Cracker Barrel adds Impossible meatless sausage - some customers go apoplectic

[igrsod]

When your family started eating more vegan meals, what was the reason?

Everyone was different. Here they are in the order that we all became vegetarian/vegan.

Son: wanted to challenge himself... then it turned into ethical and environmental reasons
(we thought he would last a day or two as he was a carnivore, it's been 8 years now)

Myself: didn't really like meat, it had to be fat, skin and grissel free and way overdone for me to eat it. I became vegetarian as a way to bribe my now vegan son to keep his room clean...lol Everytime he let it slip, I would threaten to eat a chicken. It worked. Overall it was an easy transition for me as I realized that anyone that had to do what I had to do to eat meat didn't really like it in the first place. (7 years for me)

Husband: at the beginning of Covid, he read some studies suggesting that vegans were faring better in battling covid due to better immune systems. He thought well why not give it a try, nothing to lose. As the pandemic dragged on longer than he initially thought it would, he decided that he missed meat and wanted to eat it again. But low and behold to his surprise he realized that the joint pain and inflammation he had before returned. He didn't even realize that a veg diet would help with his joints. SOOOO despite his love of meat, he now eats 99% vegetarian...once in a while he sneaks in a bit of seafood or duck. (2 years)

Daughter: wants to live a healthy lifestyle. She doesn't want to end up overweight and diabetic like many people who eat a "traditional" North American diet. She eats no processed foods, dairy or animal products. Only veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains etc. (1 year)

None of us regret our decisions at all. And we never push it on anyone. Everyone has to make their own decisions for their own body and health.

That said, I'm glad that more restaurants are offering options for us veggie eaters.

 

[Mysterian]

I’m not the poster you’ve directed the question to, but as a vegetarian, I don’t think it’s always as black and white as you’re trying to portray it.

I choose not to eat meat, but there are times when a meat substitute just works. Impossible ground meat allows me to make my mom’s meatloaf recipe. The fake burgers allow me to participate in a cookout without looking or feeling like a special snowflake. (If we host, you would have no idea that the burger on my bun isn’t the same as what is on your bun). These aren’t things we eat every day, but it is nice to have as an option.

I certainly know that an Apple is healthier for me and better for the environment, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have Ben & Jerry’s on occasion.

Thank you for your response. That's definitely a new alternate option: you choose the meat substitute to follow a particular recipe and participate in a cookout. I imagine there are even those that eat the fake meat for social purposes: Person A dates Person B, who comes from a vegan family, and Person A eats a fake burger to fit in with said family.

That said, my response was to those that carp on about the environment and gloss over the idea that there are many people who choose the meat substitute option because they view it as "healthier" eating. And under this topic of Cracker Barrel, yeah I'm very dubious that a Cracker Barrel frequenter is going to try a fake sausage because of the environment.

 

[Mysterian]

Everyone was different. Here they are in the order that we all became vegetarian/vegan.

Son: wanted to challenge himself... then it turned into ethical and environmental reasons
(we thought he would last a day or two as he was a carnivore, it's been 8 years now)

Myself: didn't really like meat, it had to be fat, skin and grissel free and way overdone for me to eat it. I became vegetarian as a way to bribe my now vegan son to keep his room clean...lol Everytime he let it slip, I would threaten to eat a chicken. It worked. Overall it was an easy transition for me as I realized that anyone that had to do what I had to do to eat meat didn't really like it in the first place. (7 years for me)

Husband: at the beginning of Covid, he read some studies suggesting that vegans were faring better in battling covid due to better immune systems. He thought well why not give it a try, nothing to lose. As the pandemic dragged on longer than he initially thought it would, he decided that he missed meat and wanted to eat it again. But low and behold to his surprise he realized that the joint pain and inflammation he had before returned. He didn't even realize that a veg diet would help with his joints. SOOOO despite his love of meat, he now eats 99% vegetarian...once in a while he sneaks in a bit of seafood or duck. (2 years)

Daughter: wants to live a healthy lifestyle. She doesn't want to end up overweight and diabetic like many people who eat a "traditional" North American diet. She eats no processed foods, dairy or animal products. Only veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains etc. (1 year)

None of us regret our decisions at all. And we never push it on anyone. Everyone has to make their own decisions for their own body and health.

That said, I'm glad that more restaurants are offering options for us veggie eaters.

Thank you!

