Why is everyone eating boneless fish and meatless Steak?
6
21st century 'man' can be better than the god of the bible by not treating the planet as disposible. And, way better if we treat lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders as fellow humans.
18
Whole food contains the best nutrition not Frankenfish. Just because you can make fake fish in the lab doesn't mean it's healthy.
18
@Jacquie its not frankenfish. Its a fish-tasting vegetarian product. The 'fish' you currently buy are likely either farm raised in hellish conditions or are genetically modified living animals, which much more closely fits my definition of 'frankenfish'
64
To the author: I wanted to point out that "Mr." Pat Brown is in fact Dr. Pat Brown, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Stanford, member of the National Academy of Science and National Academy of Medicine, AAAS Fellow, and former HHMI investigator. Just think he deserves to have his appropriate title of "Dr." included.
59
Wonderful! Now we will be able to fill the oceans with our overflowing garbage, kill everything in the oceans and still be able to eat fish (or something that tastes like fish).
Ain't technology and human ingenuity grand?
14
Boneless, Fishless . . . and Tasteless.
10
@Tom you umm...haven't tried it. In fact, for many of us, its much more enjoyable without the ethical concerns
31
We are being sold even more processed food.
Just because it can be done does not make it a good thing.
Whole food is for whole people.
Common sense.
We need to be spending all this time, knowledge and money on saving our planet! If we are not around to be Big Ag's guinea pigs, they will go out of business! (tongue in cheek!) Then how will they make more and more and more money!
9
I periodically ask my friends whether people would stop killing animals if alternatives tasted the same and cost only, say, 30% more than meat from slaughterhouses. How about 20% more? 5%?
I believe we'll see this happen over the next 10 years, and I look forward to seeing the point that we as a culture decide there is no longer a need to kill animals for food.
51
Serve this stuff in school lunches. Hungry kids will eat anything.
7
@Richard Winchester go back to Iowa
5
I have a problem with “Fish Free Tuna” and Beef Free Steak”.
I don’t have a problem with “Synthetic Food Designed to Taste like Tuna or Beef”.
What’s next synthetic credit cards: “Value Free Money”?
1
@Glenn Woodruff We've already got that!
8
As long as it's processed and fried.. Americans will have no problem devouring it...
5
America could care less about what their food “is”? We live in a nation that regularly eats doritos tacos and cheetos chicken. and who knows whats in a nugget. Of course we’ll eat lab meat. we slurp Gatorade goo.
13
The challenge of anthropogenic global warming -- which, as I understand it, is the primary non-religious argument for not eating meat -- is the result of the quadrupling of the human population in little over a century combined with the democratization of material expectations in the same period. In other words, there's a lot more people who believe it is their right (not just goal) to have more stuff.
Unless and until we address that situation, recycling beer bottles and eating factory-produced food is merely putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound. Unfortunately, none of our so-called leaders or those who aspire to be such are addressing the issue, let alone proposing viable solutions.
21
Except for the few who have medical issues with eating meat and those who choose for personal reasons to not eat meat, this is just another corporate-hyped fad. Indicative is the fact that all these products are self-consciously labelled as meat alternatives. They are "nothing" in and of themselves. Look at the labeling. Almost invariably it will have the word "meat" in there. "Beyond Meat", non-meat, beefless, "not meat", "chickenless, etc. Many vegetarian restaurants even call the dishes with the meat term figuring once they say they are a vegetarian restaurant, it's OK to say on the menu "Kung Pao Beef."
Unless and until the industry -- and it is an industry -- comes up with products that are not meat implied, it will remain a fad, and one largely for those who can afford it.
In addition, the human body has evolved to utilize natural food, including meat. So far there is no evidence to show that these artificial products are supplying the necessary balance of nutrition in bioavailable forms, as well as not supplying combinations that are cumulatively toxic to your body in one way or another.
As to claims of products being inherently virtuous or beneficial because they are natural, organic, or plant based, I would simply note that coal is all of these.
Words, especially labeling, matter a great deal. Be careful, or pretty soon people will create a term called "alternative facts" and claim it makes sense or, with a straight face, call "anti-abortion" "right to life."
13
@Steve Fankuchen the primary argument for not eating meat has (and always has been) against the killing of animals. It's an ethical case against controlling, abusing, and slaughtering others. Vegetarianism waaaaaaay predates climate change.
