TO MEAT OR NOT TO MEAT

 

TO MEAT OR NOT TO MEAT!

 

Shakespeare’s Hamlet had far more lofty matters on his plate when he uttered the phrase, to be or not to be, but why not have a bit of fun with a pun?  As a writer I am sometimes flummoxed by emerging fads and what spawns them.  Ripping perfectly good jeans and exposing generous swaths of leg through fraying tears in the fabric is but one of them.  But in this expose I am going to stick with fake meat, plant-based meat, pretend meat, whatever you decide to call it.  More and more people are turning to healthier food sources and a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle is but one choice.  But the burning question here is the following: Why would a true vegan want to eat pretend meat?  Is it out of a desperate attempt to belong to the legions of omnivores and carnivores they have left behind in search of greener and healthier pastures?  Having a foot in each camp?  Not quite like one foot in the grave and one outside, but definitely not committed to either.

I do admit to being the dubious owner of a rather suspicious and even devious mind. Writers are born observers, intrigued by human interaction and the shenanigans we get up to, the activities we partake in and the mind boggling schemes we come up with.  Once I sunk my teeth into the subject the questions bubbled forth, like an appetite that needed to be quenched.  Why would you turn vegetables into meat-look-a-likes?  And not just the why, but how?  What kind of processes are involved and are they even healthy?  We’re living in a world where information is at our fingertips and yet, upon researching the subject of fake meat, it left me absolutely amazed as to why this stupid craze even exists.

I would be totally remiss if I didn’t at least provide you with some salient facts, in regards to pretend meat and the real stuff.  Both have nasties embedded within.  But this is an article and not a book and I will give you a bare bones taste only.  Tip of the iceberg if you like. Books have been written on the subject and if you feel inclined to do your own in-depth study, be my guest.

   In order to create plant-based meat, proteins from plants are extracted, plants such as pea, soy, wheat protein and mushrooms.  But a myriad of additives are needed to make these products look and taste like traditional meat.  These ingredients are heated and pressed through an extruder machine.  Fats, coloring, flavor and aroma are added.  The process leads to a high content of saturated fat, sodium and sugar.  Some nasty chemicals can also be involved and the old adage, if you can’t pronounce the name of the chemical or additive in  your food you probably shouldn’t eat it.  The short form for one is TBHQ, a synthetic preservative that prevents discoloration.  Magnesium carbonate, Erythosine, Propylene glycol and Ferric orthophosphate.

Plant-based meats can lower the risk of cardiovascular risk, improve gut health and it can be more conducive to a healthy weight and support muscle growth.  However, most research into health benefits or risks are inconclusive or virtually non-existent.  As with most things humans invent the emphasis is on a quick profit through slick marketing and keeping our fingers crossed that it won’t be followed by a damning health study sounding the alarm.

Other than protein there is little nutritional value in a fake-meat patty.  100% grass fed beef contains a high amount of protein, but it is also loaded with vitamin B12, vitamin E, iron, zinc, omega-3 fats and others.  Plant-based meats also require more energy to produce than regular beef.  No fake-beef is purely vegetable based, a bit of added fat is needed to improve taste.

As a devoted omnivore I have tasted fake-meat and I can honestly state that it tastes horrible.  It shouldn’t be called food or confused with eating healthy.  If you are a vegan, stick to vegan.

I also have a beef with the real beef that is on display at our grocery stores and meat markets.  In all honesty I can’t refer to beef as on sale because the prices charged don’t even qualify as atrocious.  The term extortion is more appropriate and the price stickers are ransom demands.  It doesn’t even taste anymore the way beef used to taste.  Where did it come from?  Tough as shoe leather and lacking in flavor.

The bulk of our livestock is raised factory-farming-style with the emphasis on speed, efficiency and profit.  Force-fed, crammed together, injected with antibiotics and growth hormones, haplessly tramping around in their own excrements and none getting a chance to stretch their legs and getting some exercise.  Heaven forbid if some animal kindness interferes with market product readiness.

Everything we grow and eat is grown and processed with efficiency and none of them use natural and healthy processes to get their product to market.  We’re so out of touch.  Most people wouldn’t recognize a vegetable plot if they tripped over it.  People are getting upset about all sorts of things.  Mandatory vaccinations come to mind and lately it is griping about all things government that seem to be strangling our choice of freedom and liberty.  But what we should be getting upset about is all the crap masquerading as food.  Our daily intake.

We are eating medicated, inoculated garbage, laced with herbicides and pesticides.  Considering that we’re living in a world festooned with artifice and fakery, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that the level of artificial stupidity that resides in all of us is growing by leaps and bounds.  We love our ignorance.

Can stupidity be turned off?

There is not just one big, white elephant in the room, there is a whole herd tramping around!