 

[Mysterian]

Yes. Turkey sausage is no longer an option (at least where we ate). I did email feedback to CB about our awesome waitress and mentioned the sausage issue. If they want to keep the impossible option, that's great for those folks who want it. Just bring the turkey sausage back.

Whoa. See, none of the articles about this mentioned replacing the sausage, just adding the fake sausage as an option. Was the real sausage completely off the menu at your CB?

 

[Mysterian]

Impossible isn't going for healthy. They're trying to mimic meat with a hope that it is less resource intensive than real meat.

From Impossible's own website. I wonder if they make Impossible Crow? Because some folks will be eating that for dinner:

"Health and safety have always been core to our mission. We don't just want to make meat differently -- we want to make it better. That's why Impossible Burger is made with ingredients that are nutritious and delicious:"

"Both Impossible Burger and 80/20 beef are excellent sources of protein and plentiful sources of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals."

https://impossiblefoods.com/blog/is-impossible-burger-healthy


Dear NBC: be sure to use that bit about eating crow, I think that will be a good quip for the nightly news anchors as well.

 

[Moliphino]

From Impossible's own website. I wonder if they make Impossible Crow? Because some folks will be eating that for dinner:

"Health and safety have always been core to our mission. We don't just want to make meat differently -- we want to make it better. That's why Impossible Burger is made with ingredients that are nutritious and delicious:"

"Both Impossible Burger and 80/20 beef are excellent sources of protein and plentiful sources of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals."

https://impossiblefoods.com/blog/is-impossible-burger-healthy


Dear NBC: be sure to use that bit about eating crow, I think that will be a good quip for the nightly news anchors as well.

Oh they definitely want people to think it's healthier than meat.

 

[HopperFan]

I think it's more a "culture war" issue. For many Cracker Barrel seems to be seen as perhaps a last bastion of unabashedly old-school dining and "southern values". And frankly some of the backlash over this is political. Not necessarily partisan per se, but still political. Over the years Cracker Barrel has done things that they felt (rightly or wrongly) were in tune with their customer base including firing gay workers or discriminating against black customers.

https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2004/May/04_crt_288.htm​

The Justice Department’s complaint alleges that Cracker Barrel violated Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African-American customers and prospective customers on the basis of their race or color. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Cracker Barrel:​

​

- allowed white servers to refuse to wait on African-American customers;​

​

- segregated customer seating by race;​

​

- seated white customers before African-American customers who arrived earlier;​

​

- provided inferior service to African-American customers after they were seated; and​

​

- treated African-Americans who complained about the quality of Cracker Barrel's food or service less favorably than white customers who lodged similar complaints.​

​

https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/28/us/company-ousts-gay-workers-then-reconsiders.html​

But earlier this year the chain of restaurants, based in Lebanon, Tenn., adopted a hiring policy that belied the meaning of the sign. It said it would no longer employ homosexuals, and at least nine gay employees were dismissed.​

​

Dan Evins, chairman of the company, was quoted today in The Tennessean in Nashville as saying the policy had been rescinded. But workers who had been dismissed, like Cheryl Summerville, said they had heard nothing about that.​

​

Ms. Summerville, a 32-year-old lesbian who worked here as a cook for more than three years, said sympathetic managers had advised her to be quiet about her sexual preferences, stay in the kitchen and wait for things to blow over.​

​

"They said they didn't really want to fire me," she said, "because the policy was really aimed at effeminate men and women who have masculine traits who might be working as waiters or waitresses.​

I refused to eat at CB because of this - I had no access to them in their first couple decades with the other stuff happening. I did not eat at one until about 2008 and only because it was the only restaurant at the exit I was gathering my college kid. I probably ate there again in 2016 and since maybe a dozen times. Breakfast is good and by us it is pretty empty on weekdays.

 

[igrsod]

Everyone was different. Here they are in the order that we all became vegetarian/vegan.

