On 2019-09-16 6:32 p.m., Leroy N. Soetoro wrote:
> https://hotair.com/archives/jazz-sha...based-burgers-
> arent-better-eating/
>
> The title question is being asked by Kate Bernot at The Takeout, and its
> a good one. Before anyone starts imagining a totally meatless future
> (speaking of horror shows), we should figure out why so many people are
> flocking to plant-based €œmeat€� like the Impossible Whopper and its
> cousins. Since experts are quickly concluding that these products are no
> healthier for you (or for the environment) than their traditional animal-
> based counterparts, whats the attraction making these offerings
> sustainable?
>
> (Insert record scratch sound effect here.) Whoa! Hold on one second. Did
> someone just say that these €œimpossible€� foods arent any better for you?
> Wasnt that supposed to be the whole idea? As it turns out, theyre not.
> So the people peddling them had better figure out another market hook if
> they want their businesses to continue booming.
>
> The latest €œwoke€� take on vegan fast food, like the Impossible Whopper and
> Del Taco Beyond Meats tacos, is this: Theyre not any healthier than the
> standard meat versions of those items. Outlets from NBC News to Fox
> Business to CNBC are all sounding the alarm that these menu items often
> contain roughly the same amount of calories than their beefy
> counterparts€”and often pack in more sodium. But is health even the real
> reason customers are ordering these Impossible and Beyond options in the
> first place?
>
> A July 2019 report from NPD Group found that 95% of the customers who
> order faux-meat fast food options arent strictly vegan or vegetarian.
> Theyre people who do regularly eat meat€”€œflexatarian€�, if you will€”but
> perhaps are trying to reduce the percentage of red meat in their diets by
> incorporating more plant-based ingredients.
>
> Read it for yourself. Heres NBC News. €œThe Impossible Burger and Beyond
> Meat arent healthier. Fast foods meatless marvels are just P.R.€�
>
> How about Fox Business? €œPlant-based burgers may not be as healthy as you
> think.€�
>
> Lets hear from Julieanna Hever, a plant-based dietician at CNBC: €œTheyre
> not much healthier than a meat-based burger. Im concerned about the
> saturated fat levels as well as the excessive amounts of amino acids.€�
>
> The author offers up four possible reasons people are eating these
> laboratory experiments if we include the mistaken belief that they are
> healthier for you. But since youre usually taking in the same amount of
> calories or more, plus more salt, thats kind of out the window. Some may
> be doing it because its a novelty€¦ something new and cool to talk about.
> They might also be doing it in the belief that its more friendly to the
> environment, or because of worries over animal welfare in the beef
> industry.
>
> If those really are the main drivers of sales, this may turn out to be a
> fad that doesnt last very long. If that many people were all that
> concerned about the impact of the cattle industry on the environment or
> the conditions the animals are raised under, beef sales would have
> plummeted long ago.

Not without a palatable alternative.

>
> The only one that might stick is the stated reason the founders of these
> companies have been telling us all along. They want to drive the livestock
> industry out of business and get rid of the cows to save the planet. And
> if they can make the sale to enough of this emerging fast-food market, we
> might be in trouble. But somehow I dont think so. Call me a starry-eyed
> optimist, but I think people will tire of the novelty quickly enough and
> realize that they miss eating good old reliable beef, just as nature
> intended.

Is that supposed to be a serious remark? "Nature" doesn't "intend"
humans to eat beef.

>
> Also, I suspect that more information will eventually get out to the
> general public about the €œheme€� thats used in the manufacturing process
> and the other substances they produce. Id be willing to bet that a lot of
> people eating these burgers are under the impression that €œplant-based€�
> just means its a new type of veggie burger. But thats not what this is
> at all. These burgers are a mad scientists chemistry experiment running
> off the rails. And if all of you out there who are scarfing them down
> suddenly start growing tails in a couple of months, dont say I didnt try
> to warn you.

So this is a tongue in cheek article, OK.