Vegetarian Fake Meats

[lpetrich]

Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth | Environment | The Guardian

Avoiding meat and dairy products is the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact on the planet, according to the scientists behind the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet.

The new research shows that without meat and dairy consumption, global farmland use could be reduced by more than 75% – an area equivalent to the US, China, European Union and Australia combined – and still feed the world. Loss of wild areas to agriculture is the leading cause of the current mass extinction of wildlife.

The new analysis shows that while meat and dairy provide just 18% of calories and 37% of protein, it uses the vast majority – 83% – of farmland and produces 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. Other recent research shows 86% of all land mammals are now livestock or humans. The scientists also found that even the very lowest impact meat and dairy products still cause much more environmental harm than the least sustainable vegetable and cereal growing.

So we ought to become vegetarians if not vegans. Vegan vs Vegetarian - What's The Difference?

Vegetarianism in the broad sense forbids the eating of animal flesh, though it does allow the eating of animal products like milk, eggs, and derivatives like cheese. Veganism is a strict version of vegetarianism that does not allow the eating of animal products. There are lots of further variations, like Pythagoras forbidding the eating of beans, but I won't get into that.

What can meat lovers do? There is now a thriving industry of fake meats, and some of them are surprisingly good. There are also fake milks, fake cheeses, and even fake eggs.  Meat analogue

These companies make very convincing fake meats:

Home - Impossible Foods - makes the "Impossible Burger":
About Impossible Burger

• Protein: soy
• Flavor: heme
• Fat: coconut, sunflower oils
• Binders: Methylcellulose (a culinary binder commonly found in ice cream, sauces, and jams)

We started by extracting heme from the root nodules of soybean plants, but we knew there was a better way. So we took the DNA from these soy plants and inserted it into a genetically engineered yeast. We ferment this yeast (very similar to the way Belgian beer is made) to produce heme.

Beyond Meat - The Future of Protein™ - fake ground beef and fake pork sausage

Morningstar Farms - lots of fake meats: fake beef, fake pork, fake chicken

 

[ideologyhunter]

I've been buying Morningstar for years. The Griller is their faux hamburger patty. They have come out with maybe a half dozen spiced-up varieties of Griller, but I prefer the Original. It will not convince your taste buds that they've encountered ground chuck, but you can make a good sandwich with it. Very easy to doll it up with whatever burger trimmings you like. The Morningstar fake bacon is really pretty odd in color and texture, and the imitation bacon flavor is somewhat like Bac-Os, if I remember them correctly. Once in a while I jones for a BLT, and I'll get the faux bacon strips and, by the end of the package, be satisfied. BEST OF ALL: the Morningstar Farms sausage links, which can be thawed or zapped, then crumbled, and used in Italian cooking. I use them with marinara to create an all-purpose sauce that can be used with fresh pasta or in any number of casseroles (esp. lasagna.) When they're incorporated in the sauce, they make a convincing crumbled sausage.
I have very limited experience with the Boca brand of veggie foods (and the older Loma Linda line), but I've always come back to Morningstar. My dachshund likes 'em, too, but that's not a high standard of gourmet enlightenment.

 

[Politesse]

If your primary goal is to reduce the area of land used to raise the animals, total Veganism would seem more logical than vegetarianism lite; you do have to feed and house the cows in order for them to make milk for you.

Source: grew up in dairy country.

My favorite meat substitutes come from the Field Roast company, which produces quite a range of grain-based products. They have a unique flavor, not so much imitating meat it as replacing its role in dishes in a way that is satisfying. All of their sausages are great, as are their sandwich slices, which I prefer to tofu-based sandwich meats by a margin.

The healthiest way to consume fake meat in my opinion is to make it yourself, less additives needed. Black bean patties or meatballs are quite easy and quick aside from the baking time. Seitan loaf is a bit more of a challenge and you might have trouble hunting down the vital wheat gluten itself, but it also makes a huge batch that lasts forever, so if you're trying to feed a family its a nice option.

 

[lpetrich]

Fake milk is real news, as synthetic alternatives threaten traditional dairy farms

Perfect Day Foods is one company creating a synthetic milk alternative. It's similar to milk in that it consists of casein and whey, the proteins found in milk. However, a cow was never used to produce their product. Instead, the animal-free dairy product is made in a lab using genetically engineered yeast programmed with DNA to produce the same proteins found in cow’s milk.