34
As a plant-based partisan now, I still miss the taste of a Burger King Double Whopper. I tried the Impossible Burger a couple months ago and found it equally good.
Nutritionally, it is not nearly as bad as the animal-based product, but the full package is still not impressive. I hope they'll work on it, and improve it. I'm not ready to indulge my yen again, but I will at some point, and anyone who wants to improve their carnivore diet should definitely give it a road test.
Skip the cheese tho. Dairy is as unhealthy as meat.
9
It's commendable that Burger King offers the meatless option. I would wager that all of its customers don't care where their meat comes from as long as it tastes like a burger. That's the brilliance of Impossible Burger brand, if you ask me. Why not do the same with fish?
18
Virtually all the "faux meat" products I'm aware of are very high in sodium. I wish the manufacturers would address this problem and come up with low-sodium options. I've found this to be a problem in vegan and vegetarian restaurants as well--a very heavy hand with salt.
17
@Richard
Have you looked at the nutrition info for Impossible Burger? It is comparable in sodium to raw ground beef.
12
if these can be produced so as to be non-allergenic for people with seafood allergies that would be great.
A good substitute for anchovies, shrimp, fish sauce, etc for cooking and for commercially produced condiments (looking at you, kimchi and Caesar dressing) would be most welcome even if we didn’t want to eat mock tuna sandwiches.
3
I am a vegetarian and almost completely vegan. I love the Beyond Burger and Beyond sausage, they have fantastic flavors. What I object to is the packaging. My entire reason for going veggie are for humane reasons and for environmental reason. If the packaging of these products is all plastic, the manufacturers have undone any good they attempt in making meatless option.
BUt I applaud the effort. we all need to transition to plant based diets if we have any humanity or want a future for those beings, people and all other forms of life.
42
If you look carefully at the price tags for the Good Catch "Tuna", it costs $1.51 per ounce. That's $24.16 per pound. While I realize our fisheries are being depleted, fish-less fish at these prices will have a hard time competing with the real thing. I don't buy sushi grade Ahi tuna because of the depletion in fishery stocks, but if I wanted to buy some, it usually sells around here for about $20 per pound.
4
@R.F. It seems reasonable that this would be the case for a new, innovative product, and if it catches on, you'd expect that price to come down with volume production and competition.
16
@R.F. - Sushi grade tuna is $13.99/lb at Costco.
@Joseph
Sushi grade tuna at Costco...
That’s just a weird concept in itself
13
Except for the few who have medical issues with eating meat and those who choose for personal reasons to not eat meat, this is just another corporate-hyped fad. Indicative is the fact that all these products are self-consciously labelled as meat alternatives. They are "nothing" in and of themselves. Look at the labeling. Almost invariably it will have the word "meat" in there. "Beyond Meat", non-meat, beefless, "not meat", "chickenless, etc. Many vegetarian restaurants even call the dishes with the meat term figuring once they say they are a vegetarian restaurant, it's OK to say on the menu "Kung Pao Beef."
Unless and until the industry -- and it is an industry -- comes up with products that are not meat implied, it will remain a fad, and one largely for those who can afford it.
In addition, the human body has evolved to utilize natural food, including meat. So far there is no evidence to show that these artificial products are supplying the necessary balance of nutrition in bioavailable forms, as well as not supplying combinations that are cumulatively toxic to your body in one way or another.
As to claims to products being inherently virtuous or beneficial because they are natural, organic, or plant based, I would simply note that coal is all of these.
Words, especially labeling, matter a great deal. Be careful, or pretty soon people will create a term called "alternative facts" and claim it makes sense or, with a straight face, call "anti-abortion" "right to life."
3
@Steve Fankuchen Say what? Beyond Meat's stock price has nearly doubled since their IPO. Why? Because the demand for non-meat products is so huge.
9
@Steve Fankuchen You're positing a bit of a straw man argument and conflating numerous ideas to coincide with your evident present beliefs. Yes, these products are "self-consciously labelled as meat alternatives" because that is precisely what they are. How does that make them "nothing?" We need alternatives in a world that desperately needs to become less dependent on animal-based foods. I'm sure the language will evolve to characterize them in their own right.
