Impossible Burger

[ronandannette]

Water may be “recycled”, but it may be just going into the ground or into saltwater bodies. Of course some of that evaporates into clouds and comes back as precipitation. However, depositing that water in the ocean isn’t going to create any more fresh water. Not to mention all the side effects of waste such as the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone.

Incorrect. Or more to the point, misleading. Nothing commonly "creates" water - it's a constant cycle of what has always existed. Evaporation from salt-water accounts for about 90% of everything that composes the water cycle.
https://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycletouzbek.html

 

[Happyinwonerland]

I enjoy the impossible burger, it is a very tasty option. I did not like the beyond burger, to me it tasted like cat food.

 

[vacationer1954]

Can someone explain the reason that eating less meat is better for the environment.

https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainable-agriculture/eco-farming/eat-more-plants/

 

[ajlsjl]

I haven't tried one yet, but I wouldn't be opposed to eating one.

 

[bcla]

Incorrect. Or more to the point, misleading. Nothing commonly "creates" water - it's a constant cycle of what has always existed. Evaporation from salt-water accounts for about 90% of everything that composes the water cycle.
https://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycletouzbek.html

Yes. But saying that everything is "recycled" is disingenuous and ignores that on a annual basis there's a limited supply of water depending on the area. If water needs to go to keep cattle alive or to water alfalfa, that's less water that can go to crops that could directly feed people. Certainly a lot of cattle are raised in high desert areas with limited water. And around the world a lot of animals are raised as a “cash crop” to get foreign exchange instead of crops that would more efficiently feed people.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I certainly understand about the impact of raising animals for meat. I enjoy oysters, but every time there's a heavy rain our local oyster farms can't harvest until the fecal coliform bacteria levels (from mostly cattle runoff) go down.

That's what Impossible Foods is trying to address. They're not trying to create something healthy. They're certainly not trying to get on any organic bandwagon given their use of GMO ingredients. What they're trying to do is make some close to real meat without the same impacts - less land, less water, less pesticides/herbicides, etc.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainable-agriculture/eco-farming/eat-more-plants/

My hamburger does less harm to the environment than a Greenpeace rubber raft, let alone a full ship.

That's what Impossible Foods is trying to address. They're not trying to create something healthy. They're certainly not trying to get on any organic bandwagon given their use of GMO ingredients. What they're trying to do is make some close to real meat without the same impacts - less land, less water, less pesticides/herbicides, etc.

No. What they're trying to do is guilt trip market their way into charging way too much for what is essentially just a vanity feel good product. No thanks. We already have plenty of products at an affordable price where people can genuinely reduce their environmental foot print.

 

[DLgal]

My hamburger does less harm to the environment than a Greenpeace rubber raft, let alone a full ship.

No. What they're trying to do is guilt trip market their way into charging way too much for what is essentially just a vanity feel good product. No thanks. We already have plenty of products at an affordable price where people can genuinely reduce their environmental foot print.

I totally agree with this.

If you really want to make an impact, just STOP EATING HAMBURGERS. Certainly, it isn't helping the planet if you choose an impossible burger at a fast food joint like Burger King or McDonald's, because let's face it, they are
HUGE users of beef and a major part of the problem. The way you spark change is to change your habits. In this case, stop patronizing companies whose bread and butter is literally the very thing you think people should stop eating.

 

[bcla]

My hamburger does less harm to the environment than a Greenpeace rubber raft, let alone a full ship.

No. What they're trying to do is guilt trip market their way into charging way too much for what is essentially just a vanity feel good product. No thanks. We already have plenty of products at an affordable price where people can genuinely reduce their environmental foot print.

The price is more a matter of early stage technology and poor economies of scale. If they're to be successful, it will not only need to taste like beef but cost less. And that's their target.

https://grist.org/article/will-impossible-burgers-be-the-norm-for-gen-z/​

For now, customers have to be driven by ethics or curiosity to eat these meat alternatives because Impossible Burgers are more expensive than their flesh-based counterparts. But that should change, Brown told me at the event, because plant-based burgers require less land and resources than ground chuck. Impossible Burgers should be cheaper as soon as the company is big enough to capture the efficiencies of mass production, he said.​

However, my big worry isn't about meat production in the US or Western Europe. It's that China is becoming richer and as such people there are demanding more meat. And knowing many people from China, they have their traditions that they cling to. They might have had meat for special occasions, but with more money to spend they're now demanding these same cuts of meat on a regular basis. I'm not sure if there's really any way to mimic such varied cuts of meat. Certainly a pork belly substitute isn't going to happen. What we would really need for something like that would be Star Trek type technoligy.

 

[ronandannette]

My hamburger does less harm to the environment than a Greenpeace rubber raft, let alone a full ship.

No. What they're trying to do is guilt trip market their way into charging way too much for what is essentially just a vanity feel good product. No thanks. We already have plenty of products at an affordable price where people can genuinely reduce their environmental foot print.

We don't often see eye-to-eye but I have to agree with this, absolutely. And for the vegan/vegetarian market, the highly-processed nature of these burgers is actually likely to increase their "environmental impact", if that's actually something they, as individuals, care about. As I've said before, I bless anybody to eat (or not eat) anything they want for whatever reason. That the burger-substitute products are being marketed in such an ideological way bugs me though.

