Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Maybe the industry will realize that most vegetarians and vegans find anything like meat revolting. They much prefer vegetarian meals that are not ultra-processed and still resemble the vegetable used to make them.

Personally, the taste and look of beyond meat make me urge and feel like vomiting. It looks and tastes too much like a dead animal. I never miss the taste of meat, in fact, I hate the idea of eating anything that used to be alive.



Even in one of the countries with the highest percentage of vegetarians (India; though you can argue that poverty has an impact, since we know that meat consumption goes up with revenue), vegetarians and vegans only make up about 30% of the population. In the rest of the world it's generally max 10%, if not 5% or lower.

So for any of these companies go make it big, they need to cater to the 90%+ of people who like meat.


While 30% of Indians are strictly vegetarian, I would suggest that probably another 40% are largely vegetarian, only eating meat occasionally. Growing up in a major city in India, we ate maybe a single chicken based meal a week, and this was largely the norm in my social cohort. While a major reason was definitely money (poultry and red meat is ridiculously expensive in comparison to the vegetarian staples), it's also just cultural. My family grew up seeing meat as a special treat, and most of our meat dishes are very rich and can only be eaten occasionally.


True, but let's revisit those cultural norms in 60 years, when most of India is middle class according to developed country levels :-)


Sure, we are definitely eating more meat, simply because we can afford it.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: