A recent food highlight was the Impossible Whopper at Burger King. This is made from something I don’t actually understand, a ‘plant-based meat’, whatever that is, anyway, I’ve had this a couple of times before in other burger forms so I kind of knew what to expect. The quality of the Whopper sandwich surprised me, it was tasty, but I’m not ready to make any Major Declarations yet given that I’ve yet to try a regular Whopper. Good studies have control groups, right? Maybe it was the sauce or the lettuce that did the trick.
Jokes aside, my gut tells me (!) that by virtue of similar taste plant-based ‘meat’ will become a perfect substitute for meat. (Don’t ask me when, and let’s assume the CDC doesn’t declare it a carcinogen in two decades.) This would represent a massive development, possibly one of the few great Massive Developments that will happen in my lifetime, because it might usher in the end of meat consumption. With a good alternative available, it’s not hard to imagine a time a few decades in the future when people who still eat meat are regarded as that era’s racists. I'm looking forward to finding out at the nursing home - meat me at bingo, and let's discuss.
Overall, this technology is especially significant for those who see meat consumption as a major factor in climate change. We could just eat differently, of course, but let’s just be honest, most of us prefer to blame governments or corporations or rich people rather than make even the smallest lifestyle change. As it happens with almost all things related to new technology, the masses will slowly come around as early adopters extol the virtues of the new while the capitalists scurry in the background with their efficiencies and layoffs and demand curves to bring the price down, cent by cent, until it makes cents for everyone. Our kids will probably respond to the expression ‘cooking in its own fat’ with the same disgust I reserve for Manchester United highlights.
One last note here that is merely tangential to the main point. The catalyst for going to Burger King was, believe it or not, a commercial. I saw the advert during a helmet football game and very nearly went out for the sandwich at halftime. Alas, I fought off the initial urge and went a few weeks later, but it remains the only recent example I can think of where an advertisement directly led me to a purchase. Kudos to the marketing team at BK!
