Plant-based meat alternatives are eco-friendlier and mostly healthier, study finds

31 comments

1. A study carried out by the Food Foundation. Whose aims are to dramatically reduce meat eating and get us consuming vegetables instead.

   https://foodfoundation.org.uk/what-we-do

   In the US they eat 40% less red meat than they did in the 1970’s. While diabetes has increased 500%

2. I don’t enjoy fake meat as the texture is all wrong. They should invest in vegetables and grains instead which can make lovely meals without pretending to be meat.

3. Well this will get the insecure, vegan obsessed carnivores frothing…

   And before you get all anti-vegan on me, I eat meat.

4. Beyond burgers and Richmond’s vegan sausages are insanely good.

   None of the icky gross parts of the animal involved.

5. I’d be delighted to eat a plant-based burger if it hit like a real one. I don’t think they’re quite there yet but they do seem to be getting closer.

6. I miss the days of getting a good spicy bean burger in a pub. Now everything is impossible, or beyond, or some other attempt to imitate meat.

   I don’t begrudge the new menu items, just wish they were in addition to offering vegan/vegetarian options rather than a replacement.

   Same in supermarkets to be honest – the quality and availability of bean burgers is frankly appalling these days. Some places offer very few options, and then there’s Aldi who sell every item you could possibly want, all crammed into one freezer section.

7. People should know, this is a white paper. It hasn’t gone through a peer review process for one. Two such studies should really come with a disclaimer stating they are based on a current snapshot in time. I’m all for reducing harm to the environment but I wager mass adoption would tilt the scale the other way.

8. Higher in salt and considerably lower in protein (if you read the actual report) is hardly what I’d call *mostly healthier*. It’s mostly healthier to eat beans and grains – but the processed fake meat shit ain’t *good* for you. It’s no worse, but it’s not healthier.

9. I am a meat eater but I think this is great, especially for vegetarians and vegans who still desire something with that flavour profile. Never got why some people get so worked up about it.

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11. Except they are all made with pea protein which my kid is allergic to lol.

12. If only they could get them tasting as nice! Some don’t taste that bad, some are pretty rancid.

13. I would say the majority of people rank their food choices by:

    1. Taste / enjoyment factor

    2. Price

    3. Societal norms

    4. Health

    5. Ethics (environmental/animal rights etc)

    Until the first 2 are perceived and experienced as higher in eco-friendlier choices, there won’t be the mass societal changes that are argued necessary by Vegans and climate activists etc.

14. I’ll never understand why people seem to get genuinely irritated and upset over people choosing a meat-free alternative of a burger or a sausage.

    It’s genuinely weird to me whenever I see it.

15. While I don’t object to the study, or its aims, I do think it’s funny that the Guardian goes from “studies saying a glass of wine a day has health benefits were biased because they were commissioned by the alcohol industry” one week, to factually presenting a study by an organisation clearly dedicated to promoting the same products the study promotes the next. Almost like click bait studies of all kinds are par for the course during a slow news week.

    Don’t disagree with the point behind the study, and not actively conflating both studies (one is harmful, the other isn’t necessarily harmful), just think it’s funny.

16. Great to hear. I rarely buy meat alternatives because I was under the impression they were worse for the environment so I’ll definitely start getting them worked into the diet.

    Just to second other commenter though, beyond burger are class.

17. Beyond Burger ingredients:

    > Water, pea protein* (15%), rapeseed oil, flavouring, rice protein, coconut oil, dried yeast, preservative (potassium lactate), vinegar, stabilisers (methyl cellulose, calcium chloride), potato starch, salt, apple extract, colour (beetroot red), concentrated pomegranate juice, potassium salt.

    Beef burger ingredients:

    > 85% Beef Mince 15% Beef Fat

18. That sounds great but usually the taste and the price are more relevant – perhaps that’s just me. 

19. Can some please link the study in question? Thank you.

20. Why does something have to pretend to be something they are not to be enjoyed, are they on a dating ap also?

21. a lot of fake meat negativity in here – couldn’t be me. I’ve never understood the argument that if it looks and tastes like meat then you may as well just be eating meat, or that vegetarians/vegans don’t want their food to taste meaty. I love meat! I just can’t eat it because it was an animal

22. Avoid processed food… unless it’s mock-meat.

    I was veggie for about 5 years. I’m shit in the kitchen so relied on plant-alternatives but it felt all I was eating was processed food. I gained 25kg over that time 😂

    Vegetarian is a great option if you eat fresh and have time / enjoy to cook. If you don’t I wouldn’t recommend it.

23. Ah yes, a study produced by the innocuously named “Food Foundation”, whose aim is *”A permanent shift in the food system in favour of higher veg consumption”*, and decries the amount of meat in ready meals.

    So that would be an anti-meat report made by an organisation pushing a vegan diet. Hardly an unbiased source.

24. and the same price if not more than meat. I eat lots of meat alternatives but it pisses me right off. Where is the incentive to go meat free? I’m not talking about making meals from scratch which I do a lot I’m talking about stuff that’s convenient because sometimes I can’t be arsed cooking from scratch.

25. I still eat meat but have one vegan meal a day, when I finally discovered how to make nice tasting cheese sause I felt like a god.

26. Not vegan but I try to limit my meat consumption to a couple of meals a month. I like a lot of vegan options, some are actually better than meat (if you think about what you are eating it should ick you). There is the misconception that some meat alternatives are unhealthy and there is a lot of misinformation

27. Moving Mountains No Fish Fingers are great, I don’t eat fish, but I’ll eat these, with the added bonus of not feeling guilty.

28. There’s some good alternatives to meat out there, can depend though as there’s also some bloody awful excuses for vegetarian too.

    Thing is not every veggie option has to be a replacement for meat, I’d much rather places try just straight vegetarian meals instead of “this is pretending to be” stuff, or at the very least both options.

29. The study is quite pissy though. Its plant based vs ultra prosessed meat. Thats a different topic than meat vs plant based… those two are quite different. A clean steak vs plant based is just as healthy, but ground beef is not.

30. Do plants help to keep hair healthy because I don’t want my hair to thin because of a plant as I like having thick hair and I’m trying to grow it fast. past my breasts and that hasn’t happened yet which sucks.

31. I’m a meat eater and honestly if the alternatives are as good then I could quite happily transition over