I am a former meat-eater. I became vegetarian for ethical reasons, and I don't really miss meat much (except for the very occasional chicken wings craving).
A couple of years ago I was at a restaurant (Beach Chalet in GGP in SF) and ordered their "veggie burger". It was one of those Beyond Meat/Impossible burgers. One bite and I recoiled in horror: did they give me real meat instead of the veggie option? Now, it has happened in the past that I have been given meat when I specifically ordered something vegetarian. For example: "beef burrito" at a taco place when I wanted a "bean burrito". It brought back those bad memories and I could not take another bite.
The problem here is a marketing one. Beyond and Impossible have a market, but it's those people who would just like to lower their meat consumption. _It is not the veggie burger eating hippie!_ By forcing us vegetarians to consume these fake burgers, the industry is embracing a lose-lose proposition: most vegetarians want nothing to do with these because of the taste, and most meat eaters would rather just eat the real thing.
A couple of years ago I was at a restaurant (Beach Chalet in GGP in SF) and ordered their "veggie burger". It was one of those Beyond Meat/Impossible burgers. One bite and I recoiled in horror: did they give me real meat instead of the veggie option? Now, it has happened in the past that I have been given meat when I specifically ordered something vegetarian. For example: "beef burrito" at a taco place when I wanted a "bean burrito". It brought back those bad memories and I could not take another bite.
The problem here is a marketing one. Beyond and Impossible have a market, but it's those people who would just like to lower their meat consumption. _It is not the veggie burger eating hippie!_ By forcing us vegetarians to consume these fake burgers, the industry is embracing a lose-lose proposition: most vegetarians want nothing to do with these because of the taste, and most meat eaters would rather just eat the real thing.