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As a vegetarian, I'm looking forward to more products from Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. One of the criticisms people have is: it doesn't taste like real m

As a vegetarian, I'm looking forward to more products from Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. One of the criticisms people have is: it doesn't taste like real meat. To that, I'll say: tastes change. Sure, you (presumably of European descent) and your ancestors have been eating meat for 1000 years; but look at the spread of Indian/Chinese/Mexican places; your ancestors never had those foods! Heck, "chicken tikka" was voted as the 'national dish' of Britain, when a 100 years ago hardly anyone had heard of it! More people would be vegetarian if restaurants had it as a decent option. Hopefully, these new products will encourage restaurants to expand their veggie menus.

jules 12y ago
Restaurants have very little to do with it. Most of the time people eat at home, and they eat meat there too.
scrollaway 12y ago
I'm not sure what kind of strawman you are using as an argument here. People complain it doesn't taste like meat because they like the taste of meat, and your answer for those people is saying that since some people like some things they never tasted before, that specific food will grow on them? How did you get from A to B? (Edit: And obviously I have nothing against vegetarianism. I just don't like your argument here...) Edit 2: Really with downvotes now? This logic is acceptable to you?
- WalterSear 12y ago
  Tastes are very malleable. Among people who have gone without meat products for a while, who then taste meat products, either accidentally or on purpose, it is common to be disgusted by the taste, and find it in no way resembles the one they remember. I've had the same phenomenon related to me by people who radically alter their diet in other ways, such as body builders. So, ultimately, clinging to meat 'because you prefer the taste' is more about avoiding temporary discomfort, rather than permanent dissatisfaction. Though, of course, it doesn't appear that way until after the fact.
  - scrollaway 12y ago
    I'm a huge Linux enthusiast. Have you ever tried to put Linux on someone else's computer? Tell them that it's just so much better than Windows, and that they can do everything they currently do with it and that they won't even notice the difference!? Then you'd be a very dishonest person. Linux is not a drop-in replacement for Windows. It is far superior, there's no contest there. And in my life, with my skills, I can use my linux systems to do all the things people do with windows, most often more efficiently. But never would I market Linux as a drop-in replacement because then, when I do drop it in, people would tell me they don't like it because it doesn't feel like Windows. Are you seeing the analogy yet? Let me help you... I installed Linux on my mom's laptop. I told her it would be very different but that I'm sure she could adapt, and that I'd be able to help her if she runs into trouble. She never had problems with it and only ever needed my help to print things. By contrast, had I told her it would "all be the same", she'd have been very upset, right? So why are people trying to get meat-lovers to eat "veggie meat" by telling them it's a replacement for it? Here, just yesterday, in the "What to eat after the apocalypse?" article: > "You would never know the difference between say, a sausage patty, a veggie sausage patty, and an insect sausage patty. It’s all the same! It’s just the spices." WTF? Yes, I can taste the difference. Something is wrong with your senses if you can't. That's not to say I dislike the taste, but that you won't get people to eat these things by telling them "close your eyes, pinch your nose, and just imagine you're eating caviar". I'm finding it very hard to explain my point further. It boggles my mind that people try to sell this stuff by ... lying.
- discardorama 12y ago
  There is no strawman. As an example: if you started offering chicken tikka masala in British pubs in the year 1900, you'd be laughed out the door. But today, it is as common as fish 'n chips. It was voted Britain's "national dish", so it's not a case of "some" people liking it. (Another example: the ubiquity of Chinese food places). My point is: many critics of veggie meat offerings complain that it doesn't "taste like meat", so they can't eat it. But tastes change (c.f. CTM above), and there is no reason to believe that tastes won't change to accommodate Beyond Meat. So this criticism (that it doesn't taste like "real meat") is shortsighted.
  - scrollaway 12y ago
    > many critics of veggie meat offerings complain that it doesn't "taste like meat", so they can't eat it. No, that's not how it works. Most taste critics of veggie meat are that it doesn't taste good and it doesn't taste like meat, so isn't a suitable replacement for it. Fish doesn't taste like meat, yet it's ruddy delicious. But fish does not market itself as a drop-in replacement for, say, beef. Fish indeed would be a very poor drop-in replacement for beef and I'm fairly certain people would notice if their burger suddenly tasted like salmon. I had a similar problem with bread during my keto diet. Everyone doing keto around me kept saying "oh you can do this and that to make a low-carb bread and it's a perfect replacement for it!". Well no, it's bloody not. I'm french and have very high expectations for bread. "Wiping your plate" is not the main feature of bread in a dish. I love meat (and as a sidenote, I love chicken tikka). I like some veggie "meats" (although I've tasted repugnant ones as well), but they don't replace meat, I'm sorry. Just because they can take the place of meat in the diet of some does not make them suitable for it, and that is why people complain it doesn't "taste like meat". The complaint would not be about the taste if it weren't there to replace something else.
cwbrandsma 12y ago
Restaurants are a reflection of what the population wants, not the driver. In order for there to be more vegetarian choices in a restaurant there has to be more demand for those items. Restaurants that don't do that go out of business. Same things goes for grocery stores. They will sell ANYTHING a large enough chunk of consumers will buy. (I had that with granulated honey, we bought a lot of it, but the store wasn't selling enough to make it worth the shelf space, so it got dropped).
- king_jester 12y ago
  > Restaurants are a reflection of what the population wants, not the driver. In order for there to be more vegetarian choices in a restaurant there has to be more demand for those items. Restaurants that don't do that go out of business. This isn't true. A restaurant isn't some optimal menu allocating machine, you can be profitable enough to continue operating even if you would be even more profitable by changing the menu to offer different or more inclusive options.
  - JoeAltmaier 12y ago
    There's a lot of things going on in a restaurant other than food. Music, ambiance, friends, service. You can put up with ordinary food if these things are right. But all that doesn't make up for unpalatable food. Our local vegan restaurant makes food I can't eat. Its just too strange. A Reuben that has neither sauerkraut nor beef, nor even proper bread. Pasta that is like glue and tomato paste. Drinks I can't pronounce.

jules 12y ago

Restaurants have very little to do with it. Most of the time people eat at home, and they eat meat there too.

scrollaway 12y ago

I'm not sure what kind of strawman you are using as an argument here. People complain it doesn't taste like meat because they like the taste of meat, and your answer for those people is saying that since some people like some things they never tasted before, that specific food will grow on them? How did you get from A to B? (Edit: And obviously I have nothing against vegetarianism. I just don't like your argument here...) Edit 2: Really with downvotes now? This logic is acceptable to you?

