• MartianSands@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    I didn’t actually downvote, but I do object to your characterisation of this as misleading. People aren’t labelling their products with the intent that the people buying it believe they’re eating meat.

    Those labels are designed to communicate what sort of thing you can do with it. If you label something “burger”, for example, everyone will understand at a glance what they’re looking at, and that you might like to put it between two buns with some lettuce. It will also catch the attention of people who are looking to make burgers, but might not have considered non-meat options.

    Also, common usage of words like “burger” aren’t limited to anything specific. People talk about “chicken burger” or “turkey burger” all the time, for example, and nobody accuses them of trying to trick people into eating chicken. Why not a “lentil burger” as well?

    • Libb@piefed.social
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      2 days ago

      I didn’t actually downvote, but I do object to your characterisation of this as misleading. People aren’t labelling their products with the intent that the people buying it believe they’re eating meat.

      I understand that. But they still market those products as a way to convince people they will get a very similar experience to eating an actual steak, or a burger. If not, why would they call it a steak or a burger? It’s like telling lies on my resume to get a job interview and then, once they have interviewed me and realized my resume was a joke, to act surprised I did not get the job.

      Also, common usage of words like “burger” aren’t limited to anything specific.

      Did I say otherwise?

      People talk about “chicken burger” or “turkey burger” all the time, for example, and nobody accuses them of trying to trick people into eating chicken. Why not a “lentil burger” as well?

      If you’re asking me I would say because one of them contains no meat and because all the others clearly state what kind of meat they’re made of? I don’t mind vegan food trying to become the norm. I just mind it willing to lie to manage that, trying to persuade people it’s ‘just like eating meat’ when it is not.

      Disclaimer: I’m well into my 50s, I live in France and I like great food (and cheese ;), meaning I have no shame in admitting I have not set a foot in any fast-food for years, and rarely for most of my life and never by choice, also the burgers we occasionally enjoy eating my spouse and I are either the ones we make ourselves, using fresh food, or the ones that are also handmade at a traditional restaurant. So, clearly, I don’t have much experience regarding what’s being sold under the name ‘burger’ nowadays, nor what younger people may expect to get in exchange for their money. But I do know what most people my age (at least the ones I’ve had the opportunity to eat with) expect to get when they order a ‘burger’, or even a steak.

      Sure, a burger can be vegan but it should not try to pretend it is the same culinary experience as eating a burger prepared with meat, be it a steak, chicken or whatever type of actual meat.

      The few ‘vegan steak/burgers’ we purchased, well, they were an interesting experiment but they were not something I would suggest to anyone willing to taste their first ‘steak’ or burger. I’m not saying they’re bad (I was not impressed) just that their marketing insists a little too much on the product being something it is not. Hence the ‘misleading’ part in my previous comment.

      Even if we still eat a little meat (twice a week) vegetables are central in our eating habits. I think both my spouse and I would be a lot more receptive to their efforts if those new products pushed forward the fact that they are vegetables more than them trying to pretend they look or taste like the steak or burger they’re not.

      Edit: I forgot to thank you for replying and explaining, much appreciated :)