Most people aren’t born vegan :)
The people developing vegan meat alternatives must have eaten a lot of meat beforehand so they can replicate the taste and texture.
Submitted 2 weeks ago by ambitious_bones@lemmy.world to showerthoughts@lemmy.world
Comments
Cevilia@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That’s a good point. Are animal products vegan if they’re willingly given by a being with enough sapience to consent? Is breastmilk vegan? I’d assume so, but I feel like it’s worth asking. I’m asking based on the idea that all people are animals, but not all animals are people. I know that’s something not everyone’s on board with, but I thought it would be good to include this disclaimer.
Tujio@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Most people agree that foods given with consent count as vegan, so breast milk would count. A lot of vegans eat honey, for example, because bees aren’t harmed in the harvesting process.
Actionschnils@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
One of the best (by taste) and most successful industrial manufactures in Germany for meat alternatives is “Rügenwalder Mühle”, a quite big traditional family owned meat corp. And they are doing their job this good, because alot of the food technicians responsible for the products could rely on the knowledge of the long time working butchers in company. Like getting the texture and seasong right or reducing the ingredients to make the product more “natural”.
So yeah, its a thing, imho. If you want to develop something meat like for industrial production, its helpfull to know a thing or two about industrial meat production.
cloudless@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Can't they hire other people to do the taste testing?
Or they don't even have to be vegan in order to develop the products. People making medicines don't need to be sick.
ctry21@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
There is a surprising amount of debate over that in vegan circles. Beyond Meat taste test their burgers against cow burgers to compare the flavour and some vegans will say you can’t consider those burgers vegan while others would say it’s a very small amount of animal consumption to allow for a vegan burger that might help convert more people and so the harm outweights the benefit massively. I’m vegan and I don’t really know what side to lean towards, but there’s debate over everything from honey to almonds, and debate on whether it’s acceptable to order vegan food from non-vegan restaurants, just as examples.
BootLoop@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
That’s hilarious. What if someone who gets their calories from eating meat cooks up a vegan meal? That meal couldn’t have been made without killing an animal.
Khanzarate@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’d advocate for long-term harm reduction, myself.
While obviously it would be better for the cow to have been able to live a full life, but in (I think) 15 years or so that cow would be dead either way.
Something that can be helping new cows regularly, like a Beyond Burger that can appeal to those that would otherwise just pick a normal burger, I basically consider it to be harm-neutral after the lifespan of the animals they’re using for those taste tests is up.
Honestly, this is the trolley problem. On the main lane, we have a bunch of cows about to be run over by our “Meat Industry” trolley. Pull the lever to redirect the trolley and butcher some cows for beyond burger development. I would pull the lever, but it’s not a clear moral win.
m4xie@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
It feels like perfect is not just the enemy of good enough, it’s slaughtering its family and salting its crops.
Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
By that logic all oxygen consuming animals are climate change monsters.
They make it harder than it needs to be.
remon@ani.social 2 weeks ago
You can develop vegan meat alternatives without being a vegan.
Soulcreator@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
I’m fairly certain most of the big name alternative meat products on the market were developed by capitalists and not vegans.
remon@ani.social 2 weeks ago
I would agree.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
“I prefer to do both”
ALLHAILHYPNOTOAD@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Scientists who develop vegan alternatives don’t have to be vegan themselves. Lol.
Treczoks@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Sometimes they probably have long forgotten how meat tastes and feels like, judging from some of the products.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Honestly they should just make something that tastes good
Treczoks@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Alternative: instead of trying to imitate meat with questionable high-processed foods and chemicals, how about cooking a real vegan or vegetarian meal? There are so many delicious, simple, and more healthy alternatives.
Witchfire@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
There are people who eat both. I’m not a big meat eater and prefer the veggie versions of things, but will eat the occasional meat (mainly chicken and sausage).
I don’t think a lot of meat alternatives are trying to perfectly replicate their meat counterpart but rather work as an alternative in dishes. Tempeh bacon for instance will never match the taste or texture of real bacon, but tempeh is delicious on its own so I will never complain about smoked tempeh. It’s easier to imitate ground meat like sausage.