It's actually pretty exciting and somewhat amazing that the potential to produce alternative non-animal proteins that may be able to feed many people with much less negative environmental effect is on the cusp of being realized. You can't blame the companies doing so for marketing their efforts, it's the only way they're going to attract funding to continue and build a following.
And btw "meat" is a word that historically, in early English and languages from which it's derived, is not solely associated with animal flesh, but referred generally to "food", so expanding its meaning for modern use has precedent.
24
@Steve Fankuchen I agree with much of what Todd and Mark said above, and would add that many vegetarians don't actually eat these products and are perfectly happy just eating vegetables and other "natural foods." When I stopped eating meat I did so cold turkey (no put intended) and didn't really feel the need for any of these substitute meats. When my girlfriend became vegetarian though she missed a number of meat dishes that were culturally important to her but didn't want to keep eating them, so these meat alternatives were great for her.
I don't *think* anyone is suggesting you should eat tons of these faux-meats for their healthiness. No one is suggesting you should eat tons of steak for your health though either. They are just more options for you to choose from for your dinner, to keep you excited about what you eat
16
Maybe people should eat meat and fish moderately and stop trying to make them what they're not. If you want soy products for instance, buy them labeled as such. Not packaged looking like meat or fish.
5
@MKP Why?
10
As a vegetarian, I'm glad to see more meatless options becoming available, but just like with the Impossible Burger, nothing about this appeals to me. I would have found them really interesting when I was first switching to being vegetarian, and they might have helped me with the transition.
1
Friends who are dedicated vegans served plant-based chicken breasts for dinner, and insisted that I take home a package of this product. After I read the ingredients label, I tossed it. When I start reading ingredients that I cannot pronounce, and when it's difficult to identify even one ingredient I might find in my own kitchen, I have to ask, to what end are we pursuing the plant-based food craze?
I do not buy meat for consumption at home, and I rarely order it in a restaurant. I think it's commendable that we understand the hidden costs of meat production, and I applaud the local, free-range, grass-fed products available at my upstate New York farmer's market. If someone wants to eat artificially crafted meat substitutes, that is their right.
But I agree with the comments that raise some valid questions about the chemical component of these "fake meat" products, and I hope that people remember that it's possible to eat an incredibly healthy diet without meat, and with relatively few dairy products. I adopted this diet 18 months ago, and have lost 20 pounds. I'm not strictly vegan, but I'm about 75 percent plant-based, and I cook delicious food at home and eat very well, and very affordably.
One thing I hope we all remember: Meat production is costly, in terms of energy, water usage and land, but it's also a mainstay of our economy. Te goal should be to find ways to make meat production less of a drain on our resources, while not putting farmers out of business.
7
@DLM "Friends who are dedicated vegans served plant-based chicken breasts for dinner, and insisted that I take home a package of this product. After I read the ingredients label, I tossed it."
I would have done that too; maybe even sooner. An ingredient label for a chicken breast should read: "Chicken."
2
My advice to the developers. back to the drawing board
AKA: Go fish.
4
Due to the significant risk of excess oxalate in my diet, I have eaten my last TVP.
4
Please don't call it meat or fish. It's neither. Call it what it is, a processed food substitute.
11
@Frank Because a hot dog is made of dogs? Get real, people can call food whatever they like.
17
The critical question is what chemicals are in the food as a byproduct of the culture process. Culturing cells typically requires various support chemicals and biological factors, and if the cells are grown in plastic vessels then plastic may contaminate the cells as well. This issue needs better investigation and reporting.
9
@RC True, but look at the chemical contamination we're already looking at in tuna and beef, for instance. We need better, not necessarily perfect.
8
If it’s anything like their burgers, it will be next to impossible to tell it’s not real fish!
Their latest burger fools my wife - a total burger girl!
11
Coming next: Soylent Green!
6
Just 1 of 7.7 Billion here
I lay down my spear
To take up the hoe
It's not just for show
I can love more than this one
I love what nature has done
Will the land surface be increased
Before I am deceased
I think not
Humans had their shot
Build cities amongst the stars
Leave this once beautiful place
Leave in great haste
Go
9
Maybe the phony fish will give me as nasty a rash as the phony beef did. And all that packaging can use up those petroleum refinery residues.
