Impossible Burger

[vacationer1954]

My hamburger does less harm to the environment than a Greenpeace rubber raft, let alone a full ship.

That may or may not be the case, but, "I do less damage than X," isn't something to be proud of. How about doing as little damage as you personally have the capability of doing and still enjoying life? If eating animals is part of your identity and an intrinsic part of your self, that's one thing, but if you can find it in yourself to do better for the environment than you already are doing, then that's a gift you are giving to your grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

 

[vacationer1954]

I appreciate the link, it gives me an idea of why people claim it eating meat is bad for the environment.
I personally have no problem consuming less meat however I'm not fooled into thinking that if I do, I somehow will make a difference. Unless I am growing my own food, I am still relying on someone doing one, some or all of the following- harvesting it, processing it, packaging it and transporting it. All having their own negative impact on the environment.

But less impact. That's part of the problem with the popular objections: They present things as being binary when they're not. Things can be a little better without being perfect and it is still worth doing.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

People should learn to appreciate vegetables that taste like vegetables instead of pretending that they are meat.


Does this sound good to you?

Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Potato Protein, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12.

 

[ronandannette]

That may or may not be the case, but, "I do less damage than X," isn't something to be proud of. How about doing as little damage as you personally have the capability of doing and still enjoying life? If eating animals is part of your identity and an intrinsic part of your self, that's one thing, but if you can find it in yourself to do better for the environment than you already are doing, then that's a gift you are giving to your grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Seriously? What colour stripe in the flag represents omnivores?

 

[DeniseJH]

People should learn to appreciate vegetables that taste like vegetables instead of pretending that they are meat.


Does this sound good to you?

Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Potato Protein, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12.

Which one is that, the Impossible Burger?

 

[Hikergirl]

But less impact. That's part of the problem with the popular objections: They present things as being binary when they're not. Things can be a little better without being perfect and it is still worth doing.

Like I said I need to see the data on that before I would just do it because I "heard" it was less impact.
Then I'd know if it was really worth it. YMMV and that is OK.

 

[ronandannette]

People should learn to appreciate vegetables that taste like vegetables instead of pretending that they are meat.


Does this sound good to you?

Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Potato Protein, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12.

What is all the vitamin fortification for? Are the products trying to simulate the nutritional content of meat too?

 

[Kennywood]

If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Which one is that, the Impossible Burger?

Yep

 

[FlightlessDuck]

What is all the vitamin fortification for? Are the products trying to simulate the nutritional content of meat too?

As far as I understand, yes. According to the below article, they are virtually identical (the impossible burger has 30 more calories and 1 less gram of protein)

The sodium can be an issue if you have sodium-linked high blood pressure.
https://www.cookinglight.com/news/is-the-impossible-burger-healthy

 

[mnrose]

Not exactly neutral. Bison ate a diet that was well suited for them. They didn't need to be transported in trucks or monitored with helicopters. They didn't eat grains that created excess gas. And I doubt that the numbers are the same. Right now we feed cattle and there are all those inputs from those feeds.

Exactly. The "diet" most mass produced beef eat is NOT suited to THEM, it's suited to the producer to grow beef faster and cheaper. The reason they use so many drugs in growing those cows is because the diet is awful for them. Eating grain for cows is like eating candy for humans....we love our candy, but it won't exactly make us healthy! Nor is it an ideal diet.

Bison grazed on native prairie grasses and moved as needed to find it. They were actually GOOD for the prairie biome, and an essential part of it. Contrast that to feedlot operations which feed in confinement, with a diet that is decidedly non-healthy for them.

I vote with my dollars on this one. It costs me more (although it IS on par with high grade ground beef...90% lean or higher) to buy from my local farmer, but the meat tastes better, grills up better, and I know exactly how that cow was raised and by whom. It was not kept in a confined space, and was allowed to eat a diet of native phorbs and grasses. It roamed freely in the various pastures the farmer has. I wish this alternative was available to more people. The other advantage is that meat was raised 5 miles from my house. Very local. And my money supports the farmer who raised it and the local butcher who processed it. And, that's it. No middle man.
I'm not going to change the world by doing this. But, I can at least know the meat I'm consuming isn't going to make me sick. We all do what we can.

 

[Searc]

The way you describe American beef production is enough to make me want to stop eating it myself when I'm down there. Don't y'all have any family farms or ranches raising herds a hundred head or so at a time off grass, hay and silage?

Yes, but those don't make the news, because they don't push an agenda.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I didn't say boycott EVERY place that sells meat. I said it just seems counterproductive to patronize BURGER King and order an impossible burger if you are trying to take a stand against the beef industry.

I see it as a great option for mixed groups - where some friends eat meat and some don't.