Silicon Valley-based Perfect Day Foods says its animal-free milk is better for the environment and healthier than cow’s milk because it’s lactose-free, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, gluten-free and cholesterol-free. The company also claims the product tastes more like milk than other plant-based milk alternatives. Plus, its overall environmental impact is substantially lower than that of conventionally produced milk, according to a preliminary report by The University of the West of England.

There are plenty of existing fake milks: 7 Best Non-Dairy Milk Alternatives - Best Vegan Milk: Coconut, almond, soya, oat and more | London Evening Standard - almond, cashew, coconut, hemp, oat, pea, rice, soy

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Not only fake milk, but also fake cheese:

We Taste Tested 8 Vegan Cheeses. Here's What We Think Of Them | HuffPost Australia
A Guide to Vegan Cheese: What’s the Best Dairy-Free Option?
12 of the Best Vegan Cheese Brand That Rival The Real Thing
7 Best Dairy-Free Cheeses
11 Best Vegan Cheese Brands in 2019 - Dairy Free Cheese Reviews
These 25 Vegan Cheeses Will Make You Quit Dairy Forever - One Green PlanetOne Green Planet

Made from aquafaba, buckwheat, coconut, nuts (almonds, cashews), soybeans, starchy roots (arrowroot, potato, tapioca), ...

 

[lpetrich]

If your primary goal is to reduce the area of land used to raise the animals, total Veganism would seem more logical than vegetarianism lite; you do have to feed and house the cows in order for them to make milk for you.

That is indeed correct. But if one avoids meat, one will have gone part of the way.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Seitan loaf is a bit more of a challenge and you might have trouble hunting down the vital wheat gluten itself, but it also makes a huge batch that lasts forever, so if you're trying to feed a family its a nice option.

Never made the loaf but making it in broth and refrigerating leftovers in the same tasty broth is super easy.

 

[Politesse]

If your primary goal is to reduce the area of land used to raise the animals, total Veganism would seem more logical than vegetarianism lite; you do have to feed and house the cows in order for them to make milk for you.

That is indeed correct. But if one avoids meat, one will have gone part of the way.

True. If everyone went that far, it would certainly cause a major redistribution of land. Honestly, it would put dairymen in an economically tenuous position, they work on small margins like any farmer and milk products don't keep the operation afloat by themselves. What are they supposed to do with the male calves, if there is a market for their mother's milk but not for them? Or for the ladies who have gotten too old to milk? Are we to build "retirement farms" for unneeded steer and senior citizens, or will it just be immediate euthanasia-upon-discovery for the lot of them? That starts to seem wasteful from another direction. I suppose there will always be demand for dog food and the like, but that is still only a corner of the market. I can imagine a scenario in which dairy either has to shrink or get substantially more expensive for consumers.

 

[Politesse]

Seitan loaf is a bit more of a challenge and you might have trouble hunting down the vital wheat gluten itself, but it also makes a huge batch that lasts forever, so if you're trying to feed a family its a nice option.

Never made the loaf but making it in broth and refrigerating leftovers in the same tasty broth is super easy.

Yeah, it's an extremely versatile and storable ingredient.

 

[lpetrich]

There’s a multibillion-dollar race on to replace the egg. Good luck with that - Los Angeles Times

Part of IndieBio’s synthetic biology accelerator, Clara is coming to market with what it calls “the world’s most soluble protein.” Arturo Elizondo, the CEO and co-founder, describes the process: “We use the DNA that codes for certain proteins, then we use yeast (like beer or wine). Our yeast is a protein factory. It reads the DNA and churns out the protein.”

The company has successfully re-created three egg proteins (of the 80 that are found in a chicken egg) and plans to launch early next year with its first: a flavorless egg protein that can be used in drinks and food, and an egg protein that foams, which is especially useful in baked goods. Clara Foods hopes to convert manufacturers to its version of egg white proteins, but Elizondo recognizes that’s only half the battle.

“Consumer palatability is the hardest piece — an attachment to it coming from an animal,” he said. “The fact that it doesn’t come from a chicken will alienate a lot of people.”

In effect, they get yeast to make real egg proteins.

I Tried Vegan Eggs That Supposedly Look And Taste Exactly Like The Real Thing - JUST Egg - makes fake scrambled eggs
Vegan Eggs: They Exist and We Tried Them - Bon Appétit | Bon Appetit - it didn't turn out very well
Vegan eggs: Are vegan eggs healthy? Do they taste good? - Gene Food
Even If You Aren’t Vegan, Give This Egg Alternative a Chance | Extra Crispy - JUST Egg again - does well

 

[TV and credit cards]

The healthiest way to consume fake meat in my opinion is to make it yourself, less additives needed. Black bean patties or meatballs are quite easy and quick aside from the baking time.

