Author Topic: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month  (Read 2210 times)

rcjordan

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ergophobe

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2018, 11:21:15 PM »
Has anyone here tried one of their products?

I'd be very curious. And slightly uneasy.

DrCool

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2018, 04:11:05 PM »
>>Has anyone here tried one of their products?

I tried one of their competitors: http://completecarnivore.com/beyond-meat-can-meatless-burger-actually-good/

It isn't horrible and there are some oddities around it but cover it with enough toppings and it is passable. But I would never choose one of these over a real burger. I would be interested in trying some of the Impossible meat and seeing how it compares to Beyond Burger.

ergophobe

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2018, 05:01:49 PM »
It's been so long since I've eaten real meat, the resemblance to actual meat is not even a criteria for me. I don't think I would know.

Some years ago I ordered a bean burrito in a dark setting and bit into it and thought I was tasting spoiled, putrid vegetable. I spat it out and said "Oh God. I think the beans are moldy!"

Theresa shined a light on it and laughed, "That's not beans! They gave you a beef burrito, not a bean burrito."

So for me, if it tastes nothing like meat, but I like it, that's enough.

For the masses... probably not so much. It's a hard market. Most of the people who want to get off beef are looking for a more whole foods, less processed diet, and these burgers are the epitome of processed food. Their take is that meat is just plants processed by cattle, which is true, but I think that's a tough marketing point to make

rcjordan

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2018, 05:09:02 PM »
I like some of the black bean veggie burgers but they aren't trying to be beef-flavored.  I doubt I'd like these.  I'm waiting for the *real* fake lab-grown meat.  That said, at 500k pounds per month, I'd say these guys have traction in the market somewhere.

DrCool

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2018, 06:40:32 PM »
>>traction in the market

I am guessing their market is the millennial who is more in love with saying they are a vegetarian than actually being a vegetarian. Like ergo said, the people who are really looking to get away from meat want more natural stuff.

I saw an article recently saying 5% of the country is vegetarian and 3% is vegan. Those numbers are lower than I thought but still a significant market. https://news.gallup.com/poll/238328/snapshot-few-americans-vegetarian-vegan.aspx

These burgers are definitely better than any other veggie burgers I have eaten in the past but they still have a ways to go if they want to get meat eaters like myself to eat them on a regular basis.


ergophobe

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2018, 07:46:29 PM »
in love with saying they are a vegetarian than actually being a vegetarian

I'm not sure that's fair. People have a lot reasons for cutting out meat. I'd explain more behind the curtain, but I'll say my reasons have changed a lot over the 36 years. Now, one driving factor for me and many others is concern for the carbon footprint of foods (not just meat, but beef tends to be the worst, though airdropped asparagus from Chile is as bad or worse on a per-calorie basis... it's complicated). For others, it's animal welfare.

So there is a place for "fake meat" for people who crave the taste, but have reasons for avoiding it. Personally, I never craved meat. Some people I know try to go vegetarian and they just keep dreaming of cheeseburgers. So if a product like this helps some people get off meat, I won't question motives.

That said, I think this is an uphill battle.
1. The one I mentioned. Though I have no problem with people wanting to eat factory food in order to get off meat, it's just really out of step with so many other trends and it is the people who avoid factory food who, in general, are thinking about food. And regardless of what else you may say, this is a product for people who think about food (by which I mean, this is not a default choice for anyone).

2. They just can't get out of the shadow of meat. As long as people think of it as "fake meat" (and most articles refer to it as such, despite all the efforts of the PR department) instead of real something else, I think they're doomed. Again, what is the market that wants fake meat? It's not me. I couldn't care less about how closely something resembles meat. It's not DrCool. He wants the real thing.

But at the same time, it's a battle that must be won before the world gets richer. As more and more people around the globe can afford beef, the footrpint becomes bigger and bigger. Some people estimate that it's already bigger than the entire transportation sector in the US (and other dispute that, but nobody disputes that it is huge).

500,000 pounds is a start. The total for beef is 25 billion pounds. So there's a ways to go. But if they can get it right and people *want* to eat these products, it's a huge win on climate in particular and environmental degradation in general. But getting people to *want* this will be a slow process.

DrCool

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2018, 08:05:02 PM »
>>I'm not sure that's fair

I am in no way against people being vegetarian if they have solid and informed reasons for it like you do. If they are just doing it because it is a fad and they don't really know the implications that is where I have problems.

People will read an article talking about how the commercial beef industry is bad for the environment (which it is) and swear off meat. But then they will pay $50 for Hello Fresh to package some vegetables and other stuff in a styrofoam cooler and ship it across the country rather than walk down to a local farmer's market. I think those are the people that are the market for this.

>>But at the same time, it's a battle that must be won before the world gets richer

Totally agree here. The commercial beef industry isn't sustainable. But most of that has to do with the large feedlot structure that is in place now. Cattle weren't meant to live that way. If the industry could get back to small, local farms that care for the cattle properly and deliver locally that will make a huge difference. But then you would also have to convince people to pay $20 per pound for their steaks instead of $6.


ergophobe

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2018, 08:53:56 PM »
Quote
I think those are the people that are the market for this.

I see what you're saying now. Could be so. I was thinking the market is people who have solid reasons, but they just really like meat. I would give up ice cream for many reasons if it didn't taste so damn good.

But then they will pay $50 for Hello Fresh to package some vegetables and other stuff in a styrofoam cooler and ship it across the country

I try to stay out of other people's meal planning... but yes, that one is pretty crazy.

And yes, people are often clueless. The whole gluten-free thing... I have a nephew who has celiac and it's a life or death issue. But half the gluten-free people don't even know what gluten is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdJFE1sp4Fw
« Last Edit: August 09, 2018, 08:57:13 PM by ergophobe »

ergophobe

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2018, 08:59:08 PM »
And this... "it's the vibration"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzEr23XJwFY

I've never seen that one before. I think what little faith I had in humanity may have just been destroyed.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2018, 09:01:16 PM by ergophobe »

DrCool

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rcjordan

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #11 on: August 09, 2018, 10:54:40 PM »
If that tick whose bite causes an allergy to meat gets us, we might need these fake burgers.

ergophobe

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Re: Impossible Foods is making 500,000 pounds of fake meat a month
« Reply #12 on: August 09, 2018, 11:25:06 PM »
PETA engineered those ticks in a lab and are secretly transporting them across America. Don't accept ticks from anyone in vegan shoes. Always look at the shoes. That's the giveaway.