have you heard of quorn?
August 12, 2002 12:01 PM Subscribe
have you heard of quorn?
some people say it's great, others aren't so sure.
does anyone have personal experience with this type of food, and if so, what's your take? the next big thing or the new olestra?
some people say it's great, others aren't so sure.
does anyone have personal experience with this type of food, and if so, what's your take? the next big thing or the new olestra?
Could they have possibly picked a less-apetizing name?
posted by mogwai at 12:19 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by mogwai at 12:19 PM on August 12, 2002
It's been available in the UK for ages. Never heard of anyone having problems with it (my first reaction on reading that news report after "eh?" and "is this from years ago?" was to wonder whether the "Center for Science in the Public Interest" was funded by someone with commerical interests in seeing Quorn fail (apparebtly not). Personally, I prefer the soya based "meat substitutes". The quorn ones always seemed a bit rubbery in comparison.
I'd be happy to have any kind of convenience food meat substitute sausage/burger (including Quorn based) at a reasonable price here in Chile...
posted by andrew cooke at 12:22 PM on August 12, 2002
I'd be happy to have any kind of convenience food meat substitute sausage/burger (including Quorn based) at a reasonable price here in Chile...
posted by andrew cooke at 12:22 PM on August 12, 2002
Could they have possibly picked a less-apetizing name?
"Fungus-based meat substitute."
posted by Skot at 12:25 PM on August 12, 2002
"Fungus-based meat substitute."
posted by Skot at 12:25 PM on August 12, 2002
I tried the nuggets, and they were as good as any chicken nugget you'll find in the frozen food section. Which is to say, they weren't great. I do enjoy saying "mycoprotien," though.
I did not experience any gastric distress, nor have the thousands upon thousands of Brits who eat this stuff on a weekly basis. I can imagine the thought process of most of these folks who got sick after eating Quorn. "I made a veggie omelette with month-old eggs, a cup of process cheese, a half jar of salsa left over from Super Bowl Sunday, and some fake ground beef. Now I don't feel good. Unsafe product!"
I mean, could this stuff even come close to being as dangerous as the meat for which it substitutes?
posted by chino at 12:30 PM on August 12, 2002
I did not experience any gastric distress, nor have the thousands upon thousands of Brits who eat this stuff on a weekly basis. I can imagine the thought process of most of these folks who got sick after eating Quorn. "I made a veggie omelette with month-old eggs, a cup of process cheese, a half jar of salsa left over from Super Bowl Sunday, and some fake ground beef. Now I don't feel good. Unsafe product!"
I mean, could this stuff even come close to being as dangerous as the meat for which it substitutes?
posted by chino at 12:30 PM on August 12, 2002
just because it's a mycoprotein doesn't mean it can't run fast
posted by gravelshoes at 12:30 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by gravelshoes at 12:30 PM on August 12, 2002
Haven't I seen quorn before on the 'Filter? I can't bring myself to make any quorny jokes about it, though.
posted by insomnyuk at 12:30 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by insomnyuk at 12:30 PM on August 12, 2002
I am speaking as someone who ingests copious amounts of animal protein, by the way. If Quorn tasted like a Double Double from In-n-Out, I'd eat it breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
posted by chino at 12:32 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by chino at 12:32 PM on August 12, 2002
This is strange: I saw ads for this Science in the Public Interest organisation in all the broadsheet Sundays asking for people who'd become sick after eating Quorn. (Not as if we have enough trouble with food standards here.)
Anyway, they're obviously on a mission to get it declared unfit for human consumption in the USA, the land of GM corn and soya, BGH-laden meat and milk, and god knows what else. Either that or to rake in the millions from a lawsuit against those filthy Brits who make Quorn. But I suspect that if there'd been a problem with the stuff in Britain over the past seventeen years, we'd have seen it in the papers alongside the tabloid scares over salmonella, listeria, botulism, E. coli, BSE and so on. I can't see the point of fake meat, though. Pick a side, people: if you want something that tastes like beef, get behind me in the queue for it.
posted by riviera at 12:33 PM on August 12, 2002
Anyway, they're obviously on a mission to get it declared unfit for human consumption in the USA, the land of GM corn and soya, BGH-laden meat and milk, and god knows what else. Either that or to rake in the millions from a lawsuit against those filthy Brits who make Quorn. But I suspect that if there'd been a problem with the stuff in Britain over the past seventeen years, we'd have seen it in the papers alongside the tabloid scares over salmonella, listeria, botulism, E. coli, BSE and so on. I can't see the point of fake meat, though. Pick a side, people: if you want something that tastes like beef, get behind me in the queue for it.
posted by riviera at 12:33 PM on August 12, 2002
Haven't I seen quorn before on the 'Filter?