When I was vegan, I thought mushrooms had a similar satisfaction that beef brought. Maybe a portion of mushroom mixed in with the black beans would be good.

Perfect Day Foods is one company creating a synthetic milk alternative. It's similar to milk in that it consists of casein and whey, the proteins found in milk.

Casein promotes cancer cell growth. *Dairy was easy to give up. Much more so than meat.


If pseudomeat is to survive, they better start making the price an attractive alternative to the real deal. Thing about fake meat is it maintains the cravings for meat and on a head to head match-up, meat is going to eventually win out, unless they can improve the texture. So what you'll have left is those concerned about the environment and that's a mighty small section of your grocer's chiller.



*Except a sprinkling on my homemade pizza to bind the toppings.

 

[lpetrich]

Casein promotes cancer cell growth.

The story is more complicated than that: Does Dairy Cause or Prevent Cancer? An Objective Look

Casein is a protein, and it gets digested, so it's hard for it to have much effect one way or the other. The page I linked to discusses stuff that doesn't get digested, like calcium.

 

[Derec]

In effect, they get yeast to make real egg proteins.

Vegans should be avoiding murdering yeasts as well. The monsters!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

In effect, they get yeast to make real egg proteins.

Vegans should be avoiding murdering yeasts as well. The monsters!

It’d be pretty tough going through life trying not to cause harm to microscopic life.

 

[Eldarion Lathria]

And you're breathing, and that puts CO2 in the air. Kill yourself guilt wallower!

Eldarion Lathria

 

[Rhea]

True. If everyone went that far, it would certainly cause a major redistribution of land. Honestly, it would put dairymen in an economically tenuous position, they work on small margins like any farmer and milk products don't keep the operation afloat by themselves. What are they supposed to do with the male calves, if there is a market for their mother's milk but not for them?

Killing the males young and eating them as veal does not take very much agricultural outlay.

 

[steve_bank]

There are total vegans and lacto-ovo vegans who eat eggs and dairy products.

From a show I watched you have to watch 0ut for vegetarian meat alternatives. They tend to be loaded with fats to make it taste good along with other stuff.

Fast food burger places are now advertising vegetarian burgers that allegedly taste like the real thing. Who knows what is in it.

There is also 'test tube' grown meat coming out.

I eat more vegetables and fruit than meat, I feel better that way.

Getting western culture off meat is a near imposable task.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

There are total vegans and lacto-ovo vegans who eat eggs and dairy products.

From a show I watched you have to watch 0ut for vegetarian meat alternatives. They tend to be loaded with fats to make it taste good along with other stuff.

Which products? In general, among those that actually eat the food, the biggest issues are sodium and processing. I'm honestly not worried about processing, and I don't eat too much sodium to begin with, so that isn't as big an issue either.

Fast food burger places are now advertising vegetarian burgers that allegedly taste like the real thing. Who knows what is in it.

Vegans. They are what is for dinner.

Best veggie burger I had didn't taste anything like meat, but it was a solid hand pressed veggie burger.

 

[southernhybrid]

I eat veggie burgers, but I have no desire to make my own. I prefer vegan or fish meals, but since my meat eating husband is my cook and I don't seem to absorb non heme sources of iron very well, unless meat becomes totally unavailable, I doubt I will ever go vegan. We don't' all need to go vegan. If everyone would eat at least a few vegan meals a week, and much smaller portions of meat, that would certainly be a big help to the environment. We don't need to go to extremes. People eat way too much food these days, and portions are insane. If we'd all cut back, that would certainly be beneficial to our health, and the environment. We usually eat either vegan meals or meals that include small servings of meat.

We only eat beef once a week. A normal portion for me is 3 or 4 oz. The problem with vegan meals is that they usually require a lot more meal preparation than simply making meat or poultry and steaming a variety of fresh vegetables. Most people don't have the time or motivation to spend on lengthy food preparation.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The problem with Veganism is the price.

Anyone know how expensive Quinoa and Chia Seeds are? You can get hard narcotics for less.

 

[southernhybrid]

The problem with Veganism is the price.

Anyone know how expensive Quinoa and Chia Seeds are? You can get hard narcotics for less.

I only used Qunoa once or twice because I read that the people in the countries where it's grown depend on it as one of their primary food sources. Commercializing it so that fussy US vegans can eat it, is hurting these people. So, I stopped buying it for moral reasons. You don't need those two things to make vegan meals.