Plant-Based Meat Alternatives Healthier And Better For The Planet, Report Finds
Plant-Based Meat Alternatives Healthier And Better For The Planet, Report Finds
A new report from The Food Foundation has found that plant-based meat alternatives are better for the planet and tend to be healthier
I am once again asking for meat and dairy subsidies in the US to be shifted to alternatives like plant-based products and lab meat.
One of the biggest barriers to alternatives is the cost. Currently they cost like twice as much as the "normal" product. If they cost a roughly equal amount, more people would start buying them instead. The US has huge agriculture subsidies; we could shift them to alternatives to encourage a change in production and a change in retail purchasing.
Yeah, meat is so heavily subsidized. And I’ll acknowledge that this is one of those problems that you can’t really solve unless you’re willing to yank your political career and your party. People don’t want to quit meat like they don’t want gas to be expensive enough to account for the damage done by using it
lab meat costs like 100 dollars for a pound. its insanely expensive
Personally, I do not want any lab grown meat, and as for the pseudo burgers and chicken (I grew up vegetarian) the "nutritional" benefits are not their due to over processing
That's one opinion. I will take all of the lab grown meat thanks. I'm vegetarian, working to vegan. If there was pork chop that came out tomorrow that was made in a lab and no pig died for it - I'm fucking eating it.
Impossible foods have allowed me to go veggie, so I think we should sing their praises.
That's fine, you don't have to eat them. You can still pay a premium for the more environmentally-expensive real meat, instead of the government-subsidized costs we pay now.
So? Don't eat them? I dont see why you are upset at the suggestion of changing our national subsidiaries away from what we know is harming the environment.
Besides, there is a lot more to eat veg than the proceed Morningstar, Boca, Immposible junk. I mostly eat rice, beans, curry and tofu I prepare myself.
spot on. pseudo meat is just junk food.
For all those replying with "well yes, we already knew this".
Yes, but now you have the numbers to back up the conclusions you've already drawn.
Of course food produced from plants will be environmentally better than those made from animals, but now, next time you see someone actually doubting that, you can rebuff them with numbers and science.
But those numbers already existed. Those conclusions weren't drawn up out of nothing.
If 70% of the food we cultivate goes directly to our livestock, then we could only ever eat 30% of it ourselves. Meaning, for something that takes up 1/3 of our plate, we use almost 5 times as much resourses just to feed it as either of the other 2/3.
The most healthy plant based meat alternatives have always been, Beans & Legumes. You're welcome!
I'm not vegan, but I've been trying to limit my groceries to have 1 meat based dinner each week. I have really enjoyed using chickpeas as my protein for lots of different things. My favorite right now is a chickpea shawarma.
And they’re easy! Like I enjoy fake meat as a treat, but as my wife can’t eat soy my primary meat replacement is black beans. Sometimes butter beans. It’s great, it’s easy, and I feel good.
That said the real best is lentils. Nothing is healthy like lentils are. They’re just difficult to cook right
Isn't that what these are made from?
They are partially made from soy, peas, etc. However what they do is remove parts of the protein from the bean/legume. All the good parts get removed except some protein and a few trace elements. Then you add all kinds of filler chemicals, modifiers, gelling agents that have also been super processed as well. These foods are okay for a once-in-a-while dinner but are not a healthy food. A peanut butter sandwich is way healthier, if you are using pure ground peanuts, no fillers.
Now make them affordable. Plant based meats cost easily double the price of meat. So I don't blame people for choosing meat.
Not where I live. They are about the same price. Depends on the brand and type of product.
Incidentally... lentil based sausages are horrible on a grill. They downright taste gross when baked. But in a rich vegetable soup? Much better than meat.
but THATS the point. profit.
Yeah, many plant based alternatives are cheaper than meat to produce, but it has become a thing that vegan alternatives are expensive so everyone raises the price to match.
I forgot the company but around 2015 there was one brand talking up about because of how cheap it was to make it would be a great thing to help with hunger levels in impoverished areas. Just really talking up how they were going to be cheaper than meat. Year later, priced up to match the rest of the brands.
Next up, the sky is blue.
I wish it was more obvious to the average person as it is needed to counter the mainstream media’s false narrative that “processed plant-based protein alternatives are less healthy than meat”
Both sides suck at arguing this and all it does is make both sides insufferable. Meat eaters like to point out things like protein deficiency, and high amounts of salts and sugars in meat substitutes. Vegans like to point out the saturated fats, cancer rates, and green house emissions. Problem is you're both right.
From the article
The studies authors are calling for “greater nuance” when it comes to discussing the healthiness of plant-based alternatives, as there is considerable disparity between categories in terms of health.
