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Comment by SupaFlyak | Hacker News Reader

Do vegan/vegetarians really want something that reminds them of meat products? Why not just make a good meat-free sandwich that doesn't imitate another product?

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I'm not a vegan/vegetarian but I want this product. I'm concerned about the environmental cost of raising beef cattle and I'd like a better option. My family has already cut down our red meat consumption. We use ground turkey and chicken quite a bit. I still want the ability to grill a good steak once a month, but I'd love to use some of this ground meat in pasta sauces, taco's etc.

By the by, most of the original takes on cattle emissions were fatally flawed and retracted by their authors. It appears that US meat consumption represents about 3.9% of US emissions. That number is still falling as we get more efficient with our animal husbandry.

That depends on the person, but most of the vegans/vegetarians I know are not vegan/vegetarian because they are disgusted by the product, but because they have ethical concerns about the process that created it. If they can get the same taste experience without the ethical concerns, that's a net win.

It depends a lot on the person. I know vegetarians who are disgusted by anything like meat and hate the Impossible Burger because it's too close to meat. For me, though, I've been vegetarian for a few years and I have fond memories of tasty beef burgers. I've been hoping to get that experience back (without sacrificing the ethical and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet), so an excellent meat-like veggie burger creates nostalgia, not just a good meal.

Definitely! I'm a vegetarian (not vegan) and I don't like Impossible Burger. It is just too "real". They use beets to make the burger red and "juicier". My local burger place offers Impossible Burger as an option, but they charge an extra $4 over a beef burger. I like Beyond Meat a lot, though.

I've been vegan for 8+ years and am a fan of the Impossible Burger. I'm vegan for ethical reasons but certainly remember how good burgers/cheese/etc. tasted, so the closer vegan alternatives can get, the better!

The Impossible Burger is designed to replace meat. Selling to vegans is the opposite of what they want, their goal is to sell to meat eaters. That's quite literally why the guy started the company.

Do vegan/vegetarians really want something that reminds them of meat products?

Eh? I'm MidWest American, I was raised eating meat. It grew in our backyard. I know what bacon tastes like, I know what a burger tastes like: it tastes good. But for a whole list of reasons, I don't eat meat anymore. I would very much like to be reminded of a fat, juicy patty of ground animal muscle.

Because it isn't just for vegan/vegetarians. I love meat, but as I have become more aware of the implications of a meat based diet, its hard for me to justify my food choices. I would love a plant based product that tastes like meat without the health, environmental, and ethical problems associated with the real thing.

I'm a vegetarian, but I don't like bell peppers, kale, quinoa, raw tomato, mustard, dill, vinegar, and mayo (vegan or not). I like apples and spinach but they do not like me.

This still leaves plenty of options for a sandwich, but then I have to worry about buying produce and keeping it fresh. The more variety in what I buy, the bigger the hassle.

Augmentmenting a smaller amount of fresh produce with (freezable) fake meats gives me a lot more options, not to mention the benefits when I eat out (take away bell peppers and most veggie options on the menu vanish)

Plenty of vegetarians/vegans agree with you. Plenty of us do not.

While there are a lot of really delicious meals that can be made without any meat or attempting to imitate meat (Indian cuisine is really good at it), there's a lot of culture in food. I'm from Wisconsin and summer grill outs just don't feel right without beer and bratwursts (or some fair approximation), for instance.

A product like this is primarily for people who already eat beef, who may be wanting to cut back on their meat consumption. Most vegetarians/vegans I know would never bother trying a product like this.

The product isn't for vegetarians.

I'm not personally a vegetarian but my partner is.

I like the meat substitutes because it gives me that nice umami and chewiness I do not get out of a lot of vegetarian dishes.

Meat sets off pleasant, primal signals in the brain. Having a vegan dish that can replace that is good in my opinion.

I'm not vegetarian and love these types of products.

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