Yes.
posted by PrinceValium at 12:34 PM on August 12, 2002
Yes.
posted by PrinceValium at 12:34 PM on August 12, 2002
Haven't I seen quorn before on the 'Filter?
We briefly discussed Quorn back in this nugget thread. [and for some reason, the thread doesn't appear when using the google metafilter search - anyone know why?]
posted by gluechunk at 12:37 PM on August 12, 2002
We briefly discussed Quorn back in this nugget thread. [and for some reason, the thread doesn't appear when using the google metafilter search - anyone know why?]
posted by gluechunk at 12:37 PM on August 12, 2002
BGH-laden meat and milk
Now he's into our food, too?! Damn him! Oh, wait...
posted by monju_bosatsu at 12:41 PM on August 12, 2002
Now he's into our food, too?! Damn him! Oh, wait...
posted by monju_bosatsu at 12:41 PM on August 12, 2002
...the thread doesn't appear when using the google metafilter search
phew, i thought i goofed. so maybe i!=total bonehead after all
posted by dolface at 12:42 PM on August 12, 2002
phew, i thought i goofed. so maybe i!=total bonehead after all
posted by dolface at 12:42 PM on August 12, 2002
foodallergy.org says that 6 to 7 million americans have a food allergy of some kind, so if 2ish or 3ish percent of the population is gonna get sick eating one kind of food or another and one in ten people get sick eating this proto-soylent green then, yeah, that's not too cool. But once again how large is thier sample study and so on
The third link has cool technical info, such as:
Because the hyphae in harvested mycoprotein have a similar morphology to that of animal muscle cells, the product assembly process seeks to reproduce in the mycoprotein products the structural organization which exists in natural meats by mimicking the myofibril-connective tissue arrangement which exists in muscle foods.
Is the ideal fake meat something that is exactly like meat in almost every way? would you all eat meat from genetically engineered animals that had no nervous systems or ability to feel pain/fear?
posted by Divine_Wino at 12:46 PM on August 12, 2002
The third link has cool technical info, such as:
Because the hyphae in harvested mycoprotein have a similar morphology to that of animal muscle cells, the product assembly process seeks to reproduce in the mycoprotein products the structural organization which exists in natural meats by mimicking the myofibril-connective tissue arrangement which exists in muscle foods.
Is the ideal fake meat something that is exactly like meat in almost every way? would you all eat meat from genetically engineered animals that had no nervous systems or ability to feel pain/fear?
posted by Divine_Wino at 12:46 PM on August 12, 2002
soylent green anyone? i always think of this food stuff being produced in underground vats, bereft of light and all wholesomeness.
seeslair (try reading it out aloud, it works with a british accent, probably), quorn is expensive and tasteless. a bit like what we are all supposed to aspire to(?).
anyhoo, what can quorn do that soya can't? (on preview - it's british, ah, that's one thing) i have never heard of any problems with it.
on preview - thanks riviera, i see. those poor yanks can't get a non-gm soya product, even if they want one. it goes against free-trade, as any fule kno. those meat substitute quorn products are for the linda macartney newbie-veggies, yo.
chino - chicken nuggets, as you may be aware, contain FA in the way of yer actual chicken. injected with cattle protein to make up the numbers for the food standards agency, in the uk at least. i think the best i heard of was a massive 22% of chicken in a nugget. that's an expensive organic one, should you wish to investigate. a quorn substitute is definately a healthy option.
posted by asok at 12:47 PM on August 12, 2002
seeslair (try reading it out aloud, it works with a british accent, probably), quorn is expensive and tasteless. a bit like what we are all supposed to aspire to(?).
anyhoo, what can quorn do that soya can't? (on preview - it's british, ah, that's one thing) i have never heard of any problems with it.
on preview - thanks riviera, i see. those poor yanks can't get a non-gm soya product, even if they want one. it goes against free-trade, as any fule kno. those meat substitute quorn products are for the linda macartney newbie-veggies, yo.
chino - chicken nuggets, as you may be aware, contain FA in the way of yer actual chicken. injected with cattle protein to make up the numbers for the food standards agency, in the uk at least. i think the best i heard of was a massive 22% of chicken in a nugget. that's an expensive organic one, should you wish to investigate. a quorn substitute is definately a healthy option.
posted by asok at 12:47 PM on August 12, 2002
Fungus-based meat substitute
I thought that's what grilled portabella mushrooms were.
posted by crunchland at 1:00 PM on August 12, 2002
I thought that's what grilled portabella mushrooms were.
posted by crunchland at 1:00 PM on August 12, 2002
would you all eat meat from genetically engineered animals that had no nervous systems or ability to feel pain/fear?
