What are your thoughts on impossible/beyond meat burgers?

[Forest Nymph]

The 188 rats did not die to make money, they died to REPLACE real meat in the food supply and thereby help many more animals than the 188 who died.

Im going to give you additional information of why I support Beyond Burgers etc ....they were first in line to make plant based meats normal. Beyond Foods are not only aggressively marketing plant based products, they created the Vegan Climate Index on Wall Street.

They used pre existing ingredients to make their products. Instead of consciously testing on animals for plant based heme, they took a different tactic of normalizing existing ingredients through aggressive marketing. Not that I'm super pro capitalist, but they saw an alternative way to sell their products and did so.

Personally I think Beyond meats are for vegans because of the Vegan Climate Index. I think saying real vegans eat whole foods is absurd. Back in the early 80s, PETA co founder was eating 7th Day Adventists vegan Big Franks straight from the can. It's one of the cute stories about the early days.

Real vegans don't eat any particular diet except one that seeks to exclude animal products when possible and practicable. WFPB is marketed as a health plan, and the doctors call themselves plant based, not vegan. Vegan is about intention, level of commitment, and maybe even forms of activism (no matter how quiet or indirect).

Impossible Foods is not for vegans because of the animal testing funding and also because of their obsessive quest to make a food "bleed" for meat eaters. That being said, I've never told a vegan not to eat Impossible Burgers, I just don't eat them myself. First of all I don't see them anywhere, I always hated Burger King even as a child, and I don't see the point in buying a questionable product I don't need to buy. Lately I've gone back to grain and mushroom burgers just because they're cheaper, but I will probably eat a Beyond Burger again.

Some vegans opt out of the entire system. Some feel it's better to aggressively change the market. Some are in between because it's easier for them. It's all fine. I don't care. The only vegans who bug me are those who enable mass animal product consumption out of fear of any level of confrontation. They're like civil rights supporters who wouldn't bus their children in the 60s. "Thats fine just NIMBY." So they're quietly vegan while openly enabling or defending animal consumption to protect their own ***. **** that.

 

[Forest Nymph]

All traditional prescription and over the counter medicine has been tested on animals and since medicine is considered "necessary", it isn't considered possible or practicable to exclude it. Therefore you can say medicine is vegan, or that it is not "non vegan" to take your medicine. Do you agree, or would you say taking medicine is not vegan, because the medicine was tested on animals?

False comparison. Your logical fallacies are off the charts. I see you like to argue. Just become a lawyer and defend animal rights.

 

[TofuRobot]

They are far too 'meaty' for me. I bought some beyond meat burgers and as soon as i started eating them i couldn't take it and had to stop. The 'meatiness' put me off. I think these burgers are definitely catered more for people who are transitioning or used to like meat before.

Agreed. I had a bite of my son's sandwich and it was good - if you like the taste of meat, which quite honestly, I never did, even though my parents shoved it down my throat my entire childhood (may they rest in peace - they were just doing the best they could and thought they were doing the right thing).

 

[rbep531]

Impossible meat is a better product, but Beyond is better at marketing and running a business. Both are great for the movement as a whole because they're trying to reach normal people. If 100 people eat a vegan meal once a week, that's better than 1 person going vegan. There are many people out there who like the idea of cutting back their meat consumption but would never consider going vegan. Obviously I pulled the number from my rear end, but I think 100 to 1 is a conservative estimate.

Meanwhile, these are great products for new vegans. One of the worst things about being a new vegan is trying to figure out what you can do when you go out to eat with non-vegans. I think this actually prevents a lot of people from going vegan because the social aspect of eating is so important to most people. I've never been that way, but on a more practical front it was difficult for me to go on dates and, let's be honest, try to get laid. That's why so many vegans are weird because we have to have a thick skin a bit of an IDGAF attitude to make it.

