I was vegetarian for 15 years. I once tried a veggie burger and liked it but then almost threw up when I realized the veggie burger was cooked on the same grill as the regular burgers and what I was tasting was grease and blood

this

Yeah no, I can’t trust the food that people make to be other things. Bad enough trying to figure out what is genetically modified, let alone made in a Petrie dish.

I tried Beyond Meat and the other brand, Impossible Burger (if I have the names right). They were okay, one was definitely better than the other, and I can’t recall which. Since I’m not a vegetarian and have no issues eating cows, I didn’t make a habit of it.

You know, I’ve never studied the companies, I am puzzled by the cost. Does it really cost more to make a burger from peas, oils, starch, etc than to raise, feed, slaughter, and process a cow? Or are they making very high margins?

Anyway, I like real beef burgers, but I eat less red meat every year. Not for environmental or health or economic reasons. It’s just not that interesting to cook a burger.

What about a nice falafel with hummus, or marinated veggie wrap, or breaded eggplant cheese sandwich, or something where you can see all the ingredients.
Swapping processed nitrated meats for processed vegetables isn't much progress.

It isn't bad. The gf orders it at the burger joint we go to, and it is pretty tasty. However, that could be the cheese, chipotle sauce, tomato, onions, habaneros...talking to me. I did buy a bag of plant based "chicken" nuggets from Costco because it was on sale. It was crappy, with a weird texture/taste.

Getting tickets for a movie just now, I realized I have had plant-based food, AMC has Impossible chicken nuggets. A few months ago I was running late, didn't have dinner and those were the only things they had available that was actual food. For $10 you get at least 8, maybe 10, nuggets that are pretty good.

Right, there are so many really great vegetarian foods out there without having to have fake meat. Eating Indian, middle eastern, and Chinese vegetarian food, I could manage to be vegetarian eating that stuff. I've had plenty of really tasty food that had no meat in it over the years without trying to mimic meat with other stuff.

Isn't that the truth!!!

I agree with you 100 percent.

May be a cultural political issue when vegetables identifies themselves as meat!!!
Bottom line they are still a vegetable

works best as taco meat personally.

im not a huge fan, but it works.

well, i can make this super easy for you:

everything, everywhere, that you eat, is genetically modified. all of it.

But there's a big difference between selective breeding and genetically modified by science (applying genetics across species and even as high as kingdom, and sometimes even domain).

yeah one is way faster, cheaper, and more effective.

I reckon some of y'all just don't care about having yer pudding :D

My wife is vegetarian. I was for several years, but now I have meat a few times a week. We've eaten a lot of the Beyond Beef and Impossible Burger. I think we settled on Impossible Burger because Beyond had a weird smoked flavor I didn't like. I made meals for friends (tacos and chilli, specifically) that I used the fake meat. They never knew and yet still loved it.

We have pretty much stopped getting it because its now significantly more expense while at the same time shrinking its package size. But more importantly, I think it falls under the category of "Ultra Processed Food" which we are minimizing as much as we can. Judging by both companies stock price, they wont be around much longer.

There are lots of good reasons to cut down on meat consumption, both for your own health and for the planet. But you are all big boys and can do your own research, least I be branded "political".




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I had to go to a slaughterhouse to do an audit for work. What I saw and heard there was beyond anything I’d seen in terms of absolute horror, all in accordance with established guidelines. This was around forty years ago and I haven’t eaten a bit of red meat since. The thought of it makes me ill.

For me Beyond Burgers and Impossible Burger allow me to satisfy any burger cravings I might otherwise have without the guilt of contributing to what I witnessed. I’ve since switched to the fake chicken also.

Nope. Not for me.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/usda-approves-first-lab-grown-chicken-in-the-united-states-180982417/

I can relate and applaud you. Falling back into being a meat eater after going 15 healthy years without has not only been a physically unhealthy journey but mentally unhealthy as well. Im frankly disgusted with myself. Im not judging anyone else. This is purely a personal issue, and struggle, for me.

FDA food labeling standards need to be upgraded:

1). "Meat" needs to be clarified. As in "also contains cow brains, gizzards, hooves, etc" for allergy, sanitary, safety, religious, or other reasons if not 100% muscle.
Mix pig into a beef burger? That won't go over well.

2). "Meat" additives all need to be identified. There was the rumor going around that taco bell was mostly soy filler but several indy websites supposedly proved that wrong. idk. Boiler bags and microwaved are gross anyways. We used to cook it all from scratch in store. My uncle was highly allergic to soy.

3). All lab-grown food products need to be identified with a large label. They can't be called "Meat". They are not.

Yeah, lab grown "meat" is a whole 'nother level. I dont think I could physically swallow it if I tried.

Although oddly, I wouldnt have a problem with lab grown replacement organs installed if we could ever get past the genetic research nonsense.