Beyond Burgers & other fake meat

I suppose they'd reduce over time but would probably put many a meat eater off trying them.

I went veggie for about 9 months a year or so ago and managed fine, if they can get close to a decent substitute I'll definitely revert back again.

 

Wow, I was assuming they'd be cheaper than beef

 

When you consider you can buy an 8oz British sirloin steak from Aldi for £3.50 that could, if you chose, be ground down to produce two burgers of vastly superior quality, that are much better for you, have a far smaller carbon footprint, and contribute much more to the British economy then it puts things into perspective some what. Buy a similar product from Barnsley market and the argument is even more persuasive.

I understand the animal rights argument and what I've outlined doesn't have an answer to that. But this isn't the answer either.

 

Head of steam in Sheff does moving mountains burgers and they are absolutely delicious. Making my mouth water just talking about them

 

Not sure if I’ve mis-read your post, but are you suggesting beef production has a lesser environmental impact than plant based alternatives?

 

In general no. But if you buy British beef compared to a product manufactured in America with ingredients grown and processed in other countries then the environmental impact of the steak is a fraction of the burger. British Broccoli compared to British beef and there's no comparison, the broccoli wins hands down. But the burger has gone through numerous manufacturing processes and has flown twice round the globe to reach your plate. You could probably eat a couple of cows and a pig raised in Britain to get anywhere near it.

 

Sounds good. We were thinking of going somewhere in Sheffield with kids on the last Saturday before Christmas. If I remember correctly we have Millwall away, which if I'm being completely honest, I'm in no way, shape or form tempted by!

 

Even referencing the American brand in question here, I’d still be surprised if the environmental impact of a beyond burger came close to that of beef production, considering the immense damage animal agriculture causes to the environment.

Alternatively, there are many other, less expensive (than Beyond) plant based burger alternatives produced in the UK. Check out Meatless Farm Co, HQ’d in Leeds, for one.

 

Have you been to cutlery works - brill

And also Kommune excellent in castle market

 

Is this a post leaning towards cows farting per chance?

 

Ha, nope!

 

Did you eat them at a restaurant? They sell them near my son's Kita in Wilmersdorf next to Hohenzollernplatz. Been tempted to get one one.

 

Cutlery works is brilliant. kommune has been recommended a few times now so gonna give it a spin.

 

The world is screwed... let’s create fake meat... or just eat a million types of veg and salad... but let’s ignore air miles, plastic, the impact 9bn humans have generally...

If we think saving the world is to stop a carnivorous race eating its staple food for the last god knows how many years, I think we’ve got it all a bit wrong!

 

Plus Kommune is next door to the National Video Game Museum!

 

I'd recommend researching it. You'll find that the carbon footprint of such a burger is sometimes 10s, sometimes 100s, and sometimes 1000s of times larger than that of the equivalent energy in animal protein raised in the country from which it is purchased.

Beyond Meat has five main ingredients: pea protein, rice protein, mung bean protein, coconut oil and rapeseed oil. There are about a dozen others, but just sticking with those: first question is from where are they sourced? How much fuel did it take to transport the original crop to the processing plant, which is often in a different country and sometimes in a different content or hemisphere? Once in the processing plant, which has to be built and maintained, how much fuel did it take to turn pulses, grain, nuts and seeds into desiccated vegetable pulp and refined oil? (On an an entirely different note, how much of the original vitamins and minerals remain after turning natural ingredients into their base proteins and fats?) How much packaging is needed to transport it to its next destination? How much fuel is needed to transport it to the manufacturing plant that combines these ingredients to produce the burgers, which again could be in a different country, continent or hemisphere? How much energy is used on producing the clean water to re-hydrate the desiccated vegetable pulp? Water is usually the main ingredient in any such product. How much energy was used in building the manufacturing plant and keeping it running? How much packaging and fuel is used to deliver the final product to the restaurants and retail establishments world wide who actually sell it, that definitely are in different countries, continents and hemispheres?

British sirloin steak has one ingredient: Beef. Processing and transport are minimal. There is the issue of animal feed, but premium grass fed beef is often cheaper than Beyond Meat if bought online from source which also cuts down on transport and warehousing. The problem of methane from raising cattle is a drop in the ocean compared the manufacturing process of products like Beyond Meat.

A vegetarian diet is without doubt the most energy efficient diet a person can have. But that means buying locally sourced fresh fruit and vegetables. Processed food, vegetarian or otherwise, blows a locally sourced omnivorous diet out of the water in terms of energy consumption and green house gas emissions,

 

Got them from the big Edeka at Prager Platz just around the corner from there!

 

Love those things. I used to have chicken nuggets at home every now and again when I was feeling lazy or back from the pub, but now I only buy those.

 

I think there on offer at Morrison at the moment.