Being a veggie isn't a simple logical decision. People have emotions and exist inside cultures. No-one sits down and writes out a logical predicate that will define exactly what foods they can and can't eat. (In other words your questions is contrived/doesn't provide all the context necessary for an answer).
(This attitude really annoys me, incidentally - long ago I wrote a [self link] reply with more details).
posted by andrew cooke at 1:00 PM on August 12, 2002
Being a veggie isn't a simple logical decision. People have emotions and exist inside cultures. No-one sits down and writes out a logical predicate that will define exactly what foods they can and can't eat. (In other words your questions is contrived/doesn't provide all the context necessary for an answer).
(This attitude really annoys me, incidentally - long ago I wrote a [self link] reply with more details).
posted by andrew cooke at 1:00 PM on August 12, 2002
i think quorn tastes pretty good, i know gardenburger is pissed off at them now because they say they use mushroom-proteins and not what it actually comes from. other than that i don't think there is any problem really.
the fungus they use is fusarium, and is not a mushroom, it's only in the same kingdom. just like people and fish are animals.
there is also some mild concern since fusarium can produce toxins in the appropriate conditions, but they check for that. i would actually prefer GM-toxin knockout fusarium, but god knows the europeans would piss themselves.
posted by rhyax at 1:08 PM on August 12, 2002
the fungus they use is fusarium, and is not a mushroom, it's only in the same kingdom. just like people and fish are animals.
there is also some mild concern since fusarium can produce toxins in the appropriate conditions, but they check for that. i would actually prefer GM-toxin knockout fusarium, but god knows the europeans would piss themselves.
posted by rhyax at 1:08 PM on August 12, 2002
Quorn rolls rock big time, and I'm a meat eater. Bootiful.
posted by boneybaloney at 1:09 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by boneybaloney at 1:09 PM on August 12, 2002
>>Is the ideal fake meat something that is exactly like meat in almost every way? would you all eat meat from genetically engineered animals that had no nervous systems or ability to feel pain/fear? <<
I actually can't stand fake meat products. Granted my vegetarianism as a result of a literal overnight emotional conversion. But fake meat products just taste a bit too much like meat for me. I think that "the ideal" will depend on you talk to. Quite a few vegetarians find the idea of fake meat to be at best absurd and at worst disgusting. I suspect that quorn probably best appeals to the folks who want to cut back on meat consumption but have trouble imagining a meal without something that looks like and tastes like meat.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 1:21 PM on August 12, 2002
I actually can't stand fake meat products. Granted my vegetarianism as a result of a literal overnight emotional conversion. But fake meat products just taste a bit too much like meat for me. I think that "the ideal" will depend on you talk to. Quite a few vegetarians find the idea of fake meat to be at best absurd and at worst disgusting. I suspect that quorn probably best appeals to the folks who want to cut back on meat consumption but have trouble imagining a meal without something that looks like and tastes like meat.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 1:21 PM on August 12, 2002
Andrew Cooke: How does my question not provide enough context? It's a yes or no (and why) question, not directed at veggies, but at everyone. And perhaps you meant to say being a veggie isn't a simple logical decision for you (since I can think of many people who are vegetarians on the purely logical basis that is a healthy and inexpensive way to live and don't care a fig about the killing animals part), unless you represent the universal veggie hive mind of course, in which case, cool thanks for telling me how you all feel.
Also, yes people do sit down and decide what foods they will and will not eat logically. I am a person, I do not eat hot dogs because they are full of lips and assholes, QED babes.
And what attitude really annoys you? The one where someone asks a question? Note I didn't say all you stupid veggies should eat meat from spineless cows, I asked where that lay on the moral axis.
posted by Divine_Wino at 1:23 PM on August 12, 2002
Also, yes people do sit down and decide what foods they will and will not eat logically. I am a person, I do not eat hot dogs because they are full of lips and assholes, QED babes.
