Gransnet forums

AIBU

NOT real meat

(116 Posts)
Esspee Sun 27-Oct-19 07:18:01

Saw the title of another thread which made me think of Tesco.
Visited there on Friday and the entrance smelt of a delicious casserole which was bubbling away just inside. Tasted a sample which was excellent then from the discussion taking place discovered that what I thought was a sausage casserole was in fact a vegan product.
AIBU to feel that artificial meat products should be clearly labelled? I'll be making it myself tomorrow - with real sausages!

Alexa Mon 28-Oct-19 10:40:11

Esspee, thanks for direction to the sausage bake recipe. I had n't known about all these Tesco recipes and they are really useful.

JacquiG Mon 28-Oct-19 14:12:33

There is some thought that meat eating is not going to go away, and that provided animals are humanely reared and properly looked after, that ruminants should be increased in number. They recondition the soil which is already depleted in minerals by poor agriculture practice, and are suited to the large areas of UK not suitable for arable/veg production.

As long as they are pastured, not in huge feeding stations fed rubbish and soy, they will provide omega 3 fats, minerals, vitamins, and other essential nutrients. eg vit B12, and lutein.

These are necessary for good health.

As for being vegan, I quite understand the moral purpose, and there are some lovely recipes for beans and veg, many from the East. However, there is a need to not go for the cereals as carbs are sugars, and too much sugar can give rise to diabetes 2.

Personally I don't see why there is a need for pretend meat. This is just a marketing opportunity to make money out of the climate emergency, pushed by powerful investors and hedge funds. There are delicious vegan foods without the use of hydrolysed pea protein and chemicals we cant pronounce the names of. IMO.

notanan2 Mon 28-Oct-19 14:35:47

A burger to me isnt about the patty itself. Its the whole thing: the bun, the toppings, what you have on the side!

I dont see the point in a beef patty though. If Im going to have beef I would rather have a steak or something. I prefer other types of mince. Beef is hard to digest and increases your risk of cancer more than any other lifestyle item other than cigarettes

So as a meat eater, I like a burger but prefer turkey/chicken/veg/bean burgers.

If I'm going to have beef then I'll have proper beef that looks and tastes like beef

A burger patty or a sausage isnt "fake meat" as patties and sausages dont really resemble the meat theyre made of anyway IMO

janeainsworth Mon 28-Oct-19 16:26:20

Thank you for your post JacquiG
You might be interested in this article which explains why methane from cows isn’t such a problem as other greenhouse gases.
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/why-methane-should-be-treated-differently-compared-to-long-lived-greenhouse-gases-97845

Callistemon Mon 28-Oct-19 17:08:48

Good well-balanced post, JacquiG

Solitaire Mon 28-Oct-19 18:27:59

My thoughts exactly x

Alexa Mon 28-Oct-19 18:54:41

JacquiG, it's not possible to feed all the people in the world on the quality meat you describe. There is not enough land.There are too many people and most of them are too poor to eat any meat.

crystaltipps Mon 28-Oct-19 18:57:20

You can’t say leather production is eco friendly. The leather industry is hugely environmentally damaging. Turning skin into leather requires massive amounts of energy and dangerous chemicals like formaldehyde, chrome. The tanning process contains large amounts of pollutants and toxic chemicals like arsenic. Cancer risks among tannery workers in some cases are 20-50% higher than there would be otherwise. That’s without all the environmental damage of raising animals industrially - water, land use etc. Let’s face it, anything we do. / eat/ wear has an environmental impact. But that shouldn’t mean we shouldn’t try to do the least harm.

Davidhs Tue 29-Oct-19 08:37:30

I couldn’t find any so called Vegan footwear that are made from plant based materials. Most specified synthetic everything and being Vegan Friendly , M&S in particular specified “other material” or textile and nowhere do they mention being degradable.

Leather tanning does use nasty chemicals, so does synthetic material production, the amount of health and environmental damage done in China, India and other synthetic manufacturing countries is on a par with the UK 100 yrs ago.

Go to China and try snooping around the non tourist areas the police will very firmly redirect you.

ReadyMeals Tue 29-Oct-19 08:54:14

Davidhs you can get canvas and latex deck shoes etc but if you want them water-resistent and suitable for winter you're probably going to have to rely on petrochemicals to a certain extent, or wear wellingtons.

Callistemon Tue 29-Oct-19 09:46:33

Alexa we are presently producing more than enough food to feed the whole world with some left over.
The problems is logistics and waste, not to mention war and conflict.

Tabithajanecat Tue 29-Oct-19 13:17:31

I Love met but I don't eat it for welfare reasons. So being able to find vegitarian products the are meaty is fabulous. I never understand this countries obsession with meat. The way chickens are kept is horrid, and treated like a commodity.

Alexa Tue 29-Oct-19 13:19:33

"we are presently producing more than enough food to feed the whole world with some left over.
The problems is logistics and waste, not to mention war and conflict."

Without doubt these problems exist.

However the reason there is a lot of food is the UNSUSTAINABLE methods of producing food. These methods impoverish the soil,

erode land stability when trees are cut down or food animals eat the trees,

use land for inefficient foods such as flesh and dairy,

over- fish the seas,

poison ground water and rivers with agri runoff.

Hetty58 Thu 31-Oct-19 11:44:57

I think a lot of the 'pretend meat' products are a clever marketing ploy aimed at new vegetarians or vegans. Shops want to charge an equivalent (high) price for them so want to firmly associate them with meat in a customer's mind.

Back in the 1950s my parents grew a lot of fruit and veg. The Meat Marketing Board and dairy industry influenced the public to believe that you needed their products. We were told to 'Go to work on an egg, drink a pint of milk a day' etc. I don't think whole grains, seeds, nuts or pulses featured as beneficial at the time.

When I became vegetarian at 12 years old, they thought I'd soon be thin, pale and anaemic! I'm still very healthy, by the way!

jura2 Thu 31-Oct-19 11:50:54

Like others, I find your reaction very strange.

And non-meat products are clearly labelled.