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Comment by gwbas1c | Hacker News Reader

I married a vegan. We really hate "plant meats."

The issue is that my wife hates the flavor and texture of meat; and the "plant meat" industry is really trying to shove traditional vegan proteins out of the way.

It's a familiar refrain for us to show up at a restaurant that used to have a tasty veggie burger, only to have the staff complain that it's been replaced with a "plant meat" that, to my wife who doesn't like meat, is just gross.

IMO: I think "plant meat" is an idea that's ready to die. I'd rather eat real vegetarian food when I eat plants, and cultivated animal tissue as sustainable meat.

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Completely disagree. I don't eat meat, personally, but purely out of ethical reasons. I love the taste and the mouth feel and the dishes it's usually paired with and I'm glad that there are vegetarian and vegan options that try to replicate this.

I like that you and the parent comment have valid reasons for liking or disliking the same type of food. The article is not about that, its about labeling and the meaning of words.

Which basically means that unless a new word is invented to differentiate between the two types of vegetarian options, then this will lead to more confusion (is this dish on the menu a meat simulation, or a traditional vegetable dish that has its own characteristic and does not try to emulate meat?)

My wife and I are both vegan and we eat all the plant meats. I'm the opposite from you: If I go to a restaurant with a veggie burger and it literally tastes like vegetables I'll probably never go there again. I tried the veggie burger at shake shack, and it's definitely not for me. I go there for the fries only now, until they get a beyond or impossible burger

I like both, but on different days. Sometimes I feel like lentil /mushroom burgers (I am good at making them nicely, but they just don’t have the same texture or taste as meat which is fine; I often like them better than the meat ones) and sometimes I want beyond or impossible or vegetarische slager.

That’s funny, I’m not vegetarian but I like veggie burgers, and the shake shack one is the one I like

I think they have both plant meat and real veggie burgers at different shake shacks, and I always look for the real one

I am not sure why you are vegan in the first place if you are looking for meaty stuff?

Meat tastes good, I'm not gonna lie. I just don't wanna kill animals

>> Meat tastes good, I'm not gonna lie. I just don't wanna kill animals

This is very common. A lot of people just keep that part of the meat industry out of sight, out of mind. I'm not sure which is worse, ignoring the killing or accepting we are omnivores and making substitute foods.

Imagine Hanibal crafting some very convincing plant based fake people :-) I'm not sure that's an argument for or against...

If they develop lab-grown human meat I'll absolutely try it

I'd like to think you're in the minority since everyone in my vegetarian/vegan crowd hates or is neutral to meat-looking/tasting plant food. Of course, it may just be selection bias on my side.

My wife didn't like the taste of meat even before she was a vegan, so probably

Fake vegan meat sometimes manage to mimick the appearance from far away but it never taste like meat.

I am not vegan (and yes I accept we are predators and kill other animal to eat their cadavers), but I also do like some of the vegan substitutes...but for the very reason they taste differently. They don't even taste close, they are all very far and taste closer to a lix of lentils and chickpeas than any meat.

And I don't need them to be named like meat, I am buying them because they are not.

I can't tell the difference between impossible and beef. Vegan sausage also tastes the same to me

I agree. I think a lot of fake-meat options are trying really hard to produce the meat flavour that they end up actually making food that doesn't taste super great, but tastes somewhat close to meat... what I would prefer is food that tastes exceptionally good, even if the cost is that it doesn't taste like meat.

There's not enough pure veggie dishes out there. I've been turning to Indian cuisine because they're the few options that don't have their entire veggie menu be "fake burger, fake hot dog, fake chicken nuggets, salad". It's like we can't conceive of eating a meal unless it has meat in it.

I don't mind "plant meats" too much on occasion. I am a bit frustrated that they've largely displaced all other vegetarian options at restaurants and stores though. Bean/veggie burgers have mostly stopped existing, replaced with obscenely expensive and ultra-processed "plant meat" burgers.

Different strokes for different folks. An idea doesn't need to die because it's not to your taste. Ideally both "pure" veggie burgers and "plant based meat" burgers would be available.

Agreed, there's so much interesting vegetarian cuisine out there to take inspiration from, it's kind of a shame that they fall back to either just plain veggies or imitating meat.

> and the "plant meat" industry is really trying to shove traditional vegan proteins out of the way.

I mean, you can't push beans and tofu out of the way, but you also can't make a big profit on them, so it's natural that companies are investing in highly processed foods; not sure what else you expected? It's great to have options to eat vegan junk food, not everyone wants to eat 100% WFPB every day.

Which brings us to the point of the article; should we be supporting that? Not everyone wants to exercise either, but should we be supportive of that by calling them "motivationally challenged individuals"?

Maybe a more rational, objective argument against "plant meats" is that they are usually heavily processed food. Once in a while, they are unlikely to make any problem, but as a daily staple it's not ideal, health wise.

I think there's absolutely a place for imitation meat amongst ethics- or eco-conscious consumers who enjoy the flavor and feel of it.

However, as an omnivore myself, I have no interest in the imitations I've tried— Beyond's fake beef has an oily odor that is extremely off-putting to me. When I want a hamburger, I want beef, and if I don't want beef then I'll have a falafel sandwich or tempe or roasted zucchini or slices of crisped up tofu or whatever other "authentically" vegetarian options.

I personally agree with you -- as a vegetarian I'd rather eat a great black bean burger than some highly processed industrial fake meat product -- but I don't think plant based meats are going anywhere. Most people have no problem eating highly processed foods, and a lot even want that texture and flavor. People are out here drinking oat-flavored canola oil, and paying extra for it, after all.

What if widespread production and consumption of "plant meat" significantly reduced the production and consumption of animal products? Wouldn't that be an acceptable tradeoff for not getting your favorite veggie burger?

As someone with a beef allergy I love plant meat patties. I'm probably the sole person buying them.

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