And what attitude really annoys you? The one where someone asks a question? Note I didn't say all you stupid veggies should eat meat from spineless cows, I asked where that lay on the moral axis.
posted by Divine_Wino at 1:23 PM on August 12, 2002
I've eaten quorn for years and I love it. I'm surprised it isn't well known in the USA. It's a toss-up whether I prefer quorn or soya. Can't stand tofu though!
posted by salmacis at 1:29 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by salmacis at 1:29 PM on August 12, 2002
Divine Wino: If you're going to not eat hot dogs, you should not eat them because they contain horrible chemicals and preservatives and colorings, not because they contain lips and assholes, which are perfectly safe (and tasty) for human consumption. We waste obscene amounts of perfectly edible animal protein because it's culturally distasteful. Organ meats, which are high in protein and low in fat, often get tossed, and are in some cases not even labeled as fit for human consumption (which would be news to the millions of people in other countries - like France - that eat organs on a daily basis). We would do the environment a big old favor by casting our anti-asshole prejudice (Ever eat pastrami, by the way?) Maybe if we didn't call it "offal."
posted by chino at 1:46 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by chino at 1:46 PM on August 12, 2002
Divine_Wino - sorry my response seems out of proportion, but I suspect I'm not alone amongst vegetarians in having sat through countless conversations along the lines of: "So would you eat fish?" "How about eggs?" "What do you mean by alive?" "Does it need nerves?" "What about plankton then?" etc etc. Maybe you feel that your questions was different - it doesn't seem so from here.
If you want me to be more specific - what annoys me is that other people *expect* me to justify my behaviour. What was your question meant to achieve? What posible use is any answer? Planning to do some genetic engineering? Or just trying to pin me down into box with a neat label? I refuse to fit you box. Thrrrrrrrrrpp.
posted by andrew cooke at 1:52 PM on August 12, 2002
If you want me to be more specific - what annoys me is that other people *expect* me to justify my behaviour. What was your question meant to achieve? What posible use is any answer? Planning to do some genetic engineering? Or just trying to pin me down into box with a neat label? I refuse to fit you box. Thrrrrrrrrrpp.
posted by andrew cooke at 1:52 PM on August 12, 2002
If you want me to be more specific - what annoys me is that other people *expect* me to justify my behaviour. What was your question meant to achieve?
Discussion of a hypothetical.
What posible use is any answer?
Discussion, speculation, what use is a site where people talk about things?
Planning to do some genetic engineering?
bite me
Or just trying to pin me down into box with a neat label? I refuse to fit you box. Thrrrrrrrrrpp.
What's all this I and Me stuff? Are we having a private conversation? Please don't justify your behavior to me, I don't care why you do or do not eat meat (or if you eat eggs, fish or plankton, although maybe those countless people just wanted to get to know you?). Nor did I ask you that, please consider my question retracted in your special prickly overly personal case.
Chino: right sorry I meant lips, assholes and chemicals.
posted by Divine_Wino at 2:28 PM on August 12, 2002
Discussion of a hypothetical.
What posible use is any answer?
Discussion, speculation, what use is a site where people talk about things?
Planning to do some genetic engineering?
bite me
Or just trying to pin me down into box with a neat label? I refuse to fit you box. Thrrrrrrrrrpp.
What's all this I and Me stuff? Are we having a private conversation? Please don't justify your behavior to me, I don't care why you do or do not eat meat (or if you eat eggs, fish or plankton, although maybe those countless people just wanted to get to know you?). Nor did I ask you that, please consider my question retracted in your special prickly overly personal case.
Chino: right sorry I meant lips, assholes and chemicals.
posted by Divine_Wino at 2:28 PM on August 12, 2002
"Consumer health and wellness is the number one priority at Quorn Foods,"
Could someone please turn off their Yanni and explain to me the difference between health and wellness?
posted by HTuttle at 2:34 PM on August 12, 2002
Could someone please turn off their Yanni and explain to me the difference between health and wellness?
posted by HTuttle at 2:34 PM on August 12, 2002
Could someone please turn off their Yanni and explain to me the difference between health and wellness?
Health: Your relative physical and mental state.
Wellness: How long I cook you for.
posted by Skot at 2:36 PM on August 12, 2002
Health: Your relative physical and mental state.