4
Glad we're not eating nanoplastics anymore. Now that they're not in our bloodstream, the filtering system of our kidneys are happy. You are what you eat.
4
A hope for the oceans. I’d try this in a second.
25
We’ve BEEN eating it.
1
If God had not meant for man to be carnivorous, he would not have made us out of meat.
2
@Mercutio
Then why do we have teeth designed to tear animal flesh?
The fact is, a human being's best and healthiest diet should include small amounts of animal protein as well as vegetable material. Yes, Americans eat far more animal protein than we should. But we should eat some. We have evolved to be omnivores, not vegans or carnivores.
4
Which god are you referring to?
1
America may have gone for meatless, but I'm an American who still loves his meat. May God continue to bless those who do and those who don't.
Quit making such a big deal out of it.
4
@Lake. woebegoner No concern for the detrimental impacts on the earth from large-scale livestock production, the severe depletion of seafood from over fishing or even the pretty horrendous conditions that a lot of animals are raised in? I believe that God made man a steward of the earth not a savager of it.
27
Gardein has been selling non-meat fried fish for years, it's nearly identical to the real thing.
10
@Todd I need to try that. I love their breakfast patties.
1
Shades of “Soylent Green.” While I’m all for reducing the amount of meat we eat, I am squeamish about introducing non-fish fish into my diet. It just sounds...yucky.
2
À day is drawing closer when foods will be synthesized from the chemical elements in the air, water, and minerals. This will be a start of a great outcry and debate of the Judaic, Muslim, and Roman Catholic theologians about whether the synthetic foods conform to the religious dictates of each religion, respectively.
2
Maybe lab grown meat will do away with cultural inhibitions on the consumption of whale, dog, and horse flesh. Religious restrictions on pork might no longer be warranted. But can pork ever be Kosher?
1
The new Sonant Green. Only the rich will be able to buy real food.
2
>>“The only way we can succeed,” he said, “is to make fish from plants that is more delicious than the fish that’s strip mined from the ocean.”<<
How hard could it be to make fish taste like Oreos?
2
I would eat it. As long as it doesn't taste like fish.
4
Will be nice to have some tuna sans mercury someday!
7
I (not a vegetarian) and most vegetarians I know don’t really want vegetable products engineered to taste like meat. What is more important is not having food that is overly processed or contains mysterious stuff created in a lab.
Eat more vegetable based foods? Absolutely! Make vegetable based foods taste like meat? I’m not so sure it’s what people even want.
7
Trust me, I am vegan, and am on social media with thousands of other vegans, not to mention, transitioning vegans, and people who are simply "vegan curious". We WANT mock meat options!!!
17
@WDP, I just want something that is savory, filling, high in protein and easy to prepare (i.e., microwaveable) as well as not unhealthy. These processed meat substitutes seem to tick all of these boxes for the vegan on the go. Otherwise, it takes a bit of time, effort and attention to prepare fresh, whole ingredients to make a satisfying vegan meal.
4
@Ed
I eat mostly vegetarian. I’m not going to buy Impossible or Beyond burgers to cook at home but it’s nice if you’re out with people or if you’re traveling to have a vegetarian option at the burger place.
4
I have a strong aversion to seafood. But I will give the fake version a try.
2
The failure of VegiGrill to penetrate the fast food market is evidence there is a limited market for alternative meats. There are endless, delicious vegetarian dishes that do not attempt to use fake meat as an ingredient.
4
@albert iggi, indeed, one of the main objectives of a plant-based diet is to eat healthier. Veggie Grill merely recreates greasy fast food staples from plant-based ingredients, which kind of defeats the point.
I'm curious to see if Beyond Meat and other meatless companies will continue to stay relevant. As mentioned in this article, vegetarians/vegans aren't their core target customers given their small number - but as a vegetarian myself, I'm not even inclined to purchase these products, given I find they taste too much like meat. So that leaves them with Flexitarians who merely perceive health benefits? That might be an even smaller subsection of the population. And if the health benefits are debunked...which it appears from the comments below is an increasing possibility...Beyond is finished. This is especially true given their price mark-up.
Beyond needs to focus on getting their costs down and marketing more towards the average meat eater, rather than the environmentally conscious flexitarian trying to eat clean and change the world. Let's be honest, there's more than the former than the latter.
