I use Gardein “meatless crumbles” for things that i would normally use ground beef for and it’s been pretty great. I’ve used it regularly for pasta dishes, burrito/tacos, casseroles, etc and i’m hoping to use some for some vegan Shepherd’s pie soon
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In my (meat eater) experience, the newest generation of “fake meat,” manages to be surprisingly tasty, not merely palatable like earlier versions. OTOH, if you read the labels, there is so much saturated fat that if you’re trying to cut down on meat for health reasons there is little point.
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I mean, it’s one Latin-American variation on burgers. A grain-based holder, beef, cheese, and vegetables. 
Something tells me it’s about “grilling”.
ETA: The least they could do is flavor the stuff for particular purposes – grilling, simmering, etc.
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These plant-based protein substances are some of the most ultra-processed food on the planet. I think we would be better off to get people just to eat more straight vegetables.
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Amen!
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Flavor, texture, and chewability are all that matters. If you didn’t tell people if the food they were eating was plant or animal it wouldn’t make a difference. They just want to shove something in their maw with those three characteristics that they prefer.
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Hell, I’d eat fruit leather if it tasted like steak broiled in butter.
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Amen = burp!
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You have to burp it.
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WElcome to Alphaville.
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Apologies. Every previous time I have"replied" to a comment on Boing Boing it would up being treated a just a new comment. So I took the lazy rout this time to add a comment. Sorry.
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Yes, but that’s been a tough sell for a lot of the populace.
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Hmmm, yes, it would also be very interesting to know if it’s suitable for penguins.
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Also true for burgers and so on.
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I’ve been vegan nearly 7 years, and have absolutely no desire to consume anything that tastes closer to real meat than what’s already available.
Nonetheless, that’s just a matter of personal taste. I have no objection to these products if they’ve got the protein, nutrients and vitamins people need in an easy to prepare and consume form, if there’s not anything in them that will make people sick, and as long as they’re not some ticking environmental timebomb that ultimately turns out to be more harmful than the meat industry if billions of people were to switch to them.
‘Ultra-processed’ just isn’t a meaningful designation, nobody can provide anything approaching an objective definition of it, and it’s not a valid reason to object to something.
Mass produced food is mostly shit because it compensates for its lack of nutritional value with excess fat, sugar and salt, making it far too easy to over-consume these things that are otherwise relatively scarce in nature. It’s not being ‘processed’ itself that makes something bad for you.
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Yeah, if it’s still bleeding 28 days after death then I’m not eating it.
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Adam Ragusea made a good video on the topic recently
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I know the focus here is on taste, and I agree with the consensus that Impossible Burgers and the like taste great.
However, I stopped eating them when I learned that the evidence is pointing to them being less healthy than meat. There is so much processing, sodium, etc in them that they are really not good for you.
I was eating them because I thought they’d be healthier than meat. Turns out that’s probably not true. They have just as much saturated fat as meat, way more sodium, and none of the nutrition that’s in meat.
If you want to go veggie or vegan for your health, stick to actual vegetables. If you want to lower your carbon footprint, it’s unclear these meat substitutes do that either because of how much industrial processing they involve.
There’s unfortunately no practical reason to eat them.
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Indeed.
I think their best function could be to serve as a bridge for meat lovers.
Okay, now that you’re willing to have a meat-free meal, why not have a go with some of the gazillion delicious vegetarian possibilities that aren’t pretend-meat?
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I generally prefer when i go to a restaurant and see that they’re making their own veggie patties rather than use something like beyond or impossible patties. I know that these patties do a good job at mimicking meat but i tend to prefer something that’s less processed. There’s a pretty good vegan restaurant that we go to that has an assam burger and the patty is chickpea based and it’s amazing, and while eating it i don’t really miss it not having any meat taste or texture.
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