Wellness: How long I cook you for.
posted by Skot at 2:36 PM on August 12, 2002
We would do the environment a big old favor by casting our anti-asshole prejudice
chino, I never eat vegetables because birds poop on them.
posted by HTuttle at 2:41 PM on August 12, 2002
chino, I never eat vegetables because birds poop on them.
posted by HTuttle at 2:41 PM on August 12, 2002
Actually it's not a fungus at all... it's a mold. Ew.
posted by 4easypayments at 2:59 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by 4easypayments at 2:59 PM on August 12, 2002
I love Quorn, mostly because of the texture. It's nice to have something to actually chomp on. I've been vegetarian for almost exactly six years (next weekend, yay) and generally eschew fakemeats... but there are nights when I just don't have it in me to make a fancy tempeh wrap or curry.
posted by acornface at 3:20 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by acornface at 3:20 PM on August 12, 2002
I remember reading an article that mentioned the fact that Quorn had been either tested on animals or that animal, altho' not used in the final consumer product, had been used in the R&D process.
posted by i_cola at 3:20 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by i_cola at 3:20 PM on August 12, 2002
I get my steak not from spineless, but headless, cows.
posted by MrMoonPie at 3:33 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by MrMoonPie at 3:33 PM on August 12, 2002
Another pro-Quorn voice here - I went vegetarian in January 2001. I have absolutely no idea why, not really moral or health reasons, just to be perverse probably. Since then I've consumed a lot of Quorn. I don't think of it as meat-substitute, but a convenient way to eat protein. The burgers are nice in a strange way. I very much enjoy the nuggets and prefer the mince to soya stuff (although it needs a bit of flavouring). I've had fry-ups including Quorn sausages (at least as realistic as the average sausage and contains no arse), which is probably a bit sad.
The coup-de-grace is the fake-chicken-roll. At a party once I stood next to a buffet and compulsively ate the whole plate of it. I had to apologise to the hostess I ate so much of it. Much nicer than actual recovered-meat product.
My point is that not only have I eaten it, but have done so to excess with no ill-effects.
posted by Grangousier at 3:57 PM on August 12, 2002
The coup-de-grace is the fake-chicken-roll. At a party once I stood next to a buffet and compulsively ate the whole plate of it. I had to apologise to the hostess I ate so much of it. Much nicer than actual recovered-meat product.
My point is that not only have I eaten it, but have done so to excess with no ill-effects.
posted by Grangousier at 3:57 PM on August 12, 2002
I'm a vegetarian, but I'm the kind that doesn't "happily eat" meat that is prepared for me. I've met all kinds of vegetarians. There are those who eat chicken broth, those who only eat ham, the ones who eat canned salmon, tuna fish is OK for this one. I'm sorry, but if you eat meat, then you are not a vegetarian. It is that simple.
Now, if some meat accidentally slips into your mouth and you swallow or something, then what can you do? But, if you happily eat meat when it might be less than convienent to do otherwise then you are a carnivore who limits his intake of meat. There is no such thing as a vegetarian who has an occasional slab of flesh.
(This attitude really annoys me).
posted by internook at 4:35 PM on August 12, 2002
Now, if some meat accidentally slips into your mouth and you swallow or something, then what can you do? But, if you happily eat meat when it might be less than convienent to do otherwise then you are a carnivore who limits his intake of meat. There is no such thing as a vegetarian who has an occasional slab of flesh.
(This attitude really annoys me).
posted by internook at 4:35 PM on August 12, 2002
Given the hypothetical my answer would be "probably not" because I doubt one could produce nerveless meat without a large degree of unnecessary suffering.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 4:40 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by KirkJobSluder at 4:40 PM on August 12, 2002
And I'm not asking anyone to justify anything. I'm just saying... if you eat meat, then you aren't a vegetarian. You are trying to fool yourself if you say otherwise.
posted by internook at 4:43 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by internook at 4:43 PM on August 12, 2002
I doubt one could produce nerveless meat without a large degree of unnecessary suffering.
I don't think that is correct. Right now you probably could probably just grow a giant cancer culture invitro. It would be meat with no nerves...
Also people are looking into ways to clone organs individually, for transplant, but theres no reason you couldn't just eat them.
posted by Iax at 5:03 PM on August 12, 2002
I don't think that is correct. Right now you probably could probably just grow a giant cancer culture invitro. It would be meat with no nerves...
