'Bleeding' vegan burger is an 'existential threat' to beef' whines NZ MP

[Baronage-Phase]

I had cauliflower rice today in a vegetable stir fry. Bulked it out nicely and held the sauce well.
It was fine. And only 20 calories.
I suppose they could have called it cauliflower bits...

 

[krtek a houby]

Vegan-ism is just the latest fad that will die off as soon as some new kid wins xfactor

Meh. They said that about trolling.

 

[spring-peeper]

I had cauliflower rice today in a vegetable stir fry. Bulked it out nicely and held the sauce well.
It was fine. And only 20 calories.
I suppose they could have called it cauliflower bits...

Tofurky and ACLU cook up suit against Arkansas law banning 'veggie burgers'

The complaint, filed Monday in the Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division, alleges that Arkansas Act 501, which is meant to “require truth in labeling” and “protect consumers from being misled or confused,” violates Arkansans’ civil rights.

Under Act 501, which was signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson in March and goes into effect this month, Arkansans must say goodbye to veggie burgers, smoked ham style plant-based deli slices, and vegan sausages. The state is charging an $1,000 civil fine for every plant-based product labeled as "meat."

The law also extends to dairy alternatives and vegetable alternatives to grains; nut milks and cauliflower rice would also be subject to fines (riced cauliflower is fine, though).

When consumers choose plant-based foods, it is not because they are confused or misled, it is because they are savvy and educated about the health and environmental consequences of eating animal products,” Tofurky CEO Jaime Athos said in a statement provided to NBC News.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Meh. They said that about trolling.

I see what you did there etc.

 

[Jeff Robinson]

The impossible burger is being rolled out to every US Burger King next week.

The Impossible Whopper is coming to every Burger King in America next week - CNN

 

[8ball]

The impossible burger is being rolled out to every US Burger King next week.

The Impossible Whopper is coming to every Burger King in America next week - CNN

Mwahahahhaaa!!! Now they will never go to heaven...

 

[Proper Tidy]

Let's hope they don't do some annoying advert where you have to call it a meatless whopper or something and if you say vegan burger they take you outside and shoot you

 

[8ball]

Let's hope they don't do some annoying advert where you have to call it a meatless whopper or something and if you say vegan burger they take you outside and shoot you

I think it will just be called the Impossible Whopper.
In tribute to Trump's press conferences.

 

[tommers]

The impossible burger is being rolled out to every US Burger King next week.

The Impossible Whopper is coming to every Burger King in America next week - CNN

Cool. Get rid of meat burgers. Until somebody shows me that making impossible burgers is worse for the environment than killing cows I am very happy about this.

 

[Jeff Robinson]

Cool. Get rid of meat burgers. Until somebody shows me that making impossible burgers is worse for the environment than killing cows I am very happy about this.

My main worry is that the impossible burgers will merely supplement the meat burgers rather than replace them. BK and MD’s have been serving veggie burgers for decades yet I’ve no reason to think that doing so has dented the sales of their meat burgers.

 

[Calamity1971]

My main worry is that the impossible burgers will merely supplement the meat burgers rather than replace them. BK and MD’s have been serving veggie burgers for decades yet I’ve no reason to think that doing so has dented the sales of their meat burgers.

Its a weird one, I'm curious to see what they're like, but wouldn't want to give my money to the likes of bk to try one?

 

[Baronage-Phase]

The best fast food veg burger here is from Supermacs. (Only in Ireland)
Its not pretending to be meat.
Its full of veg ... recogniseable veg...coated in a layer of breadcrumbs and it is really delicious.

 

[8ball]

My main worry is that the impossible burgers will merely supplement the meat burgers rather than replace them. BK and MD’s have been serving veggie burgers for decades yet I’ve no reason to think that doing so has dented the sales of their meat burgers.

They're not intended to replace them. Why would they be?

 

[Jeff Robinson]

They're not intended to replace them. Why would they be?

I meant in terms of sales, as in less people buying beef burgers and buying the plant burgers instead. The alternative scenario I fear is the amount of beef burgers sold remaining pretty much the same plus extra custom from vegan, vegetarian and reducitarian customers and the end result being a company built on animal exploitation becoming more profitable with no real benefits for animals or the environment.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

The best fast food veg burger here is from Supermacs. (Only in Ireland)
Its not pretending to be meat.
Its full of veg ... recogniseable veg...coated in a layer of breadcrumbs and it is really delicious.

For me (a meat eater) that's more appealing. Fake meat is unlikey to live up, whereas veg is also nice. I eat this Aldi beanburgers at home more then meat ones.

 

[8ball]

I meant in terms of sales, as in less people buying beef burgers and buying the plant burgers instead. The alternative scenario I fear is the amount of beef burgers sold remaining pretty much the same plus extra custom from vegan, vegetarian and reducitarian customers and the end result being a company whose main source of profit is animal exploitation becoming more profitable with no real benefits for animals or the environment.

I expect reducitarians (first time I've heard that word) would currently be buying meat burgers on occasion anyway, so there would be a small element of 'replacement' likely there if they moved towards the alternatives. Similar thing would have been happening to a degree when meat eaters happen to randomly fancy veggie and have been eating their veggie stuff.

In terms of the "keeping original customer base and adding x, y, and z to it" thing: Generally I find if I'm with a group that involves veg*ns and it's a late night munchies scenario (the only time I'll bother with BK) then it isn't on the list of options for similar reasons that most of the veggies I know aren't likely to ever suggest McDonald's.