Son: wanted to challenge himself... then it turned into ethical and environmental reasons
(we thought he would last a day or two as he was a carnivore, it's been 8 years now)

Myself: didn't really like meat, it had to be fat, skin and grissel free and way overdone for me to eat it. I became vegetarian as a way to bribe my now vegan son to keep his room clean...lol Everytime he let it slip, I would threaten to eat a chicken. It worked. Overall it was an easy transition for me as I realized that anyone that had to do what I had to do to eat meat didn't really like it in the first place. (7 years for me)

Husband: at the beginning of Covid, he read some studies suggesting that vegans were faring better in battling covid due to better immune systems. He thought well why not give it a try, nothing to lose. As the pandemic dragged on longer than he initially thought it would, he decided that he missed meat and wanted to eat it again. But low and behold to his surprise he realized that the joint pain and inflammation he had before returned. He didn't even realize that a veg diet would help with his joints. SOOOO despite his love of meat, he now eats 99% vegetarian...once in a while he sneaks in a bit of seafood or duck. (2 years)

Daughter: wants to live a healthy lifestyle. She doesn't want to end up overweight and diabetic like many people who eat a "traditional" North American diet. She eats no processed foods, dairy or animal products. Only veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains etc. (1 year)

None of us regret our decisions at all. And we never push it on anyone. Everyone has to make their own decisions for their own body and health.

That said, I'm glad that more restaurants are offering options for us veggie eaters.

Just as a quick little aside. These are two pictures of my daughter and I at Disney a few years apart. The difference in her health from making different food choices is amazing.

 

[HopperFan]

Just as a quick little aside. These are two pictures of my daughter and I at Disney a few years apart. The difference in her health from making different food choices is amazing.


View attachment 691042View attachment 691043

AMAZING!!!

 

[CGB]

Whoa. See, none of the articles about this mentioned replacing the sausage, just adding the fake sausage as an option. Was the real sausage completely off the menu at your CB?

Yes. DH was ordering and asked for the turkey sausage specifically. The waitress informed us it was no longer available because the impossible sausage had replaced it. As we expressed our disappointment, she admitted a lot of her customers weren't happy about it.

 

[goofyernmost]

I disagree. It looks and tastes like sausage. The milk industry hasn't gotten very far with that logic and almond, oat milk, etc.

That is mostly because most of the meats we eat get their unique taste from the seasoning, cooking or preservation technique that is used to create it. That why ham doesn't taste like a pork chop. Wouldn't it be funny if people really think that you can get milk from an almond?

 

[bcla]

From Impossible's own website. I wonder if they make Impossible Crow? Because some folks will be eating that for dinner:

"Health and safety have always been core to our mission. We don't just want to make meat differently -- we want to make it better. That's why Impossible Burger is made with ingredients that are nutritious and delicious:"

"Both Impossible Burger and 80/20 beef are excellent sources of protein and plentiful sources of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals."

https://impossiblefoods.com/blog/is-impossible-burger-healthy


Dear NBC: be sure to use that bit about eating crow, I think that will be a good quip for the nightly news anchors as well.

"Nutritious" is not the same as "healthy". By using coconut oil, they have similar levels of saturated fats as ground beef. But what they're saying is that it's similar to the nutrition profile of beef. Perhaps a little bit less harmful to health than beef, but not necessarily healthy. They're trying to replace beef or other meats and not replace healthier options. Their CEO (Pat Brown) has said as much.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/21/impossible-ceo-on-criticism-that-plant-based-meat-is-unhealthy.html​

But such critics are missing the point, according to Brown: “Our product is substantially better for the consumer than what it replaces,” he tells CNBC Make It.​

​

“What it replaces is a burger made from a cow, not a kale salad. So, if you’re saying this is not like the ultimate ‘superfood,’ you’re right,” he says. “But it’s intended to be a product that is healthier for the consumer than a burger made from a cow [and] better for the planet than a burger made from a cow. And for many consumers, more delicious.​

 

[Mysterian]

Oh they definitely want people to think it's healthier than meat.

 

[T.G.I.Friday]

From Impossible's own website. I wonder if they make Impossible Crow? Because some folks will be eating that for dinner:

"Health and safety have always been core to our mission. We don't just want to make meat differently -- we want to make it better. That's why Impossible Burger is made with ingredients that are nutritious and delicious:"

"Both Impossible Burger and 80/20 beef are excellent sources of protein and plentiful sources of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals."

https://impossiblefoods.com/blog/is-impossible-burger-healthy


Dear NBC: be sure to use that bit about eating crow, I think that will be a good quip for the nightly news anchors as well.

I’m not looking to get into a deep debate, but health encompasses much more than calories/saturated fat. Factory farms use of antibiotics and hormones is something that is important to some, and the choice to avoid meat from one of those farms is a decision tied to health.

But I do admit the ‘plant based’ moniker lends to a healthier perception, I’m sure.

 

[bcla]

That is mostly because most of the meats we eat get their unique taste from the seasoning, cooking or preservation technique that is used to create it. That why ham doesn't taste like a pork chop. Wouldn't it be funny if people really think that you can get milk from an almond?