Being in Wal-Mart and at fast food restaurants lends them credibility in the eyes of some people. The products are so good at this point that I think most people who try them will be pleasantly surprised. These aren't like the nasty old soy burgers they used to give us for school lunch. It's too bad that Impossible used animal testing because it's a much more realistic substitute than Beyond. (I tried the Impossible Burger without knowing that.) I don't think I'll eat any more Impossible products and I wish there was a way to go without animal testing, but I still think it's a good thing for veganism as a whole and I wouldn't criticize anyone for eating Impossible stuff. I tend to shy away from any fake meat because I'm trying to keep my processed food intake to a minimum.

 

[Lou]

Impossible meat is a better product, but Beyond is better at marketing and running a business. Both are great for the movement as a whole because they're trying to reach normal people. If 100 people eat a vegan meal once a week, that's better than 1 person going vegan. There are many people out there who like the idea of cutting back their meat consumption but would never consider going vegan. Obviously I pulled the number from my rear end, but I think 100 to 1 is a conservative estimate.

I'm not sure Impossible is a better product than Beyond. Last time I checked the Beyond had less fat and salt. I've had both and I like them both but I think Beyond may even taste better TO ME. Less salty.

Your take on 100 people eating vegan once a week is a good point. I think it was Peter Singer who made the same point or something similiar. I'll have to try an look it up.

Eating vegan at restaurants is not as tough as it looks at first. also, just about every "How to Be Vegan" book devotes a chapter to the subject. Its a lot easier when you have your choice of restaurants. Asian restaurants are the easiest because they don't usually use dairy anyway. Plus they are big on tofu. Mexican restaurants are also good. Order any vegetarian meal and just say, "No queso." I've heard from vegans who had bad experiences at restaurants but I Never have. I was at this one place and checked the menu online before going and then the ONE vegan dish that they had on the menu was a lunch item and i was there for dinner (or vice-versa - i can't remember.) anyway, I just asked the waiter if there was anything a vegan could eat and he had the chef make me the item. this one Mexican restaurant that I have been going to for years actually makes me a special vegan burrito for the same price as the vegetarian burrito. It has no cheese or sour cream so they add the fajitas vegetables to make up for it.

I really can't see how it could interfere with getting laid. If the chick is turned off by compassionate, thoughtful, mindful, persons you are best off not dipping you wick into that mess anyway. Heck. All the hot chicks are vegan, too!

The whole fake meats issue May not be "a good thing for veganism as a whole" but it definitely is a good thing for the animals. and that is the whole point.

 

[TofuRobot]

I really can't see how it could interfere with getting laid. If the chick is turned off by compassionate, thoughtful, mindful, persons you are best off not dipping you wick into that mess anyway. Heck. All the hot chicks are vegan, too!

- True and hilarious at the same time!

 

[Andy_T]

To be honest, I am not sure on the whole thing. I really like the Beyond Burger. Can't say how close it is to a cow burger as I haven't eaten one in the last 27 years. But it is quite nice, not too dry, with a good mouth feel, better than most "veggie burgers" who often are crumbly and dry or resembling sausages or meatloafs (I guess, haven't eaten those either for a long time).

I have not had to decide whether or not to try the Impossible Burger, simply as it is not available in Europe at the moment. I am not happy about the testing, specifically because they tested their new "special" ingredient making the burger "more bloody" on rats. Beyond Meat, I understand, decided they are find with a slightly less authentic experience without such a "bloody" ingredient. Mind you, before reading the thread here, I was not aware of the whole Rouguette pea protein thing, so I have to digest this first...

But ... veggie burgers have been all the rage recently in Europe, with all major supermarket chains bringing out their own versions. Those, in the most cases, are made by meat companies. Now what to do about these? We can shun them and say we won't buy anything made by a company that slaughters animals. On the other hand, if nobody buys these products, they will likely go back to slaughtering animals instead. Yes, we all wish that regular meat eaters would buy these products (but most of them don't, unfortunately), so that we ethical vegans can buy more expensive products from ethical vegan food producers that are too expensive for "normal" people (incidentally, "Beyond Meat" would be in that group, IF they had not selected a meat company to distribute their products in Germany - so ... somehow ... the same )

Also ... most of us are buying our fruits, veggies, tofu, soymilk and other products in normal supermarkets, who also make lots of their money from selling dead animals (and often are among the largest butcher companies in many countries) ... so ... somehow it is quite hard to be consistent here, unless we grow all our own veggies, grains, fruits and everything, which is typically not easily possible nowadays.

