I happened across an article about the expansion of the fake meat market. I never buy fake burgers although some have ingredients that appear to emphasize real food. Nevertheless I don't want my dinner coming from a lab. But who would have thought that the main course would now be created on a 3D printer?
3D-Printed Fake Meat and Fish Have Officially Entered American Grocery Stores Without Clear Labeling
No doubt you had a mouth-watering sensation as you read that headline. What's not to love about fake meat and fish made from ingredients like "soy flour, rapeseed oil, modified starch, methylcellulose (whatever that is), xanthan gum, locust bean gum, and artificial meat coloring." Yum!
When I first read the headline I thought it was fake news, even though I know vegetarian patties have been around for a long time. Then I went to the website of Perfecta, the Israeli company making these delectable gourmet foods. The advertising is a lie from start to finish. 
First of all, there is no such thing as "plant meat." In order to make that claim you need to deep six dictionary definitions and create a completely false lexicon. You cannot make a filet mignon from a plant. Here is the definition of filet mignon: "A small, round, very choice cut of beef from the loin." Got that a "cut of BEEF." Now consider the ingredients in this "juicy and tender "Filet Mignon." Water, soy flour, methylcellulose, natural flavoring, rapeseed oil, coconut oil, salt, beetroot powder, and food coloring (caramel).
The fake chicken breast contains wheat and gluten as well as more soy. How many folks with celiac and gluten allergies will inadvertently get this in a restaurant passing it off as real chicken, say in a taco.
And then there are the "fish" patties. They didn't find that "fish" in a net or on the end of a hook, that's for sure!
Some people tasting this say it's a surprisingly good imitation. But how healthy is it to fill people up with unhealthy oils and a steady diet of soy? Like so many things, the long-term consequences of this are unknown.
Not only is fake, 3D printed "meat" an assault on your diet, but it's an assault on your mind. None of this promotion is based on truth. The lying ads call plant products beef, chicken, and fish when they clearly are not.
We live in a culture of the lie. Some people are convinced that saying a man is a woman or a woman is a man makes it so. Now saying that a plant is beef, chicken, or fish joins the big lie. And meanwhile the advertising lies turn our brains off and use subtle and not-so-subtle images to erase reality and get us to substitute lies for the truth.
Perfecta wants you to believe that eating their fake meat has "perfected" dinner. They use words like sustainable to pretend they are doing the planet a favor. Are they? I wouldn't buy these foods, even if they taste identical to meat and fish, because of the lies used to manipulate shoppers. Beef doesn't come from your garden! Here's a reminder if you need one.
And, by the way, here is Wikipedia's definition of methylcellulose:
Methyl cellulose (or methylcellulose) is a compound derived from cellulose. It is sold under a variety of trade names and is used as a thickener and emulsifier in various food and cosmetic products, and also as a bulk-forming laxative. Like cellulose, it is non-digestible, non-toxic, and not an allergen. In addition to culinary uses, it is used in arts and crafts such as papier-mâché and is often the main ingredient of wallpaper paste.
Hey, kids, come and get it! Dinner's ready. We're having wallpaper paste for dinner.
First of all, there is no such thing as "plant meat." In order to make that claim you need to deep six dictionary definitions and create a completely false lexicon. You cannot make a filet mignon from a plant. Here is the definition of filet mignon: "A small, round, very choice cut of beef from the loin." Got that a "cut of BEEF." Now consider the ingredients in this "juicy and tender "Filet Mignon." Water, soy flour, methylcellulose, natural flavoring, rapeseed oil, coconut oil, salt, beetroot powder, and food coloring (caramel). 
I used to be a cheap skate in the grocery store usually buying what ever was on sale. Then I wondered just what price do you put on your own health? Now I get my beef from 2 sources. Both are Angus beef, no artifical hormones or antibiotics. Cattle is grass fed and humainly treated. One is https://www.44steaks.com/ they other is a new place closer to home in Wisconsin, https://7footfarm.com/ who also have no antibiotics or hormones in their beef and the cattle are also grass fed. 44 farms will ship free for over 200 dollar purchase and 7 foot farm ships free for over 100 dollar purchase, 7 food farms also ships 2 day delivery and the meat comes froze solid in styrofoam containers. Needless to say the meat is tender and extremely tasty. My produce comes from a farm stand in Wisconsin, again a little more but I see the dirt it grows in. Like I say, what price do you put on your health.
ReplyDeleteWe also order our meat and fish online. I use the packaging to make winter insulation for our beehives. Win-win.
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