3
@Hannah Brid
Well, for many it's a moral issue in addition to health and environmental. I haven't eaten meat in years, though I like the taste.
6
You can try impossible burgers at White Castle. My meat eating friends tell me they taste very similar to meat.
2
As a ‘flexitarian’ who eats meat 1-2 times/month, I’m SO excited about this. I want to stop eating meat because I know it’s so bad for the environment and I think it’s cruel, but I just don’t take the time to plan out a balanced vegan diet. (I’m trying to add more vegan meals.) Any extra meat-like, vegan options make it easier for me to be good. (If only the government could subsidize this and not large-scale, unhealthy farms.)
20
“There isn’t an equivalent of that for fish.”
Fish is meat too. PCB's, mercury, and the wonderful chemicals used to raise farmed fish all raise serious health questions, in addition to some scientists' claims that TMAO metabolism from fish makes it equivalent to land animal meat. Canned fish is given a direct equivalence with processed meats, sausages, bacon etc. which the WHO has identified as a carcinogen of the same level as smoking.
13
Here's one consumer who is "crying out for plant-based fish". I used to love tuna salad sammiches, yet gave them up 35 years ago.
Remember how, as an adult, you ate a Tootsie Roll, because they were so delish as a child, but it didn't match the glorious memory? Maybe it will be like that, but still - bring it on.
15
These already exist and there is at least one brand thats delicious. Gardein has amazing filets that, while not restaurant quality necessarily, they make amazing fish tacos and fish sandwiches. They are already widely available and are at a good price. Non-GMO.
7
It's very environmentally friendly to reduce the demand for beef.
But look at the actual ingredients of products such as beyond beef. A lot of unhealthy fillers. Meat , it can be argued, is actually healthier.
1
Not for the BILLIONS of animals slaughtered, and not for Earth - our ONLY HOME!!!!!
12
As a vegetarian, i would love to try these. But if they become too meat like (their holy grail) - then it’s not for me.
4
Is the fish flavored replacement going to contain coconut oil/fat like the Impossible Burger does?
Coconut oil is 90% saturated fat.
1
I don't believe this food is healthy, but if it gets people to eat less - or NO- meat and fish, I am for it 100% The planet can no longer bear our greedy seafood consumption habits.
8
Will people buy it? Sure if it's cheaper than the real thing. But if this is yet another prentitious alternative, e.g.'free range' or 'organic' at 25%+ of the price, then no.
4
@Mario
Seriously- vegan burgers can be constructed at home for like, 63 cents. For the whole batch!
4
I don't eat a lot of red meat - mostly eggs, chicken, fish, some pork. Still have to break down and cook a rare steak now and then. But I crave protein, and mostly cook my own as I shy away from processed foods. Have a large garden where we get an excess of fresh fruits and vegetables, which is my mainstay.
Will probably try to meatless burgers when they hit town as an excuse to "go out". Have eaten many black bean burgers that are tasty.
Don't know about the seafood part, though. I'll try it, but the less processing involved the better for my diet.
The next step: soylent green.
5
@Chris I'm a gym rat and a daily hiker, but I rarely eat a serving of meat larger than 4 ounces, which is plenty to meet my protein needs for a meal.
Give the Beyond Burger a try at home. It's become my once-a-week treat, along with a homemade pizza topped with Beyond's Italian sausage.
3
@Chris
As soon as I read the title Charelton Heston saying "Soylent Green Is People" ran across my mind. I started a garden last year I still haven't finished what I canned and froze and this years stuff is coming in already!. A nice luxury problem.
1
I don't understand the hostility of meat-eaters toward these plant-based products.
No one is coming to take away your hamburgers. Eating plant-based protein isn't going to be mandatory. You may continue to consume real meat.
But anyone who thinks plant-based protein is "gross" compared to the real thing should look into what happens at slaughterhouses, processing plants and on fishing vessels.
139
@Randy
It is not a hostility to the plant based nature of this stuff. It is a hostility to the irrational mentality that goes along with it.
You want a taste of it take a look at the junk science PBS is putting out today. There's one show with a guy and some folks with laser survey equipment that is so completely garbage I cannot think anything but that the people making that and getting it on TV intend to train a generation of children to not think and chase what they imagine instead.
basically reason is out, emotive imagination is in. Ya feel me?
