Do Not Pin Your Hopes for Guilt-Free Hamburgers on Seaweed
The media is trumpeting studies that say we can drastically reduce cows’ methane emissions merely by feeding them a particular seaweed. But I did the math, and it doesn’t add up.
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The meat industry is always trying to greenwash themselves somehow, they cannot be trusted.
With how intensely serious and rapid global warming is becoming, we really don't have time to try and make meat lower emissions, we need to move away from it now.
Though unfortunately expensive, impossible burgers and ground 'beef' are virtually indistinguishable from the real deal already, and IMHO taste better than real, and truly are a guilt-free-ish alternative that exists right now. I only hope demand increases so they can scale up even harder and bring prices down to the same cost as cheap beef.
Though unfortunately expensive, impossible burgers and ground 'beef' are virtually indistinguishable from the real deal already
I'm probably up to, like, 90% vegetarian these days (it's been a long road lol). I can definitely tell the difference with Impossible/Beyond. But they're absolutely "good enough" for me. The good thing is they're still improving, so can only get better. But yeah, they're quite expensive (nearly twice the cost per pound of regular ground beef). I tend to wait until they're on sale, buy in bulk, and freeze them.
If I'm at a cookout or potluck and make burgers, I usually have to label the Beyond/Impossible ones or people react badly. If I'm making things like chili / tacos or sides like Hamburger Helper and such, people can't tell at all. The only giveaway is that they're in the vegetarian section of the table.
I'm probably up to, like, 90% vegetarian these days (it's been a long road lol).
You're way ahead of me, I've been kinda stuck trying to find a good homemadd alternative to impossible, but it's been tough to find something that passes the good enough mark.
I notice the difference with Beyond meat as well, which has a slightly unpleasant aftertaste for me too. Overall just OK. Usually don't seek it out.
I'm surprised people at those cookouts can notice with impossible though. I haven't tried to grill them, so maybe that makes it more pronounced? But out of my airfryer, I genuinely cannot detect anything unmeaty about them, which blew my mind the first time I tried em.
I tend to get them as a treat since they're so much. I rarely see them on sale around here :/
I know it's a bit of an ask because in terms of taste it's nowhere near an exact replacement for meat or cheese, but tofu is both cheap(ish) and healthy. Unless you have a soy allergy, do incorporate that rather than Impossible et al.s bleeding, complicated protein remixes powered by VC money. (I don't have a hardline stance against vegan meat replacements but when they are too pricey for you there's no reason to buy animal meat.)
You can get textured vegetable protein, or textured soya protein for pretty cheap. It gives that 'ground beef" texture and just kind of tastes like whatever it's cooked in. I made baked ziti with it last night.
I literally just want to get on with positive progress. I'm tired of this having our cake and eating it too way of progress. Change is okay and a part of it. So maybe we dont eat burgers for the rest of eternity. So what. Let's actually start advancing instead of existing in this weird "physical hardware get better but everything else must remain in limbo" era. Social progress matters just as much.
Hard agree, market solutions are bullshit designed to keep profits high and that's all.
i eat burgers, pizza, mac n cheez every week. been vegan 3 years. ignorance is bliss
What vegan cheese would you recommend? I'm only 90% vegetarian, not vegan, but I'm lactose intolerant so have to buy non-dairy cheese. Many of my dishes end up being vegan because of that.
I used to use Daiya, but unless it's fully melted, the texture is all weird (and it's kind of glue-y). Then I switched to the Simple Truth (not sure if store brand or big brand) and it's been much better.
As a cheese lover who cannot eat it, I'm always on the lookout for the next next best thing.
chao, miyoko, and violife are usually the best. I don't have a favorite yet, but making your own cheese is easy: soak cashews, grind them up, mix in seasonings & refrigerate. alternatively silken tofu or plant milk can be boiled to make cheese as well
Pin them on lab-grown meat.
Lab grown meat, Crickets, Cockroach milk... There's so many options for any population that isn't dead-set on beef. Anything the existing meat industry resists should be subsidized to hell and back.