I try synthetic salmon and enter the “uncanny valley” of taste

However, what I find quite interesting is that the meat substitutes often lack the nutrients, taste, texture, and the overall experience of eating real meat. Yet, they might cost more. Many people talk about substituting our meat consumption long-term with synthetic meats. I can't say we're going in that direction. To me, the substitutes are less long-term replacements and more a method to transition off meat. And I tried a lot of substitutes over the last decade - certainly low hundreds of products; I would like them to be better and I'm looking for the better ones.

I'm not dismissing the industry; I hold it in high regard. Some pricier alternatives come close in terms of taste, smell, and texture. Lab-grown meats are indeed promising, especially in nutrients, but still, they'd cost about $40 a pound, even with a slim profit margin.

Things are changing, though. The price of lab-grown meat is falling rapidly — it was unobtanium a few years ago. So I remain optimistic. Lab-grown could be our future, especially in space diets or in the looming climate crisis on Earth. Perhaps we'll even recycle the... unused... nutrients from these meats, much like how we recycle water in space. Or we could improve their nutrition, create "super-meats", that are healthier than the real thing. The shift away from animal farming might be as revolutionary as the start of farming animals itself, there is potential for this to change our lives very substantially.

We're not entirely there, but the path is clear. In many parts of the world, it's becoming feasible for people to gradually transition off meat using these substitutes, if they choose to.

What causes this revulsion in me I do not know but there is something that triggers a 'this is bad for me' reflex when eating something that's not quite what I expected and as a result I simply can't eat it. But I have zero problems with food just being what it is. Tomatoes, pepper, salt: instant breakfast. Add some garlic and pasta: quick dinner. Of course you can go full vegan and I'm fine with people doing that (or eating meat or fish or fowl), each to their own. But for me it just doesn't work.

A vegan friend of mine always pointedly reminds me that I'm eating 'thin slices of dead animal', but that doesn't bother me as much as eating tofu made to look like meat or fish. Then just give me a simple salad and I'll be fine. Or the real thing, also fine.

A friend of mine (also on HN) built a company around honest vegetarian and vegan food: it is just what is says on the package, no more, no less and they've been very, very careful about proper nutritional value and some balance. That I can get behind.

Fake steak is simply fake. Someone tried to feed me this on a birthday party for a relative recently, it was disgusting.

I'm probably in the minority of meat-eaters, but I care more about these things than taste, texture, or how it cooks. And even then, I care whether it taste good and cooks easy, not whether it tastes and cooks like real meat.

I have only been vegetarian for a short while, and was previously a long time meat lover. I don't need meat substitutes in my life (oyster and king mushrooms are a big love of mine now) and they will never be a basic staple, but it is nice to have the option. If you're at or having a BBQ, it's easy to also grill an Impossible burger for example. I used to love sushi and will occasionally surrender to a spicy scallop roll or something like that, so appreciate having vegan options.

My main reason for becoming a vegetarian is avoiding industrial farming as much as possible, with probably sustainability being the second factor. I don't have an ethical objection to humanely raised (or wild) and humanely slaughtered meat, there are some good sources for that although I don't generally find myself seeking them out.