2
Will 'Impossible Foods' ensure that this latest product is free of Glyphosate? If not, I'll stick with Beyond Meat products, since they are safer.
8
Hmmm.. spreading FUD?
1
I’ve tried the new generation of plant-based burgers and they’re actually really good. I love a good steak once in awhile (I consider it an indulgence, a luxury), but, given how close the plant-based solutions are getting, I think the resources required to produce beef for high-volume commercial products like burgers can no longer be justified. All efforts to reduce our environmental impact are a step in the right direction, but the underlying issue that no one seems to be discussing is overpopulation. Humans are devouring everything in their path and are producing too much garbage and pollution; it’s not sustainable and we need to change (e.g., my wife and I chose not to have children).
65
Sadly, "Eating wild-caught, American seafood" is NOT a choice. Almost ALL of the seafood offered in the local markets where I live in MA, the largest fishing fleets in the US, have none to offer up. We export most all of US seafood caught here.
22
The facts supporting this article are skewed. The Marine Stewardship Council of America does an excellent job working with industry, government, and the science community to monitor and maintain fish stocks.
More facts are needed than one quote from someone representing a commercial fishing “industry group”.
I’m also curious how impossible foods will responsibly source all the palm oil (an essential element to their flavor) needed to sell fake meat at fast food chains.
5
@Jonathan R Glad you brought up palm oil, as it's causing deforestation and species extinction on a massive scale like beef production. Per a comment I left earlier, I think overpopulation what we really need to be addressing.
17
I don't want to eat fake food that's been produced in some laboratory. If I want to eat soy, I'll buy tofu. If I want to eat fish, I'll buy fish. This all reminds me of Soylent Green. No thanks.
22
@Gayle F
Well, for those that think eating fish and eating tofu are morally equivalent then there is no reason to try these meat alternatives.
4
@Gayle F No one is forcing you. Do you think the choices should be limited for others?
6
@Gayle F
Try a ‘Beyond Burger’ it looks good ... tastes good ... and it’s satisfying/ filling ... it is not soylent green! lol
5
When I go fishing and the seaweed and eel grass that I accidentally hook goes back into the sea where it belongs. I don't eat it and won't eat a fake fish meal. Fish is healthy on it's own and I don't see a need to work on a plant based substitute.
I understand the vegan philosophy and support it. There are great tasting vegan dishes that really don't need to be made into a meat or fish replica. Let's leave plants as plants and fish as fish.
7
@VMG
i hope you can see the irony in declaring that plants “go back in the sea where (they) belong”, while advocating for cooking and eating a fish. i like fish as much as the next guy, but to pretend our eating them represents some natural order is risible.
39
@RC, MD PhD
You obviously missed my point. I didn't say all plants belong in the sea only seaweed and eel grass which originate from the sea. Eating fish and meat is more natural to the human condition than plants. We were designed to be carnivores ( notice the sharp teeth) and not herbivores. In addition fish don't have to be cooked many can be taken from the sea and eaten raw. I believe the Chinese and Japanese have been doing so for centuries.
2
@VMG
Respectfully, this is completely wrong. First, literally the defining event in the development of human civilization was the domestication of plants and the resultant development of grain as a stable storable food source. Second, all the great apes are omnivores- ourselves included and, indeed, all but 1 (tarsiers) primate species are herbivores or omnivores. So “sharp teeth” aside (which comparatively speaking we actually lack), we have not evolved to eat meat as a solitary nutrition source.
53
fake (soy based for example) has been around for years and readily available in the Asian markets..the fake spicy squid is rather tasty.
17
The impossible burger is mainly soy or wheat protein, which is not particularly healthy. These burgers are full of plant estrogens and are much worse for your health than red meat. I am all for food that is better for the environment but it also has to be good for your health. I imagine their “fish” substitute will not reach that barrier. The future is in lab grown meat. Lab grown meat would be for all intents and purposes “vegan” as well despite being an animal product.
5
@Stefan....Phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) are found in some of the healthiest plants and plant based foods.
Soybeans, garbanzo beans, tofu, mung beans, sprouts of many kinds...The list goes on.