 

[JayKayBay]

I've looked into Beyond Meat in detail and believe that they deserve 5/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact.
I really like their sausages - I've eaten meat substitutes for 30 years and this is the product that I'm most excited about.
Another bonus for the Beyond Meat sausages is that they are packaged in a cardboard tray with just a minimal cling wrap and label.
(I wish that they could do the same for their burgers instead of using the polycarbonate trays).
Here's an excerpt from the blog post that I wrote on the topic:

Sustainability of Beyond Meat
Researchers at the University of Michigan carried out a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), comparing a Beyond Meat burger to a beef burger. The impact of the plant-based burger is impressively lower: around 10-fold reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use, and a 200-fold reduction in water use.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of a Beyond Meat burger versus a beef burger.

The main ingredients in the Beyond Meat products are pea protein, canola oil and coconut oil. The first two are mainly grown in Canada and the US and the coconuts are grown in Malaysia and Indonesia. I’ve written about the impact of coconut oil before and consider it an ethical product when sourced well (e.g., Nutiva coconut oil gets 5/5 Green Stars). Note that coconuts don’t compete for rainforest land, as palm oil does. Let’s take a closer look at peas…

Peas are far more sustainable than meat
Just to further clarify the comparison between legumes (peas, soybeans, lentils, peanuts) and meat, here’s data from an Oxford University study, published in 2018 in Science. The table for Beyond Meat (above) looks at the impact of the entire final product, including all ingredients, processing and packaging. If you just look at this straight comparison between beef and peas (below) you can see that the reduction in GHG emissions and land use are even more impressive. There’s also a massive reduction in stress on soil and water systems (acidification and eutrophication). So I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but eating your peas, beans, nuts and tofu are all excellent ways to do your part in healing this planet.

You can read more here: https://greenstarsproject.org/2019/04/14/beyond-meat-sustainability-ethics-lca-impact/
Cheers!

 

[PTree15]

I prefer the Beyond Burger. I tried the Impossible Burger before I knew about the animal testing, and I found it a bit dry (it could have been the way it was prepared; I had it at a restaurant). I like the thickness of the Beyond Burger as well and it's definitely not as dry. It's been decades since I had a cow burger, so I can't really attest to which one is most "realistic."

I'm not happy about the animal testing, but I'd rather people eat plant-based burgers than flesh ones. I think both of these products are geared toward non-veggie people or the environmental types who want to reduce flesh consumption. It's a roundabout way in the quest to end animal cruelty, but I'll take it. You never know, those types could end up veg*n. I started out by cutting flesh consumption for mostly health reasons, but now it's all about the animals for me.

 

[nobody]

Hey everyone! I was wondering what your thoughts were on impossible/beyond meat burgers.

One thought is, in the US, as far as the available packages pictured below, there is a price difference and size difference to be aware of. For an example of the price difference, I will use Wegmans pricing:

Impossible: 12 oz.(340.194g) for $8.99

Burger - Wegmans

www.wegmans.com

Beyond: 16 oz. (453.592g) for $9.49

for https://www.wegmans.com/products/na...nt-based-protein/beef-plant-based-ground.html

Or 8 oz. (226.796g) for $5.49

Patties, Plant-Based - Wegmans

www.wegmans.com

So this means if you want to have a standard 1/4 pound (4 oz., 113.398g) Impossible Burger, you must divide the package into 3 burgers, not 4.

I had a bunch of Beyond Burgers first. Then Impossible became available and I divided the package into 4 burgers I believe 4 separate times without realizing the burgers are only 3 oz., and then the last thing I've had was Beyond, in patty form which are standard 4 oz. each, and I liked it much better, but I'm not sure if it was the meat or the thickness I preferred so will need to do additional testing.