“Grouping all plant-based alternatives into a single category is an unhelpful strategy for encouraging a shift away from meat and towards more plant-rich diets as it hides a wide variety of options with differing nutrition and health profiles within the plant-based alternative category,” the authors wrote.
While the study acknowledged that plant-based meat alternatives can be a “useful stepping stone” for encouraging people to shift their diets, they stressed that the less processed alternatives – notably beans and grains – offer “the greatest number of co-benefits.”
Personally I'm not going to stop eating meat but I'm fine with eating less of it or lab grown after a while (though I'm worried about what the industry would look like on a mass scale). But calling for things like moving all livestock subsidies to meat alternatives and claiming all meat substitutes are inherently healthier is just naive, reactionary, and lack nuance. Discussions between vegans and carnivores go exactly how you expect most internet debates to go.
You say that but there arent campaigns to disinform people that the sky is actually red.
Oh God oh fuck the admins are gonna kill you for making this post
They're gonna take down the post for "unhealthy diets" lol
No, as we humans are omnivores. We can digest non animal fats and dont need directly a heck load of chemicals injected into a block of soy beans paste.
Additionally WE can make that choice but cats that are obligatory carnivore would never choose vegan as they are obligated to do so.
If a vegan diet is ethical for a cat is unknown.
Next you’re going to say that it’s good that my primary source of protein is high in fiber and fixes nitrogen in the soil. No shit. Over processed food is bad, but meat is really bad for the planet and while it may be healthy in small amounts it’s probably less than every day, much less every meal like is common in the developed world.
Water - wet.
That's what my thoughts were with this. The sheer amount of water alone to produce meat1 makes the bar very low for plant-based alternatives
1 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/water-footprint-food-sustainability/
Awesome. Now it just needs to be more affordable while tasting just as good. Right now, the stuff that actually tastes like meat is priced like a bougie, elitist luxury good.
Depends where you live, some countries the vegan stuff is cheaper than the meat
the price is exactly what this is all about.
Yeah this is all I want. I can barely afford to eat normally right now, if this got priced reasonably I'd be all over it.
But you don't get to torment animals
I wish they weren't all so damn salty though. I get that meat is salty, but the meat alternatives go way too far with the saltiness in general in my experience.
So much this. Last time I brought it up, I was asked "what's the matter, you don't season your food?"
Uh... There are more seasonings than SALT, yo. You can add more of it, but once it's in there...
Pork also scored red for salt, while beef and chicken scored amber. Lamb was the only meat to receive a green rating for salt.
What? Raw meat has a negligible amount of salt. How is it not all green?
Didn't read the article but raw packaged meats are often (depending on local regulation) injected with sodium solutions.
yeah I can't figure it out. according to google, raw pork has 53mg of sodium per 3-oz serving, and broccoli has 49. I can't figure out how to get exactly the salt content but it's the sodium that's bad for you, right?
edit - okay maybe they're talking about bean based alternatives like soy? that's got like 4mg, pinto beans have 1
Yeah, salt normally refers to sodium content. Salts separate in solution, so you never have actual NaCl unless you have a solid hunk of salt.
But also, sodium isn't inherently bad for you. Just like most things we consume, too little is bad, and too much is also bad. 53mg per serving is still so far off from what a typical adult needs.
they also gave red points because of saturated fats. fun fact: in thise studies red meat vs. diabetis, a pizza with salami gets counted as red meat.
and carnivores are prone to be salt and mineral deficient anyway.
I prefer my veggies in veggie form. Veggie meat seems like the nicotine patch of the food world to me.
Like I'm gonna let you talk me into giving up pepperoni pizza just to stretch out my
lifespansuffering.Duh.
And lower birthrates lower overpopulation.
thats happening right know anyways.
They're comin'
No shit sherlock.
What do they think our lifestock eats? Air?
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It's so funny that the bias of plant based news can't be detected by a media bias fact checker.
Seriously, their bias is right in the name.
and way more lucrative.
just don't eat meat if you don't want to.
you don't need highly processeed junk food that dresses up as meat.
protein? who are you kidding? that stuff will be full of seed oils, sugar, wheat and carbs. with some plant protein sprinkled in between.
lab meat, get out of here. why should yout eat lab meat when normal meat is unhealthy in the first place?
and you think they won't stretch that lab meat with wheat, sugar and seed oils as well? why wouldn't they?
if you believe they want to noourish you into best health while disregarding profit, i have a bridge to sell you.
the only reason to get you to eat hoghly processed junk food that dresses up as meat is money.
they dont care about your health or the planet.
On the other hand I like how they taste and enjoy that they've got lower environmental impact.
I can read the nutritional info and make informed decisions.
Many substitutes have more protein for the same calories than meat.