Also people are looking into ways to clone organs individually, for transplant, but theres no reason you couldn't just eat them.
posted by Iax at 5:03 PM on August 12, 2002
If you eat meat, then you aren't a vegetarian. You are trying to fool yourself if you say otherwise.
where "fool yourself" means what, exactly? as far as i can see, it means little more than "i don't agree with you". i call myself honest, but sometimes lie - that's life. i think cars are making more of a mess to the world than meat eating, but i had a lift in one today (buses are on strike here) - that's life. i'm a monogamist, but there are details in my life that i'd be uncomfortable sharing with my partner - that's life.
life is complicated. it involves compromises. why does vegetarianism bring out this quasi-religious obstinacy in people? it's not like 2+2=4. do you really have a position on eating plankton or not? ever wear leather (and if that's not related to vegetarianism, aren't you worried more about word play than practicalities)? how much care do you take to avoid starting on small bugs? what would you do if you had rats in the house?
it's not just that petty rules and definitions are silly - they also make life more difficult. i live in chile, where vegetarianism means you're a health food freak. if there's a vegetarian option at a restaurant it's either salad or contains chicken(!). i'm the first vegetarian most people have met that's not some weird food-nazi. when i talk to people and explain that i think killing things just to eat them is wrong, but that it's less important than many other things, they look at me like it's a whole new option for them. vegetarianism needn't be a fad or a religion - it can be something normal, moral people do, just like they try to give money to people begging on buses, or help donate blood when a freind is ill. a moral position that doesn't involve extreme measures, but something that can fit into this dirty, complicated world. that they can be normal and not eat meat! instead of treating me like a sideshow they start to ask for recipes...
if you think this is wrong then i think you're daft. if you think it's not vegetarianism, then fine - what's important for me isn't what you call vegetarianism. but i'm still using that world so you better go find a different one...
posted by andrew cooke at 5:58 PM on August 12, 2002
where "fool yourself" means what, exactly? as far as i can see, it means little more than "i don't agree with you". i call myself honest, but sometimes lie - that's life. i think cars are making more of a mess to the world than meat eating, but i had a lift in one today (buses are on strike here) - that's life. i'm a monogamist, but there are details in my life that i'd be uncomfortable sharing with my partner - that's life.
life is complicated. it involves compromises. why does vegetarianism bring out this quasi-religious obstinacy in people? it's not like 2+2=4. do you really have a position on eating plankton or not? ever wear leather (and if that's not related to vegetarianism, aren't you worried more about word play than practicalities)? how much care do you take to avoid starting on small bugs? what would you do if you had rats in the house?
it's not just that petty rules and definitions are silly - they also make life more difficult. i live in chile, where vegetarianism means you're a health food freak. if there's a vegetarian option at a restaurant it's either salad or contains chicken(!). i'm the first vegetarian most people have met that's not some weird food-nazi. when i talk to people and explain that i think killing things just to eat them is wrong, but that it's less important than many other things, they look at me like it's a whole new option for them. vegetarianism needn't be a fad or a religion - it can be something normal, moral people do, just like they try to give money to people begging on buses, or help donate blood when a freind is ill. a moral position that doesn't involve extreme measures, but something that can fit into this dirty, complicated world. that they can be normal and not eat meat! instead of treating me like a sideshow they start to ask for recipes...
if you think this is wrong then i think you're daft. if you think it's not vegetarianism, then fine - what's important for me isn't what you call vegetarianism. but i'm still using that world so you better go find a different one...
posted by andrew cooke at 5:58 PM on August 12, 2002
Are we having a private conversation?
now i'm confused. am i supposed to reply to that or not?
posted by andrew cooke at 6:01 PM on August 12, 2002
now i'm confused. am i supposed to reply to that or not?
posted by andrew cooke at 6:01 PM on August 12, 2002
would you all eat meat from genetically engineered animals that had no nervous systems or ability to feel pain/fear?
nope, no way. if i'm going to eat meat then i want it to have lived on a farm first, chewed it's cud, mooed to the cow across the field, pecked some grain, laid an egg, procreated, and stuff like that. and it's got to be a real farm, not an industrial farm where everything is cooped up and indoors. i have a vague sort of unformed reason why i need it to be this way... i guess i like life and death to be natural and not so removed from my part in it... a reason that could be shredded by this or that individual, but it's the way i feel and the way i feel supercedes all opinions that don't originate with me.
that being said i don't eat meat very often. christmas turkey and the occasional meat sauce for italian dishes. i just don't like meat that much and enjoy other protein sources much more.
quorn sounds repulsive.
posted by t r a c y at 7:41 PM on August 12, 2002
nope, no way. if i'm going to eat meat then i want it to have lived on a farm first, chewed it's cud, mooed to the cow across the field, pecked some grain, laid an egg, procreated, and stuff like that. and it's got to be a real farm, not an industrial farm where everything is cooped up and indoors. i have a vague sort of unformed reason why i need it to be this way... i guess i like life and death to be natural and not so removed from my part in it... a reason that could be shredded by this or that individual, but it's the way i feel and the way i feel supercedes all opinions that don't originate with me.
that being said i don't eat meat very often. christmas turkey and the occasional meat sauce for italian dishes. i just don't like meat that much and enjoy other protein sources much more.
quorn sounds repulsive.
posted by t r a c y at 7:41 PM on August 12, 2002
Quorn was the butt of one of the multitude of running in-jokes my gang o' university pals enjoyed in the mid-eighties at UBC.
