I feel like I'm in good company here.
Most of you are very informed customers. You do your research and you carefully chose what to feed your family.
The reason that we started selling our meat to people like you is because we are informed people as well and we struggle to find good food for our family.
That's why the "Impossible Burger" is pretty scary to me.If you haven't heard it all over the news, the Impossible Burger is a plant based, meat replacement that apparently tastes and looks exactly like meat.
Impossible Burger also claims that they use significantly less resources to make their "burger" compared to the conventional beef system.
My 2 biggest concerns are:
1. The ingredients that they use in the Impossible Burger
2. Is the Impossible Burger really having less of an environmental impact compared to the beef industry?
Let's start with the obvious question everyone always has when a new product hits the marketplace:
1. What ingredients are in the Impossible Burger and what are the possible long-term effects?
The key ingredient in the Impossible Burger is a protein called soy leghemoglobin (SLH), derived from genetically modified (GM) yeast.First red-flag is that most of the burger is comprised of genetically modified materials. Which according to this article by GMO Science that very little if any long-term testing has been done on the safety of Impossible Burger on humans. Not to mention that since GMO soy is the main ingredient in the Impossible Burger it is testing very high for glyphosate residue.No thank you. No "testing" on me or my family.
2. Is the Impossible Burger really having less of an environmental impact compared to the beef industry?The Impossible Burger has put out the claim that they apparently use waaay less water, less greenhouse gas emissions and less aquatic pollutants compared to conventional beef production, but I think they would be hard pressed to really prove their claims in the end.
If all their ingredients are coming from conventional agriculture farming practices (which is where GMO crops mainly come from) then they are certainly not improving the planet like they claim to be.
Conventional agriculture is stripping our nation's topsoil and nutrients at an alarming rate and not to mention the health risk potentials as I listed above.
Don't get me wrong, both conventional agriculture and the conventional beef industry are both detrimental to the environment, so I'm not trying to compare the two, but the Impossible Burger would like you to believe that ALL cattle ranchers are responsible for this problem and are causing massive harm to the planet.
This is completely false and gives no credit to those who are making a solid effort to practice regenerative agriculture and seeking to heal the landscape, reduce carbon and improve the health of the land and the water.
I really like this quote from the Savory Institute in response to the Impossible Burger belittling their work:
"In a world where current agricultural practices have eroded soils to the point of having less than 60 harvests left (according to the UN FAO), the solution is not to maximize efficiencies in the broken, extractive, industrial model. These antiquated systems have no place in a civilization facing the enormous threats of climate change.
Rather, as environmentally-conscious businesses and individuals, we must address the root cause and adopt land management practices that honor the symbiotic relationships of plants and animals. One cannot exist without the other, so we must reevaluate our preconceived notions and return to farming in nature’s image.
Only then will we create a lasting and regenerative agricultural model for a livable planet.
"Boom. That is what we are here to do.
So the final question is... Would you eat an Impossible Burger?
I think you know what my answer is...
P.S. You might be wondering: "Do you believe that the Impossible Burger could affect the cattle industry?"
Yes, I believe that if the Impossible Burger does grow in popularity over time that there will be an affect on cattle prices and demand. However, that falls much further down my line of concerns than what I have listed above. I fear for people's health and the health of the land more than whether the Impossible Burger is going to impact the cattle industry long-term.
