be.

add-sub-mul-div 11mo ago
So the rich didn't turn it into a culture war there? Must be nice.
- HeinzStuckeIt 11mo ago
  I wonder if the USA is unusually obsessive about meat and meat substitutes because, thanks to vast ranches and government subsidies, it has a steak culture. Even less prosperous Americans are used to looking at big red steaks at Walmart. They might believe, ignorant of how industrially cattle are raised, that this is real, honest-to-goodness meat as it should be. So, a meat substitute is a heinous opposite of that. Meanwhile, Europeans are used to eating meat (ground beef, chicken, pork) that is processed or less visibly impressive in some way, and a new twist on processed meat that has no actual meat isn’t so shocking.
  - DontchaKnowit 11mo ago
    Idk in large swaths of the country meat is sourced from local farmers. You can just buy a cow from a farmer and have it butchered. This is pretty common in america
    - aziaziazi 11mo ago
      Does that meat represent a substantial portion of the average meat consumed there? Some says the same here in Europe but still most go to the supermarket where most of the groceries aren't vegetarian, let alone vegan. I respectfully doubt there's places where people check the milk origin of their ice cream and never go to fast foods. It's great small local farmers and food-crafters exists with great quality outcome, but how do they compare in quantity with industrial meat, milk and eggs consumed in those large swaths?
- nicbou 11mo ago
  My discounter supermarket has a vegan meat/cheese section a few meters wide. No one will bat an eye if you buy from it. It's pretty normalised. Germany is very vegetarian-friendly.

chownie 11mo ago

I'm in a major city (>1 million pop) and with exception of the BBQ type places every eatery I've visited has had a passable meat imitation burger (or nuggets, etc) on offer. Are you based in a more rural area? That might account for why the selection is small where you are.

bigstrat2003 11mo ago

It isn't commonplace at all. It's fairly uncommon to see it even offered, much less consumed.

lawlessone 11mo ago
I'd try it if i seen it, but i haven't seen it.

Blackthorn 11mo ago

It's reliably available in any grocery store I've been into, and I don't particularly compare it to stuff from animals but it's pretty damn good on its own merits.

kulahan 11mo ago

They sell it at Burger King. I get one fairly regularly (with respect to how often I go at all), because it's only like $1 more.

jmye 11mo ago
Starbucks, KFC, Chipotle as well. So like, pretty widespread "beyond (my) personal bubble", to answer GP's question.
- wlesieutre 11mo ago
  I can get a big bag of Beyond Burgers at Costco, and that's in Tennessee