I expect that is partly what they're trying to change.

 

[Proper Tidy]

For me (a meat eater) that's more appealing. Fake meat is unlikey to live up, whereas veg is also nice. I eat this Aldi beanburgers at home more then meat ones.

I eat bean burgers at home more than beef. But had a beyond burger at a burger place which sold them a while ago because why not and genuinely one of nicest burgers I had for years, wouldn't have known it wasn't beef. If people try out of curiousity could see it sticking

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I guess you could call me a reducitarian these days (although I've not really heard the word either) and from that point of view I can see the attraction of something like that. At home I very rarely eat meat any more and it's fine - I can cook good veggie food no problem. If I'm actually eating out then to be honest I'm probably having meat anyway. The times when I might semi-reluctantly end up eating meat are those times when I just need to grab something quickly (and have often had a drink or two) when the options tend to be pretty crap and veggie options even more so. So a decent meat-free burger might appeal in those circumstances.

I don't know if it would be enough to get me into a BK/McDs though and if it did it wouldn't be replacing the sale of a meat burger there - I haven't been to either for decades.

 

[8ball]

The times when I might semi-reluctantly end up eating meat are those times when I just need to grab something quickly (and have often had a drink or two) when the options tend to be pretty crap and veggie options even more so. So a decent meat-free burger might appeal in those circumstances.

I can identify with all of that. I love falafel but for some reason it's not quite right for the post-drinks munchies.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Have Iceland stopped doing those 'no bull' burgers? They don't have them round my way anymore and I am running out of them in the freezer at home.

 

[editor]

Have Iceland stopped doing those 'no bull' burgers? They don't have them round my way anymore and I am running out of them in the freezer at home.

Still got 'em n Brixton.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Still got 'em n Brixton.

Humm, I guess it was all a bit too middle class for Croydon.
Got a feeling they vanished from Clapham too though. Maybe I was just imagining that.

 

[8ball]

Have Iceland stopped doing those 'no bull' burgers? They don't have them round my way anymore and I am running out of them in the freezer at home.

Still here, and the company has several new lines of products too <something like ‘no cocking about
chicken burgers’>, so doesn’t look like they’re going away.

 

[barlimo]

We need more of this sort of stuff but it's got to taste good. I've tried McCartney and Quorn sausages but found them fuckin awful, a complete waste of money. Tasted of nothing and dried my mouth out.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

We need more of this sort of stuff but it's got to taste good. I've tried McCartney and Quorn sausages but found them fuckin awful, a complete waste of money. Tasted of nothing and dried my mouth out.

I like the Cauldron ones - the Lincolnshire ones especially are pretty nice.

 

[editor]

We need more of this sort of stuff but it's got to taste good. I've tried McCartney and Quorn sausages but found them fuckin awful, a complete waste of money. Tasted of nothing and dried my mouth out.

Really? The Quorn 'Chef's Special' are really nice. Linda McC ones are crap though.

 

[Poot]

I meant in terms of sales, as in less people buying beef burgers and buying the plant burgers instead. The alternative scenario I fear is the amount of beef burgers sold remaining pretty much the same plus extra custom from vegan, vegetarian and reducitarian customers and the end result being a company built on animal exploitation becoming more profitable with no real benefits for animals or the environment.

I hadn't thought of it this way. I don't really bother with McDonalds but I will happily take the kids to BK and eat a beanburger. And I never set foot inside a Greggs until the vegan sausage roll. Might have to rethink. Although actually the kids did prefer the vegan sausage roll (no grim cheap-meat gristle you see). But yeah, how many are converted? Probably not that many, really. Still - better than nothing I suppose.

 

[Jeff Robinson]

I hadn't thought of it this way. I don't really bother with McDonalds but I will happily take the kids to BK and eat a beanburger. And I never set foot inside a Greggs until the vegan sausage roll. Might have to rethink. Although actually the kids did prefer the vegan sausage roll (no grim cheap-meat gristle you see). But yeah, how many are converted? Probably not that many, really. Still - better than nothing I suppose.

My fears confirmed:

“[W]e’re not seeing guests swap the original Whopper for the Impossible Whopper,” Cil said. “We’re seeing that it’s attracting new guests."

Burger King's Impossible Feat: Determining an Audience Strategy

 

[8ball]

My fears confirmed:

“[W]e’re not seeing guests swap the original Whopper for the Impossible Whopper,” Cil said. “We’re seeing that it’s attracting new guests."

Burger King's Impossible Feat: Determining an Audience Strategy

That doesn’t seem so terrible. Do you know what these new guests were eating before?

 

[Jeff Robinson]

That doesn’t seem so terrible. Do you know what these new guests were eating before?

No, but at the very least the fact that animal flesh sales have not gone down is cause for concern, especially if the additional custom is making a company that’s caused a million + acres of deforestation (Burger King Linked to a Whopping Million-Plus Acres of Deforestation) more profitable.

At the same time, I see the force of the counter-argument. In my experience there are loads of people who want to go vegan/plant-based but just find it too difficult. The more widely available, cheap, tasty and convenient plant-based foods are, the lessor this barrier will be.

Although in the short term the mainstreaming of vegan products might just be increasing the profitability of the animal exploitation industries, perhaps in the longer term we are approaching an inflexion point and vegan mainstreaming will usher in a paradigm shift in the food system and make plant-based and/or cellular meats the norm. The worry is that after mainstreaming, demand for vegan foods will simply plateau, which has been the fate of vegetarianism for the last couple of decades.