Beef has an actual flavor. Chicken does, but we wouldn't be able to tell with the common white broilers that were bred for the two things consumers think they want - large legs and breast meat. And often the best cuts of beef for flavor are the tough portions with connective tissue that can be really tough unless it's slow cooked for hours or cooked at higher temps under pressure. A burger with a good amount of chuck is going to have a lot more flavor than a piece of filet mignon. Of course we get around that with copious amounts seasonings.

What Impossible did for their beef-replacement burgers is to try and replicate the "heme" that bleeds when one bites into an undercooked burger. That required genetic modifications to yeast to get them to make it. They apparently started extracting it from soybean roots, but it was easier to genetically engineer yeast to make it.

https://impossiblefoods.com/heme

 

[Mysterian]

"Nutritious" is not the same as "healthy". By using coconut oil, they have similar levels of saturated fats as ground beef. But what they're saying is that it's similar to the nutrition profile of beef. Perhaps a little bit less harmful to health than beef, but not necessarily healthy. They're trying to replace beef or other meats and not replace healthier options. Their CEO (Pat Brown) has said as much.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/21/impossible-ceo-on-criticism-that-plant-based-meat-is-unhealthy.html​

But such critics are missing the point, according to Brown: “Our product is substantially better for the consumer than what it replaces,” he tells CNBC Make It.​

​

“What it replaces is a burger made from a cow, not a kale salad. So, if you’re saying this is not like the ultimate ‘superfood,’ you’re right,” he says. “But it’s intended to be a product that is healthier for the consumer than a burger made from a cow [and] better for the planet than a burger made from a cow. And for many consumers, more delicious.​

BCLA: Health is not their concern, it's the environment.
Impossible's site: "Health and safety have always been core to our mission."

Here's those Vox article quotes again, trimmed down:

Why people eat plant-based meat​

Health, the environment, and animal welfare are all cited as major reasons why.

And other surveys have found that questions about our food habits in particular are intensely subject to desirability biases, where people claim they’re cutting back on unhealthy foods and eating more of healthy ones...regardless of whether the facts match.

Ok, naysayers, so nobody's eating the substitute because they believe it's healthy? The article shows how there's a predominant public perception that plant-based meat is "healthier".

^"Cutting back on unhealthy goods and eating more healthy ones."
My words: "Predominant Public perception that plant-based meat is "healthier'".

But I do admit the ‘plant based’ moniker lends to a healthier perception, I’m sure.

Bingo!

 

[_19disnA]

Probably why I don't bother with any social media sites. Every week I seem to read articles about whatever that crowd now wants to be 'outraged' about .........LOL. Who cares what new choices some restaurant adds to their menu? No one ever eats every item on any restaurant menu during a single visit. If you don't like this new offering.................news flash...............order something else !!!!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Probably why I don't bother with any social media sites.

Except of course the one with your favorite onion.

 

[mrodgers]

That is mostly because most of the meats we eat get their unique taste from the seasoning, cooking or preservation technique that is used to create it. That why ham doesn't taste like a pork chop. Wouldn't it be funny if people really think that you can get milk from an almond?

That is true with today's grocery store meats with the industrial production line style farming. Eat good meat though and it's totally different. Rather than season for flavor and taste, you now season for enhancement because the meat itself has the flavor and taste.

Chicken from Purdue or Tyson for example, or anything from the grocery store, the big huge fat over a pound sized chicken breast and it's nothing but a giant flavorless chunk of rubber used as a marinate carrier. Butcher one of your own backyard chickens or get it off the local farmer, completely different ball game.

 

[mrodgers]

Probably why I don't bother with any social media sites. Every week I seem to read articles about whatever that crowd now wants to be 'outraged' about .........LOL. Who cares what new choices some restaurant adds to their menu? No one ever eats every item on any restaurant menu during a single visit. If you don't like this new offering.................news flash...............order something else !!!!

I would agree except that others have confirmed that it wasn't a choice added. It was a choice that replaced another choice such that if I am on a travel trip as that is part of us traveling, we always go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, and I'm expecting to get the sausage I always get on these special outings, it would tick me off if it was replaced by something like this, I have no other way to describe it, I've tried a bite and you can taste it's all it is, chemical concoction.

For me personally, it doesn't affect me at all I think because I would never get turkey sausage. It would be regular pork sausage, not something anyone has mentioned as of yet. Only specifically the turkey sausage.