Though I will say I used to get a lemongrass seitan “chicken” from a pho place that was better than any real chicken I’ve ever had
Griffus@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
It is possible that they work with what they do not to make vegan meat, but to reduce the amount of horrible lives lived by live cattle.
remon@ani.social 2 weeks ago
Or they are doing it to make money.
Griffus@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Radical thought!
blackstampede@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I’ll take what I can get.
HubertManne@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
The old traditional ones like satan or such likely not. The modern corpo ones I doubt the flavor analysts specifically eat more meat than normal but they likely did a fair amount of side by sides.
sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 2 weeks ago
South Indians seem to have done just fine without eating meat
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
From trying a lot of vegan meat alternatives my assumption was they have no fucking idea what they are doing.
The time making fake meat would be better spent promoting vegan dishes that aren’t pretending to be something else, because those are fantastic.
addie@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Agreed. Got a huge amount of Indian and Asian cuisine that happens to be vegan, either incidentally or for religious reasons, and it’s all absolutely delicious; but no, ‘vegan food’ means deep-fried highly processed dinosaur shapes and cheese with a distinct aftertaste of sewage.
I feel bad for vegetarians. If pubs and restaurants have one meat-free item on the menu then it’s going to be vegan, and if it’s going to be vegan then it’s going to be some awful faux food where the main plant source is chemical plant. Vegetarian meals that celebrate the quality and freshness of the vegetables are the equal of any meat meal, but you’re not having those.
Pilferjinx@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I think a lot of these kinds of products are for hosting vegans. I don’t find them tasting good enough to acquire over making something that’s actually delicious. But it is nice to eat some burgers with the family.
captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
They’re also great for when you want something you miss. Like I havent eaten chicken in 4 years, the fake shit is close enough for the craving
compostgoblin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
I love the Field Roast veggie sausages. I don’t feel like they’re trying and failing to imitate meat, but rather that they’re trying to make something tasty that hits the form factor and general savoriness of meat. And they do that well, imo
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yeah, the sausage format is one of the better approaches because it is a form factor that already has a wide variety of textures and from the packaging it doesn’t look like they are trying to imitate specific meat flavors or textures. Can’t remember if I have tried that brand before, but I have had green plant based sausages and they were good as their own kind of thing. Like how sweet potato fries are the same shape as regular potato fries but you would never confuse the two.
psx_crab@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I love vegetarian goose though. It doesn’t taste like goose at all but it still delicious.
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I strongly dislike goose because it is so damn greasy, would probably prefer whatever vegetarian goose is unless they used Olestra in pursuit of authenticity.
TheDoozer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Are Impossible meats vegan? Because Impossible stuff (ground “beef,” “chicken,” whatever) are delicious. They definitely got me into eating far, far less meat.
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The ingredients are vegan. Apparently there was animal testing involving rats for an ingredient or something like that.
Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Yes, but have you tried Beyond? It’s delicious. Now if we can just get get vegan cheese up to par…
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I have tried Beyond and found it bland and tasteless.
Why is trying to pretend to be cheese worth the time when stuff like guacamole, white bean dip, hummus, corn dip, etc. exist?
IcedRaktajino@startrek.website 2 weeks ago
I almost gave up on the dairy free cheese because Daiya was supposed to be the top-tier one. Tasted vaguely cheese-flavored plastic strips, and I was not a fan. Also refused to melt until it was just below the temperature of the surface of the sun, and when it did, it was like a pile of glue.
On a whim, I bought the Kroger store brand (Simple Truth I think?) and it’s pretty damn good. Tastes like cheese, doesn’t feel like a mouth full of plastic, melts at a reasonable temperature, the whole works.
fushuan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Vegan cheese done with coconut oil is pretty decent, way better that the wet sponge texture that beyond has.
shalafi@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Just no, hard no. Came off a kayaking trip starving for whatever. My vegan gf got us Beyond burgers. Absolutely revolting. I can’t put my finger on it, but it tasted like “chemicals”. LOL, I know, great description, but I couldn’t choke down half the thing.