4 ms·

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, i

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.

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.