Ever since Impossible stole the show at CES with the debut of the Impossible Burger 2.0 in 2019, a growing number of future food startups head to Vegas each January to try to repeat the feat or, at the very least, build momentum for the coming year.

You will eat ze bugs! Own nothing and be happy! Imma hard pass on that!

Only 1 of the 7 startups made something based on insects. All other used plant based products.

The following submission statement was provided by /u/Realistic-Plant3957:

Ever since Impossible stole the show at CES with the debut of the Impossible Burger 2.0 in 2019, a growing number of future food startups head to Vegas each January to try to repeat the feat or, at the very least, build momentum for the coming year.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/102x5ze/here_are_some_alternative_protein_future_food/j2vqx6k/

I dont want fake meat, if I wanted to eat less meat I would make dishes that don't need meat

Honey barbecue roach burgers from snowpiercer. Now you REALLY gotta watch the guy on the grill!

You really shouldn’t eat Impossible Foods or Beyond Meat products. They’re ultra processed and more worrying is the long term side effects of leghemaglobin (Impossible Burger) which has had exceptionally little long term research on health impact for average consumers.

I would eat lab-grown meat before I try one of those ultra-processed veggie things. Not saying they're dangerous, but it's unlikely that they are as good for you or safe as regular veggies.

Good for you, many other people don't want to eat .eat but do miss the flavour and texture.

Awww come on now! I came here just to say how much I wanted the smart but growing lab. Crickets aren’t bad if you cover em in cheese or bbq dust 🤭

And even that one was based in Korea, where entemophagy is already somewhat accepted. But Reddit can't hear about any new agricultural products without it being Snowpiercer and us being forced to scarf down wriggling cockroaches. Literally every advance must be a segue to a dystopian hellworld.

Nature’s Fynd is the one here that interests me the most. They're using an extremophile organism they discovered in a geyser at Yellowstone. I want an extremophile burger in my hand ASAP.

> They’re ultra processed

Since Reddit seems to consider that a big deal, we should clarify what it means.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-processed_food#Definition

The category includes things such as:

• Carbonated soft drinks, such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola
• Sweet, fatty or salty packaged snacks, such as Cheetos and potato chips
• Candies (confectionery), such as Snickers and Butterfinger
• Mass-produced packaged breads and buns, such as Wonder Bread and other White bread
• Cookies (biscuits), such as Oreo
• Pastries, such as Pepperidge Farm and Franz Family Bakeries
• Cakes and cake mixes, such as Duncan Hines and Pillsbury
• Margarine and other spreads, such as Smart Balance and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!
• Sweetened breakfast cereals, such as Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms
• Sweetened fruit yoghurt and energy drinks, such as Go-Gurt and Monster Energy
• Powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles, and desserts, such as Cup Noodles and Campbell's Soup Company
• Pre-prepared meat, cheese, pasta and pizza dishes, such as Ball Park Franks and Jimmy Dean (brand)
• Poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, such as Tyson Foods and McDonald's Sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, such as Spam and Slim Jim (snack food)

People are going to have to exclude a lot of commonly eaten food to avoid everything that is 'ultra-processed.' Not just those that happen to be plant-based meat substitutes.

I'm not a consumer of any of the products from these two companies. I do like Quorn nuggets, by those are mycoprotein, so possibly a different thing. But I have them maybe a couple of times a year. But some people who are trying to reduce their meat intake have told me that they do try Beyond or Impossible from time to time, and they are serviceable facsimiles for their purpose. Not that burgers or sausage or whatever, either plant-based or meat-based, are exactly healthy.

Plant based is about as honest as oreos are good vegan food

Yeah I'm not that fancy. Just plain old cow, chicken, pig, and lamb for me thanks. You can eat this frankenfood. I'll be out back

I feel the same way, I'm just not interested in any of this crap. Processed vegetables made to substitute meat are just that, Processed. Full of salt and additives. It will always be unhealthy compared to plain meat.

They aren't as healthy as plain meat that's for sure. I love people downvoting you for a personal opinion lol. You went against the hive mind.

I've had a cricket-based protein bar. It was... a protein bar. Intensely mediocre, as they generally are. There are insect-based protein bars and powders for sale now. So you don't have to eat bugs in the form of bugs. I've also seen flour and pasta (made from said flour) made partly from insects. Haven't tried it yet, but I would if I came across it in the store.

I think the future of proteins will be insect dusting of some vegetables not in these " fake meat " products. As well as vegetables heavy in protein content.

People aren’t downvoting for a difference in opinion. They’re downvoting because factory farming is objectively abhorrent, both morally and environmentally. When people try to discuss alternatives there’s always some goober that comes along whos suddenly a health expert with a contrarian opinion.

It’s just a dumb thing to say.

Factory farming is morrally abhorrent is an opinion in itself. So is Factory farming. I live in Florida. We have a lot of cows. They deficate in the fields they roam. They drink water from man made lakes that don't need any mechanical refilling. They live most of their lives in fields. When it's time for slaughter they die instantly. They live a good life. I'll have my steak thanks. You eat frankenfood if you want. In my opinion the cows live a good life. I raise chickens in my back yard. They live a good life, then when i slaughter them, they die quickly. I have no need for highly processed pasteurized meat substitute. That's my opinion.

I’m not talking about a farm raising a few cows and some chickens, or someone hunting their own animals. I’m talking about factory farms that slaughter animals by the thousands per hours. It’s terrible for the environment, not to mention the quality of the meat is poor. Plus it’s just fucking depressing to see

Morally less objective but I strongly disagree giving a cow “a good life” before you slaughter them is still not a pass. It still results in death and I see no difference in doing it with dogs, horses, hamsters, etc. if that happened people would lose their minds.

Do you call Coca-Cola or hot dogs frankfood?

I eat mainly meat, vegetables and fruit. I'll occasionally have something like tacos or sushi. Humans need to eat. It's a necessary evil. By growing crops, we mass kill insects and birds. Entire eco systems collapse by clearing land, applying pesticides, and fertilizer. People need to eat. We can't all hunt for food, or we would wipe the earth clean very quickly. Vegans and vegetarians are malnourished. Meat is an important staple for us to eat. Factory farming is a solution to starvation. Where do you draw the line exactly? How many wild animals get wiped out by farming? For any benefit, there is a loss. Doesn't matter what it is. If cows were in the wild and man never entered the picture, they would be constantly hunted by prey animals. They would be infected with bugs, worms, etc. They would die early anyway through predation, starvation, infection, ect. . A predatory animal takes time to kill. When you stop and think about it deeply, we are trading a better, healthier life in return for our predation and a quick kill. It's reasonable.

Life is cruel. Life is competitive. Nature is hell. It's simply reality. We are nature. You just favor a cute animal you can see being killed over the insects, wildlife, and natural environmental collapse you can't. We have to eat.

lol you ignored every part of both my responses to just say “life sucks and we’re gonna do it anyway”. I’m not trying to convince you not to eat meat. I’m making the point that MASS PRODUCED factory farm meat is fucked up, and arguing to the contrary either confirms ignorance or argument in bad faith.

I’m a 6’4” 230lb bodybuilder who doesn’t eat meat, come over and tell me I’m malnourished and how protein works lmao.

Well done, you're a master at the art of dodging the debater's points.

Fake meats generally replace processed meats such as burgers, nuggets, sausages, bacon, etc, so you should compare to that.

Both are processed, but one contains cholesterol and is linked to heart disease and is carcinogenic where the other contains fiber and has a higher sodium content. And please don't even start the protein crap. Give me the processed plant-based burger over the processed meat burger any day.