I'm slighty freaked out by it appearing on Metafilter 18 years later.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:14 PM on August 12, 2002
I'm slighty freaked out by it appearing on Metafilter 18 years later.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:14 PM on August 12, 2002
Mold is part of the fungi kingdom, and in that context it makes sense that some people are complaining of allergic reactions -- different people experience all sorts of weird reactions to fungi. A group of people may all eat the same type of mushroom, and only one may have an allergic reaction. And there are people who have eaten the same type of mushroom for years, and one day have an allergic reaction to it. So, I guess what I'm saying is: sure, a small number of people may have hard-to-explain reactions to this product, no matter how many people they test it on. Yeah.
posted by emyd at 9:57 PM on August 12, 2002
posted by emyd at 9:57 PM on August 12, 2002
andrew cooke, I have no beef with you (har, har). To some people who choose a lifestyle based on a belief system, and not just for the hell of it, it perturbs us when other people start using the label erroneously. I agree you don't have to justify your lifestyle or your choices, but I maintain my right to defend the term vegetarian. I don't have a Ph.D., so I'm not a doctor. If I called myself Dr. So-and-so then the real Ph.Ds would have a right to dispute my claim. Otherwise, what significance does it have? I eat dairy products occasionally, so I don't call myself a vegan. If I did call myself such I would expect real vegans to correct me- no, you are not a vegan... you do dairy. I could insist all day that the sky is orange, but that doesn't make it so.
I am not trying to start a war here, but I feel very strongly about this. If you eat meat, then you aren't a vegetarian. This has nothing to do with what I think. It has everything to do with what is the truth of the matter. So, continue you to use the word incorrectly if you so wish, and in a part of the world where people aren't as aware of vegetarianism that may get you far. However, I will continue to call a spade a spade, and the sky isn't orange this monring.
posted by internook at 5:09 AM on August 13, 2002
I am not trying to start a war here, but I feel very strongly about this. If you eat meat, then you aren't a vegetarian. This has nothing to do with what I think. It has everything to do with what is the truth of the matter. So, continue you to use the word incorrectly if you so wish, and in a part of the world where people aren't as aware of vegetarianism that may get you far. However, I will continue to call a spade a spade, and the sky isn't orange this monring.
posted by internook at 5:09 AM on August 13, 2002
If you eat meat, then you aren't a vegetarian.
If you care so much about the word, why haven't you looked it up? A vegetarian can be someone who doesn't believe in eating in meat or meat products, a definition that has nothing to do with actual practice and is much less absolute than what you're insisting upon here.
posted by rcade at 6:11 AM on August 13, 2002
If you care so much about the word, why haven't you looked it up? A vegetarian can be someone who doesn't believe in eating in meat or meat products, a definition that has nothing to do with actual practice and is much less absolute than what you're insisting upon here.
posted by rcade at 6:11 AM on August 13, 2002
definitions vary from dictionary to dictionary. surely you don't think infoplease.com is the undisputed source of true information. Merriam-Webster indicates that a vegetarian is synonomous with 'herbivore' -a plant-eating animal, or one who practices 'vegetarianism'-the theory or practice of living on a diet made up of vegetables , fruits, grains, nuts, and sometimes eggs or dairy products. We are splitting hairs. Words mean things. A vegetarian doesn't eat meat.
posted by internook at 6:52 AM on August 13, 2002
posted by internook at 6:52 AM on August 13, 2002
Iax:
I don't think that is correct. Right now you probably could probably just grow a giant cancer culture invitro. It would be meat with no nerves...
The hard part is that meat is more than a collection of cells, but a complex layered tissue with blood vessels and marbled layers of fat. The current techniques for creating such a structure in vitro are not very appetizing. But I suppose my next question is why bother? I am more than satisfied with the choices that are available in the produce section. So i don't really see a demand for an in vitro meat substitute.
rcade:
If you care so much about the word, why haven't you looked it up? A vegetarian can be someone who doesn't believe in eating in meat or meat products, a definition that has nothing to do with actual practice and is much less absolute than what you're insisting upon here.
