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Is 'Vegan Meat' Just MEAT?

I recently tried some sliders (small burgers) in Singapore made with Beyond Meat ( https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/ ) the plant based protein backed by the likes of Bill Gates & Leonardo DiCaprio. It was really good. It looked like meat, had the texture of beef and tasted of it too. I was pleasantly surprised.
 
Ooooh this was a theme in Fay Weldon's novel Chalcot Crescent! (a near future dystopia)

'National Meatloaf' was rationed but was suitable for vegans - ethically it was, as it was muscle cultured from deceased humans.
 
I recently tried some sliders (small burgers) in Singapore made with Beyond Meat ( https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/ ) the plant based protein backed by the likes of Bill Gates & Leonardo DiCaprio. It was really good. It looked like meat, had the texture of beef and tasted of it too. I was pleasantly surprised.
It's very popular here in Hong Kong. That and impossible burgers (as I think they're called). I've got a lot of (British) vegan colleagues so I've tried some of their stuff and it was very impressive.
 
I have not tried the new-wave of bleeding vegan burgers etc. I doubt if imitation meat-products are designed to appeal to existing vegans so much as omnivores with qualms about factory farming, sustainability and health. I have all of those; I'm just unenthusiastic about burgers. The saturated fat that comes out of the shop-bought ones is shocking. They must be 50% lard!

If I have the assembled ingredients to make my own, I would probably opt for meatballs instead. Generational thing probably. :omr:
 
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I have not tried the new-wave of bleeding vegan burgers etc. I doubt if imitation meat-products are designed to appeal to existing vegans so much as omnivores with qualms about factory farming, sustainability and health. I have all of those; I'm just unenthusiastic about burgers. The saturated fat that comes out of the shop-bought ones is shocking. They must be 50% lard!

If I have the assembled ingredients to make my own, I would probably opt for meatballs instead. Generational thing probably. :omr:
Actually my long term vegan colleagues love them. I ask 'what's it made of?' and they say 'i don't want to know'.
 
linda mccartney has the best fake meat
I think I saw what you did there...
not really sure meme.jpg
 
I mostly avoid stuff that tries to be meat. Partly because I don't like meat but also because I don't want to get too much into frankenfoods although I do eat some quorn. I just don't base my diet around it. I am annoyed that they are sold as being some sort of health food just because they are not actual meat. No, your veg and pulses are healthy. Stick mostly to those.:omr:
 
Many of the new vegan, fake meat style products are made from what's known in Eastern cuisines as 'seitan', which is just gluten. I know a lot of people assume that these kinds of foods must be weird, or 'frankenfoods', but from my experience they're just normal stuff, textured and flavoured. Certainly vegan ice 'cream' (My mum and I happened to be discussing this very subject last week, and we looked them up!) tends to have slighter 'better' ingredients (more natural, whole ingredients, less emulifiers, less palm oil) than the normal ones.

I'm a vegan for ethical reasons (I'm not actually against eating animals, per se, but I think the demand for cheap meat, and meat at every meal, has compromised welfare standards to the point where I, personally, don't want to be involved), and always enjoyed the taste and texture of meat, so I'm very happy!
 
There has been fishless fish around for a good while already; I believe there are three different kinds at Tesco now, including their own brand of fishless fishcake, which are quite nice, nicer than the Quorn fishless fingers anyway, IMHO!
 
I have not tried the new-wave of bleeding vegan burgers etc. I doubt if imitation meat-products are designed to appeal to existing vegans so much as omnivores with qualms about factory farming, sustainability and health. I have all of those; I'm just unenthusiastic about burgers. The saturated fat that comes out of the shop-bought ones is shocking. They must be 50% lard!

If I have the assembled ingredients to make my own, I would probably opt for meatballs instead. Generational thing probably. :omr:

I make my own burgers with lean mince and if I eat burgers when out I usually opt for chicken breast, for pretty much the same reason you cited.
 
Try venison: Less fat than skinless chicken breast; more Omega 3 oils than salmon.

maximus otter

I've enjoyed whenever I've had it, the sausages are nice (I generally dislike pork sausages) nice "beefy" flavour and as you said, very low fat.
 
"Plane shaming" people is already popular on social media, now I have also heard about "meat shaming" and "junk food shaming".
We better switch to eat salad leaves, or else risk becoming social outcasts.
 
I'm not vegetarian, but MrsCarlos has been for years and is toying with veganism. We don't have any meat or fish in the house at all (other than in the cat food), and I don't miss it at all. Most of our meals are vegan now and I honestly haven't really noticed the change.

However, I do reserve the right to eat a quality steak or something if we're out for a meal.
 
It is nice to hear that you dont try to make your pet a veggie Carlos, some veggies do, and i find that appalling
Try ASDAs own brand of veggie burgers, they are delicious, add a touch of raw onion on a nice bap and some fries
 
I knew a raw vegan dog once. Most depressed looking animal I've ever seen. Spent the whole time looking at me with a face like "please.....please....you must have some flesh......"
I met one once. Debbie the dog. I was a kid at the time and I'm really not a dog person, but Debbie was old and non-excitable (so I didn't mind her). She was fed a vegetarian diet by her owner for some reason (health reasons).
 
My wife is vegetarian and she’s a great cook. I don’t always appreciate it as much as I should probably because it’s not what I’m used to. I have vowed to be more adventurous in what I eat, the fault is most definitely not her cooking it’s me being unwilling to try (apart from cheese, not going near that). I hope she realises it’s basically me being brought up as a spoilt brat and being allowed to eat what I wanted so I got fixed in my ways.
 
From the BBC Food Chain podcast of 4th July, the guy from the meat industry sounded a bit of a dick, ranting about the way the word “Meat” is used by veggie/vegan food producers.

Vegetarian and vegan food companies are under attack for using words like ‘burger', ‘sausage’, or ‘steak’ to describe their meat-free products. The meat industry and some politicians argue such words can only be used to describe foods that came from an animal and that plant-based alternatives should come up with new names to avoid consumer confusion.

But can you really claim ownership of a word? And what’s in a name anyway – is this argument about transparency and trust or marketing and profits?

Willem Van Weede, CEO of Dutch plant-based food company Vivera argues the case with Jess Peterson, senior policy adviser at the US Cattlemen’s Association, which represents the beef industry.


Plus, language expert Carrie Gillon tells us the real origins of the word 'meat' and suggests some new names for plant-based alternatives.
 
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