 

[RamblingMad]

I totally agree with this.

If you really want to make an impact, just STOP EATING HAMBURGERS. Certainly, it isn't helping the planet if you choose an impossible burger at a fast food joint like Burger King or McDonald's, because let's face it, they are
HUGE users of beef and a major part of the problem. The way you spark change is to change your habits. In this case, stop patronizing companies whose bread and butter is literally the very thing you think people should stop eating.

The reality is that the type of change you're proposing takes decades to happen. For now, it's nice to have an alternative to a burger if you happen to get stuck going to a Burger King with friends.

 

[ronandannette]

The reality is that the type of change you're proposing takes decades to happen. For now, it's nice to have an alternative to a burger if you happen to get stuck going to a Burger King with friends.

If that's the only issue, they've sold salads for a while now, as far as I know.

 

[bcla]

We don't often see eye-to-eye but I have to agree with this, absolutely. And for the vegan/vegetarian market, the highly-processed nature of these burgers is actually likely to increase their "environmental impact", if that's actually something they, as individuals, care about. As I've said before, I bless anybody to eat (or not eat) anything they want for whatever reason. That the burger-substitute products are being marketed in such an ideological way bugs me though.

It's just a processed food. The processing is more akin to making corn flakes. Heck - commercial ground beef is highly processed coming in as perfect short-stack cylinders with a paper backing. The idea isn't that their impact is going to be less than other plant-based foods, but that it already is less than for real meat.

 

[kdonnel]

And for the vegan/vegetarian market

Why does everyone keep saying it is a product for vegans or vegetarians?

The Impossible Foods company is NOT creating a product for vegans or vegetarians, they created a product FOR meat eaters.

 

[lauracitawita]

I totally agree with this.

If you really want to make an impact, just STOP EATING HAMBURGERS. Certainly, it isn't helping the planet if you choose an impossible burger at a fast food joint like Burger King or McDonald's, because let's face it, they are
HUGE users of beef and a major part of the problem. The way you spark change is to change your habits. In this case, stop patronizing companies whose bread and butter is literally the very thing you think people should stop eating.

If vegans and vegetarians stopped patronizing companies that make money selling animal products, we would have to grow our own food. Not many vegan grocery stores around.

I understand the way you are thinking, but I believe that by people buying these products where beef is largely sold, people are showing companies that there is a need and desire for vegan products and more places will start selling them.

 

[lauracitawita]

I totally agree with this.

If you really want to make an impact, just STOP EATING HAMBURGERS. Certainly, it isn't helping the planet if you choose an impossible burger at a fast food joint like Burger King or McDonald's, because let's face it, they are
HUGE users of beef and a major part of the problem. The way you spark change is to change your habits. In this case, stop patronizing companies whose bread and butter is literally the very thing you think people should stop eating.

I also think people ordering vegan burgers at fast food places is definitely helping the environment. A lot of meat eaters who are thinking of the environment or the animal cruelty are choosing the plant based burgers instead of the beef because they are so much tastier than the old veggie burgers on the market. It's not just vegans eating these.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I'm glad to see others share my opinion about Beyond burgers - to me they taste like low-grade dog food.

The cattle industry is bad for the environment because of the methane that the cows produce. If you want an impact, not only do you have to stop eating beef and drinking milk, but you would also have to kill all the cows. You don't see Greenpeace talking about that angle though.

 

[RamblingMad]

If that's the only issue, they've sold salads for a while now, as far as I know.

Salad is even more gross.

 

[RamblingMad]

I'm glad to see others share my opinion about Beyond burgers - to me they taste like low-grade dog food.

The cattle industry is bad for the environment because of the methane that the cows produce. If you want an impact, not only do you have to stop eating beef and drinking milk, but you would also have to kill all the cows. You don't see Greenpeace talking about that angle though.

More fake news.

 

[lauracitawita]

I'm glad to see others share my opinion about Beyond burgers - to me they taste like low-grade dog food.

The cattle industry is bad for the environment because of the methane that the cows produce. If you want an impact, not only do you have to stop eating beef and drinking milk, but you would also have to kill all the cows. You don't see Greenpeace talking about that angle though.

This is such a bizarre argument. So in order to not kill all the cows, we should keep on mass prodcing cows and kill the cows? These cows aren't just found and killed. It's a horrifying industry in which they are mass produced.

The methane is bad for the environment as well as the land and water needed to raise the cows. Nevermind the abuse to the animals.

 

[ford family]

This is such a bizarre argument. So in order to not kill all the cows, we should keep on mass prodcing cows and kill the cows? These cows aren't just found and killed. It's a horrifying industry in which they are mass produced.

The methane is bad for the environment as well as the land and water needed to raise the cows. Nevermind the abuse to the animals.

There is one thing about this that has always puzzled me. When the Europeans first reached North America we are told there were millions and millions of bison. Over the next few hundred years these were nearly all killed. So the methane producing farm animals of today are simply replacing what was already there and the environmental impact should be, at worst, neutral!

ford family