WalterSear 12y ago
Tastes are very malleable. Among people who have gone without meat products for a while, who then taste meat products, either accidentally or on purpose, it is common to be disgusted by the taste, and find it in no way resembles the one they remember. I've had the same phenomenon related to me by people who radically alter their diet in other ways, such as body builders. So, ultimately, clinging to meat 'because you prefer the taste' is more about avoiding temporary discomfort, rather than permanent dissatisfaction. Though, of course, it doesn't appear that way until after the fact.
- scrollaway 12y ago
  I'm a huge Linux enthusiast. Have you ever tried to put Linux on someone else's computer? Tell them that it's just so much better than Windows, and that they can do everything they currently do with it and that they won't even notice the difference!? Then you'd be a very dishonest person. Linux is not a drop-in replacement for Windows. It is far superior, there's no contest there. And in my life, with my skills, I can use my linux systems to do all the things people do with windows, most often more efficiently. But never would I market Linux as a drop-in replacement because then, when I do drop it in, people would tell me they don't like it because it doesn't feel like Windows. Are you seeing the analogy yet? Let me help you... I installed Linux on my mom's laptop. I told her it would be very different but that I'm sure she could adapt, and that I'd be able to help her if she runs into trouble. She never had problems with it and only ever needed my help to print things. By contrast, had I told her it would "all be the same", she'd have been very upset, right? So why are people trying to get meat-lovers to eat "veggie meat" by telling them it's a replacement for it? Here, just yesterday, in the "What to eat after the apocalypse?" article: > "You would never know the difference between say, a sausage patty, a veggie sausage patty, and an insect sausage patty. It’s all the same! It’s just the spices." WTF? Yes, I can taste the difference. Something is wrong with your senses if you can't. That's not to say I dislike the taste, but that you won't get people to eat these things by telling them "close your eyes, pinch your nose, and just imagine you're eating caviar". I'm finding it very hard to explain my point further. It boggles my mind that people try to sell this stuff by ... lying.
discardorama 12y ago
There is no strawman. As an example: if you started offering chicken tikka masala in British pubs in the year 1900, you'd be laughed out the door. But today, it is as common as fish 'n chips. It was voted Britain's "national dish", so it's not a case of "some" people liking it. (Another example: the ubiquity of Chinese food places). My point is: many critics of veggie meat offerings complain that it doesn't "taste like meat", so they can't eat it. But tastes change (c.f. CTM above), and there is no reason to believe that tastes won't change to accommodate Beyond Meat. So this criticism (that it doesn't taste like "real meat") is shortsighted.
- scrollaway 12y ago
  > many critics of veggie meat offerings complain that it doesn't "taste like meat", so they can't eat it. No, that's not how it works. Most taste critics of veggie meat are that it doesn't taste good and it doesn't taste like meat, so isn't a suitable replacement for it. Fish doesn't taste like meat, yet it's ruddy delicious. But fish does not market itself as a drop-in replacement for, say, beef. Fish indeed would be a very poor drop-in replacement for beef and I'm fairly certain people would notice if their burger suddenly tasted like salmon. I had a similar problem with bread during my keto diet. Everyone doing keto around me kept saying "oh you can do this and that to make a low-carb bread and it's a perfect replacement for it!". Well no, it's bloody not. I'm french and have very high expectations for bread. "Wiping your plate" is not the main feature of bread in a dish. I love meat (and as a sidenote, I love chicken tikka). I like some veggie "meats" (although I've tasted repugnant ones as well), but they don't replace meat, I'm sorry. Just because they can take the place of meat in the diet of some does not make them suitable for it, and that is why people complain it doesn't "taste like meat". The complaint would not be about the taste if it weren't there to replace something else.

cwbrandsma 12y ago

Restaurants are a reflection of what the population wants, not the driver. In order for there to be more vegetarian choices in a restaurant there has to be more demand for those items. Restaurants that don't do that go out of business. Same things goes for grocery stores. They will sell ANYTHING a large enough chunk of consumers will buy. (I had that with granulated honey, we bought a lot of it, but the store wasn't selling enough to make it worth the shelf space, so it got dropped).

king_jester 12y ago
> Restaurants are a reflection of what the population wants, not the driver. In order for there to be more vegetarian choices in a restaurant there has to be more demand for those items. Restaurants that don't do that go out of business. This isn't true. A restaurant isn't some optimal menu allocating machine, you can be profitable enough to continue operating even if you would be even more profitable by changing the menu to offer different or more inclusive options.
- JoeAltmaier 12y ago
  There's a lot of things going on in a restaurant other than food. Music, ambiance, friends, service. You can put up with ordinary food if these things are right. But all that doesn't make up for unpalatable food. Our local vegan restaurant makes food I can't eat. Its just too strange. A Reuben that has neither sauerkraut nor beef, nor even proper bread. Pasta that is like glue and tomato paste. Drinks I can't pronounce.