The sodium can be an issue if you have sodium-linked high blood pressure.

That's why my DH probably won't try them.

I might get one, just to see how it tastes/support the effort. But there's a local place around here that has a really good actual veggie burger - as in, not "fake meat" but veggies you're supposed to see and taste - so it probably won't beat that for me. (And I eat meat as well, so sometimes I order regular burgers.)

 

[bcla]

I see it as a great option for mixed groups - where some friends eat meat and some don't.



That's why my DH probably won't try them.

I might get one, just to see how it tastes/support the effort. But there's a local place around here that has a really good actual veggie burger - as in, not "fake meat" but veggies you're supposed to see and taste - so it probably won't beat that for me. (And I eat meat as well, so sometimes I order regular burgers.)

It really depends on the reasons for not eating meat. Some have disagreements with meat in general, religious/cultural taboos, dietary preferences, etc.

At various workplaces of mine, there were Indians - mostly Hindu. With few exceptions, beef is out, and someone any meat is out. But sometimes we would go to Red Robin and the veggie burger was the only option. At one place we’d go to a steakhouse and one guy would get the chicken or perhaps ask for a vegetarian entree. For someone who has a taboo against eating beef, something meant to simulate beef may not be palatable.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Yes, but those don't make the news, because they don't push an agenda.

They also aren't readily available all over the country. Most people don't know or care where their meat even comes from. I know where I live there is at least one local farm that sells beef to consumers as well as local restaurants. The restaurant will specify when it comes from that farm. But that farm feeds its cows grain, not grass. If I go to my local grocery store, I have no idea where my beef is coming from. Interestingly, the fish is labeled as whether it's wild caught or farmed, and where the farm is or where it was caught. But beef? No idea.

I can look it up. And I'm going to. But standing in the meat section, trying to buy ground beef? No signage.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/where_does_beef_come_from_part_1_a_geographic_perspective

 

[vacationer1954]

People should learn to appreciate vegetables that taste like vegetables instead of pretending that they are meat.

That's silly. The whole point of cuisine is to transform basic ingredients into something more pleasing.

 

[vacationer1954]

Yes, but those don't make the news, because they don't push an agenda.

They actually do make the news, and they make the news because they are so rare, and because the commercial producers of meat work very hard to avoid media attention. Like others have said, most Americans avoid learning or thinking about where they get their meat because they want to eat it without having to consider how much different is the growing of their meat as compared to how meat was grown back when everyone got their meat from pastured animals.

 

[Lumpy1106]

This is such a touchy subject that the truth pretty quickly disappears on both sides in the discussion. Not saying there aren't cows that are abused (I mean, veal, come on, that's pretty indefensible) but MOST cows live a very cushy life on large plots of land, where their diet is SUPPLEMENTED by other grains. I'm not talking about the end-of-life processing centers that, yes, are pretty hard to fathom.

Oh but cows cause global warming. That's true because of the methane they produce. You can't just say, "okay, everyone stop eating meat" and the problem disappears - it doesn't. The cows would still keep producing methane if you don't eat them. One way or another (and killing the beef industry is one of those ways), you will need to exterminate the cows. Farm-raised cattle, unlike Bison, cannot survive on their own. Also, don't kid yourself, there are farm-raised bison that couldn't survive on their own either (Catalina Island off of So Cal for example).

The other side of the coin is that humans still need protein. Yes, you can eat plant-based protein, but it's less efficient than eating meat and, remember all of the arguments about the added land and water for plants needed to raise cows? Same goes for the plant-based protein sources for humans.

I'll save the corn/corn syrup subsidy ridiculousness for another thread, but that's where things get REALLY crazy! Safe to say, cows aren't the only problem - far from it.

 

[John VN]

People should learn to appreciate vegetables that taste like vegetables instead of pretending that they are meat.


Does this sound good to you?

Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, 2% or less of: Potato Protein, Methylcellulose, Yeast Extract, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Soy Protein Isolate, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E), Zinc Gluconate, Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Sodium Ascorbate (Vitamin C), Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12.

Yep

Might this be any better with 28g Plant Protein, Gluten Free, Soy Free ??? ---
.......Hydrated Pea Protein (water, pea protein), Avocado Oil, Onions, Sweet Potato Puree, Butternut Squash Puree, Carrot Puree, Natural Flavors (?), Methyl Cellulose (?), Fruit Juice Color, Oat Fiber, Potato Starch, Roasted Garlic, Sea Salt

dr. Praeger's Purely Sensible Foods All American Veggie Burger, does not taste like hamburger meat, IMO, and I like it.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

That's silly. The whole point of cuisine is to transform basic ingredients into something more pleasing.

Carrots are amazing!