As far as the rat testing, I've talked about it on the previous page of this thread and here:

Do you eat Roquette pea protein isolate? | Vegan Forum

www.veganforum.org

But there is another type of "animal testing" to consider and that is Beyond and Impossible both buying real beef burgers (and other meats?) for their staff to eat to get the texture and flavor right.

How do people feel about that? And if that doesn't actually happen at one company or the other I apologize but I believe they both do it (but haven't looked into it). If they do, I'm alright with it of course.

 

[shyvas]

I prefer the Beyond Burger. I tried the Impossible Burger before I knew about the animal testing, and I found it a bit dry (it could have been the way it was prepared; I had it at a restaurant). I like the thickness of the Beyond Burger as well and it's definitely not as dry. It's been decades since I had a cow burger, so I can't really attest to which one is most "realistic."

I'm not happy about the animal testing, but I'd rather people eat plant-based burgers than flesh ones. I think both of these products are geared toward non-veggie people or the environmental types who want to reduce flesh consumption. It's a roundabout way in the quest to end animal cruelty, but I'll take it. You never know, those types could end up veg*n. I started out by cutting flesh consumption for mostly health reasons, but now it's all about the animals for me.

Perfectly put PTree.

I have only tasted BB ( the improved version) and find that the taste is far better than most supermarket beef burgers. The have got the taste, moistness and thickness just right.
My cousin wanted us to have a IB at Burger King but they said that they cooked the pb version alongside the beef one, so I declined. Being an omni, she was a bit surprised by my reaction.

I totally agree with your comment that these products are made for meat eaters. This is a good thing if it means that it'll greatly reduce meat consumption.

 

[PTree15]

But there is another type of "animal testing" to consider and that is Beyond and Impossible both buying real beef burgers (and other meats?) for their staff to eat to get the texture and flavor right.

How do people feel about that? And if that doesn't actually happen at one company or the other I apologize but I believe they both do it (but haven't looked into it). If they do, I'm alright with it of course.

Ew, I did not know about that. Not ideal, but again, these product seem geared toward non-veg*ns, so I suppose that's not a surprise if it is true.

Oh, and I miss Wegman's. I love that store so much.

 

[nobody]

In this article, they describe putting real meat in their equipment to analyze it, at Beyond Meat:

Exclusive: Inside Beyond Meat’s innovative future food lab

The meat substitute burger company’s diverse R&D team of tech, health, and chem experts want to make Beyond Meat products taste like the real thing.

www.fastcompany.com

 

[Andy_T]

My cousin wanted us to have a IB at Burger King but they said that they cooked the pb version alongside the beef one, so I declined. Being an omni, she was a bit surprised by my reaction.

You can ask them to heat it in the microwave instead of the normal broiler line. That and leaving out the mayo is obviously a normal procedure they have in place for vegans.

 

[nobody]

You can ask them to heat it in the microwave instead of the normal broiler line. That and leaving out the mayo is obviously a normal procedure they have in place for vegans.

View attachment 1177

One time they cooked mine in the microwave without me asking for it and I brought it back and had to wait while they made me a flame broiled one. I would never consider eating a Beyond or Impossible burger cooked in a microwave.

Heating an already cooked frozen-product-burger in a microwave, such as the one below, is a different story. I would do that if necessary.

 

[shyvas]

You can ask them to heat it in the microwave instead of the normal broiler line. That and leaving out the mayo is obviously a normal procedure they have in place for vegans.

View attachment 1177

No way. The lady was glad to get rid of us.

 

[Lou]

IMHO, this article got it exactly right.

An unintended consequence of meatless burger boom: Vegans' lives got easier

www.cnbc.com

 

[Lou]

We already knew this. Now its official.

Almost 90 percent of the people eating non-meat burgers are not vegetarian or vegan

www.nbcnews.com

 

[KLS52]

@JayKayBay, the Beyond Meat sausage is amazing! I was never a fan of animal sausage and was surprised at how much I liked these.

 

[Andy_T]

No way. The lady was glad to get rid of us.

Outstanding sense of customer service, it seems.