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Comment by _fat_santa | Hacker News Reader

IMO I think fake meat is a fad. The lab grown stuff that is technically real meat isn't economically viable and "Beyond Meat" has a real uncanny valley taste. A few years ago I was at the airport and decided to get a "Beyond Whopper" at burger king. It was a wired thing to eat because it almost tasted real, but you could tell it wasn't the real thing, since then I've never bought one.

And I use this example because I think in end, it's really the consumer that decides, and they won't buy it. Beyond meat sounds fantastic on paper, trust me I was hyped for it back when it first announced. But that first burger just killed it for me, and I think it will for many consumers.

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My experience is the polar opposite. I quit eating meat a few years ago for ethical reasons after learning more about the industry (fun fact, when widespread animal abuse and unsafe, unsanitary conditions were revealed to be common across the meat processing industry, rather than crack down on the companies or introduce reforms, many midwestern states instead created laws making it a felony for employees to record their working conditions, the treatment of animals or the handling of meat. Literally protecting the abusers by outlawing whistleblowing).

Ordering a classic "veggie" burger at a restaurant, often some sort of bean/mushroom/lentil/whatever amalgam was clearly a massively different product than a beef burger. I thought of it less as a true "substitute" and more of just an acceptable thing to eat. The introduction of beyond meat has been a huge game changer for me. I probably eat 4+ servings of beyond meat products per week now and don't miss meat from my diet at all.

We must be brothers from another mother. ;)

Thankfully, some of these anti-whistleblower laws been overturned by the courts, under the 1st Amendment. I've also heard of some folks being arrested for animal cruelty once the videos got out, but unfortunately it's been the minimal wage workers instead of the owners. It's kinda ironic: you beat your dog and your neighbor sees you, you're gonna get arrested (I think every state/county in the country has anti-animal cruelty laws).

But if millions of cows/pigs/chickens get punched, castrated, thrown, etc., it's ok, because it's not on video and people just don't wanna know. Interesting how the "local" and "organic" labels have become super popular and charge a premium, but Raised Humanely isn't, at least not yet. IMHO, people just don't wanna know.

Some people (my mother-in-law) actually prefers Beyond Burgers to real burgers. I bet it depends on the cooking: you always grill my Beyond Burgers and everyone always loves 'em.

I still remember during the early days of the internet when I watched a 320x240 video of a live pig, tied down and being burned alive by a blow torch. Still remember it, 20 years later.

Note, I actually support fishing and hunting. Especially here in the northeast USA, where there's too many deer because we killed all their predators (bears, coyotes, wolves, etc.). And now they're eating entire forests and getting struck by cars.

And US government bans selling hunted deer meat (venison). I don't understand...

It’s wild that you’re saying it’s a fad when the impediments to it are cost, flavor, and texture, all of which have been improving at breakneck pace over the last few years. Meanwhile the impediments to actual animal meat are things like: running out of arable land. Running out of water. Antibiotic resistance. Climate awareness. Animal welfare awareness. Etc, all becoming worse problems at similarly breakneck speeds.

I see these two trend lines and arrive at the opposite conclusion: animal meat is certainly on its way out.

Edit: Also, Beyond Meat is really not great, in my opinion. Impossible however is quite good! I really enjoy meat and one of the best burgers I've ever had (incl. beef burgers) was Impossible from now defunct NYC restaurant Saxon + Parole. If you haven't, I'd also recommend trying seitan. It's not new and flashy and doesn't really try to be mistaken for meat so much as just be a pretty good substitute for it. The nutrition profile on seitan is outrageously good and the price, texture, flavor are all very palatable these days, especially in the right dishes.

The trick (and this remains to be seen), is that lab meat is expected to become cheaper than animal meat eventually, and consumers will then prefer a $5 beyond burger to a $10 cow burger.

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