Sorry, Stefan, but these items are "good for you", as mom would say, the beef and pork industries "studies" and shrill attacks notwithstanding. You positing that they are "far more harmful than red meat" is merely another desperate meat-eaters mantra.
108
@Lowell H the difference is eating actual plants is very healthy and I would never suggest otherwise. But eating artificial processed food made from concentrated extracts from plants (be it soy, peas, corn, etc) is unhealthy and unnatural.
8
what evidence do you have for this assertion?
1
A lot of people will simply say if you eat meat, you’re increasing your risk of cancer,” said Tom Rees, who studies the packaged food industry for the market research firm Euromonitor International. “There isn’t an equivalent of that"
Yes there is. It's called mercury poisoning. Larger the fish, the greater the risk.
72
@Cosby
Not all fish potentially contain mercury. East Coast strip base that spawn in the Fishkill areas of NY and the Meadowlands of NJ may contain trace amounts of mercury and other heavy metals. The sale and consumption of those fishes is tightly regulated. Fish in general are very safe and healthy to eat. In addition the fish population of endangered species is also tightly regulated, so we really don't need plant based fake fish.
2
@Cosby That is generally true, but only for piscivorous fish - those that feed on other fish. Herbivores like tilapia, whitefish or catfish do not typically accumulate much in the way of mercury.
3
@Bern
You saying that tilapia is good for you because of what they feed it?
Hah!
If you've looked into it you'd NEVER eat tilapia.
5
The FDA recommends avoiding swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, and yellowfin tuna because of their mercury levels.
Finding a tasty and healthy alternative would be most welcome.
59
@Times Reader
If you look at the title of the FDA recommendation chart, you will find that they are not giving advice to everyone - their advice is targeted to certain people. I'm not saying there can't be benefit for others following the guideline, but while your words are true, they do not give the proper context.
From the FDA chart:
"ADVICE ABOUT EATING FISH
For Women Who Are or Might Become Pregnant, Breastfeeding Mothers, and Young Children"
I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, just trying to provide context for your statement.
2
Dumping less toxic waste into our waterways would be pretty great, too.
6
Appreciating NYTimes recent reporting on vegan meats, great to see. Disappointing to read that more people are still apparently only concerned with health benefits that would accrue directly to them rather than the myriad of benefits that would accrue for many, many people through a reduction in meat consumption: greenhouse gas reduction, less forest loss, return of native fish stocks, toxic runoff reduction, etc, etc.
Surprised this article didn't mention Gardein, which makes a delicious vegan fish fillet along with a bunch of other products. I don't think Gardein has been as targeted at flexitarians and non-vegans, but I would argue their fish fillet would be an easy (and better tasting) replacement in the fish sandwiches of many fast food chains--and I used to really like those.
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@Lindsey Gardein “fish” fillet isn’t really an exciting substitute for fish. It is basically a poor substitute for fried fish sticks. They aren’t a competitor for anything mentioned in the article.
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@Lindsey . I had the same reaction! Everyone has their pet diet theories (I am personally a vegan), that we can argue about all day. But what we can't really argue about is that plant-based based eating doesn't kill animals and it is uses far fewer natural resources and creates far fewer green house gases.
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@HRD
The problem with green house gases really has little to do with animals compared to the petroleum and coal based gas emissions. The real problem with greenhouse gas accellared emissions is directly related to the number of people that now inhabit this planet and continues to increase at an alarming rate. Pretty soon we won't have to worry about eating animals or plants as we all may be eating soylent green ( you younger people may have to look that up).
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The impossible burger doesn’t taste like meat. It tastes like whatever you put on it. I imagine the “fish” will taste the same. The only thing impossible about this food is the price and the its ability to live up to the hype.
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@Qnbe
Macburgers and macfish don't taste much the the "real" thing either. Heavily spiced dishes usually don't highlight the flavor of the protein.
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@Qnbe If true, that works for me. I never really liked the taste of actual beef, on its own with no excessive seasoning or spices or sauce to mask the real beef flavour (cow flesh). I suspect that this is true for most people seeing as they cover their beef burger in various sauces and cheese... so they might as well just eat an impossible burger and save the need for a cow to be slaughtered and the planet destroyed.
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@Qnbe
Most processed foods taste an awful lot like salt.
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