I would consider that definition to be a bit imprecise. especially compared to definitions from vegetarian groups such as The Vegetarian Society of Dallas, and The International Vegetarian Union (the same definition has been adopted by The Vegetarian Union of North America). Actually, The International Vegetarian Union definition is the same definition as when the term was originally coined.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 7:04 AM on August 13, 2002
I don't think that is correct. Right now you probably could probably just grow a giant cancer culture invitro. It would be meat with no nerves...
The hard part is that meat is more than a collection of cells, but a complex layered tissue with blood vessels and marbled layers of fat. The current techniques for creating such a structure in vitro are not very appetizing. But I suppose my next question is why bother? I am more than satisfied with the choices that are available in the produce section. So i don't really see a demand for an in vitro meat substitute.
rcade:
If you care so much about the word, why haven't you looked it up? A vegetarian can be someone who doesn't believe in eating in meat or meat products, a definition that has nothing to do with actual practice and is much less absolute than what you're insisting upon here.
I would consider that definition to be a bit imprecise. especially compared to definitions from vegetarian groups such as The Vegetarian Society of Dallas, and The International Vegetarian Union (the same definition has been adopted by The Vegetarian Union of North America). Actually, The International Vegetarian Union definition is the same definition as when the term was originally coined.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 7:04 AM on August 13, 2002
Words mean things. A vegetarian doesn't eat meat.
And a libertarian believes in limited government. Want to engage in a long pedantic argument with self-proclaimed libertarians who don't live up to your strict definition of the word?
posted by rcade at 9:51 AM on August 13, 2002
And a libertarian believes in limited government. Want to engage in a long pedantic argument with self-proclaimed libertarians who don't live up to your strict definition of the word?
posted by rcade at 9:51 AM on August 13, 2002
rcade- your argument is flawed. If we applied your logic to the point I am making, then I would be making an argument like "vegetarians MUST eat vegetables". I'm not attempting to define what a vegetarian is. I'm saying that if you eat meat, then you are excluded from the group of people who are vegetarians. See the difference? Sure it is up to the individual to determine what kind of vegetarian he is (to eat eggs or not, etc). However, eating meat is not an option if the person wants to remain a vegetarian. I didn't make this up myself.
You can't be celibate, and fuck around once in a while. You may be sexually conservative, but you aren't celibate. You can't be drug-free, but occasionally shoot up. You might not be a total addict, but you aren't drug free. You can't be a non-smoker, but just smoke when you drink. You might not smoke that often or regularly, but you aren't a non-smoker.
Unless... I can be a rich (although I have a modest income), very attractive (I''m average), talented actor (never acted), because some weird definition of these words in my mind allows me to mislead other people into thinking these descriptions are accurate.
posted by internook at 11:42 AM on August 13, 2002
You can't be celibate, and fuck around once in a while. You may be sexually conservative, but you aren't celibate. You can't be drug-free, but occasionally shoot up. You might not be a total addict, but you aren't drug free. You can't be a non-smoker, but just smoke when you drink. You might not smoke that often or regularly, but you aren't a non-smoker.
Unless... I can be a rich (although I have a modest income), very attractive (I''m average), talented actor (never acted), because some weird definition of these words in my mind allows me to mislead other people into thinking these descriptions are accurate.
posted by internook at 11:42 AM on August 13, 2002
I'm nearly vegetarian. i.e., I only eat meat 3 out of the 7 days. Why do I do it. Because it's better for the environment, and it's better for me. Why am I not 100% a vegetarian. Because it's too difficult, and I'm too lazy. My Little Hint for the world. Stop worrying about labels, and just eat less (or no) meat. Your heart and Grandchildren will thank you for it. Do I feel hypocritical eating meat sometimes? Not really. The way I see it is, I've got the best of both worlds. Plus - If the people who say I'd be vegetarian, but I like meat too much cut down, then I'm guessing that a lot less meat would be eaten than if a percentage of these people became vegetarian.
Talking about the meaning of the word vegetarian is just divisive.
posted by seanyboy at 2:15 AM on August 14, 2002
Talking about the meaning of the word vegetarian is just divisive.
posted by seanyboy at 2:15 AM on August 14, 2002
pointless, even.
posted by crunchland at 5:30 AM on August 14, 2002
posted by crunchland at 5:30 AM on August 14, 2002
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Since the point of vegetarian protein is to substitute it for animal-based protein, it seems that using egg whites defeats the purpose, as well as obfuscating whether the magic fungus is really as high in (complete) protein as the manufacturer touts, or if the egg whites boost the level of protein.
posted by Fupped Duck at 12:08 PM on August 12, 2002