# What about alternative meats?



## Son_of_Perdition (May 9, 2016)

Recently I have developed an minor intolerance of red meats, maybe my age who knows.  I've always been a meat eater, but must admit that maybe just maybe red meats are getting harder to digest.  I eat equal portions of chicken, turkey & pork that never seem to bother me.  I remember from my gentleman farmer days the push for consuming rabbit meat.  It's not usual for Americans but has been served throughout the world.  Some of the highlights I discovered were compared to chicken, turkey, pork & beef it came off quite well nutrition wise.  

Using 1 oz as a benchmark.  It's higher in B-12 than the others, higher in protein, higher in Omega-3, higher in folate, higher in potassium, lower in cholesterol than either pork or beef.  Calories were about the equal in pork, beef & chicken.  I takes 1/6 amount of feed to produce 1 lb of rabbit versus beef.  Two breding rabbits can produce more meat than a beef cattle can in a year.  They are less prone to carry diseases than chickens or turkeys.  

I raised them for meat, my children loved that meat & had no problem getting beyond the 'cute' factor.  I had 12 pens with automatic feeders & waterers.  They were drug free, something I had to administer to the pigs I raised.  Why hasn't America embraced them as an economical source of meat?  Their waste was much easier to handle than any other animals I raised.  The pelts could be marketed if you search out buyers.  The meat is mild, tender & can be flavored for taste.


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## fureverywhere (May 9, 2016)

I'll take tofu...soy burgers can be awesome. All I can think about is the Michael Moore movie "Roger and Me". The townspeople were hurting for food and there was this one little cracker with bunnies for sale, and her handy baseball bat...ewwwwww


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## Mrs. Robinson (May 9, 2016)

I would say it`s most likely the "cute factor". My MIL used to cook rabbit frequently,alongside her fried chicken. None of us would touch the rabbit lol.


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## Shalimar (May 9, 2016)

I don't eat bunny!


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## Cookie (May 9, 2016)

Some meat alternatives are quite good, I like the veggie hot dogs which are very tasty with potatoes and onions.  Some veggie burgers are good too.  I like to try different products, and there might be lots to choose from in US.


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## Ruthanne (May 9, 2016)

There are tons of meat alternatives now in the USA.  I get all  sorts of products from tofu to veggie meats to hummus, stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie.  I couldn't eat a bunny.


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## Son_of_Perdition (May 9, 2016)

I guess that answers my question somehow, sorry but I will continue to eat meat for my protein & B-12.  You who are vegans, vegetarians are entitled to your beliefs, but it's not mine.


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## Cookie (May 10, 2016)

SOP, as you used the term alternative meats which to us non-carnivores means veggie based protein alternative meat products, your post reads like you might be looking for non-animal products, don't worry, we're not trying to convert you.


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## Ameriscot (May 10, 2016)

Try Quorn which is also in the US.  http://www.quorn.us/

We use it all the time for curries, chili, etc.

You don't need meat to get plenty of protein.


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## Redd (May 10, 2016)

The rabbits are eating my newly planted veggies. That being said if I could catch one I might consider it a tradeoff.


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## Guitarist (May 10, 2016)

Son_of_Perdition said:


> I guess that answers my question somehow, sorry but I will continue to eat meat for my protein & B-12.  You who are vegans, vegetarians are entitled to your beliefs, but it's not mine.



"Meat alternatives" are not the same thing as "alternative meats," which you started this thread about.  

I think bunnies are cute too but I also think lambs are cute and I love to eat lamb.  You can't even buy rabbit cat food in the US, why, I don't know.  You can buy it tinned in the UK.  

I prefer fish to beef but I need red meat, I feel better when I eat it occasionally and it helps my digestive system. Weeks of fish and chicken with no beef, and I can tell the difference in how I feel overall.

What about venison?  Squirrel?  Bison?  Do you know the nutritional value of these meats?  

I would consider eating any or all of them.

Now, if I lived on a farm, or had to hunt my own, I don't know ....


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## Son_of_Perdition (May 10, 2016)

When I said alternative meats I meant eating animal protein besides beef, chicken, turkey, pork or fish not plant based GMO altered, chemically laced something like meat that may or may not be harming our bodies especially a male consuming vast amounts of soy products & by-products.  There are enough warnings in men's magazines & various health web sites about the side effects of a soy based diet.  I will probably never see the day when the FDA, AMA, CDC or any other 'official' agency changes their stance about what we should have been eating, but believe me it will happen.  Too many 'bad' foods that were once taboo are now embraced as things we shouldn't have given up & replaced with bleached flour, plastic butter, fake oils or everything else the food & chemist industry produces in their drive to make a buck & has pushed on our dinner table.  

Back when the 'garlic' craze was sweeping the health food stores an article tried to point out that whenever you alter (extract) or change the chemical make up of a product you either lessen the benefit or change the healing results of that food source.  Mother nature creates for harmony & reason, when man gets changing things he alters what has worked.  Soy & soy based products are now being studied for the effects on males, estrogen levels elevated, man boobs, womens menstrual cycles messed up, cancers & many others.  20 years from now they will be admitting that the 'good' fat of today is now 'bad'.  The aspirin alternatives were & are harmful, the drugs given for many aliments are more detremintal, & you can join a class action suit to be compensated for you suffering or death. 

Squirrel & rabbit have been eaten since the Egyptians, but in America we turn up our noses watching the 'Duck Dynasty' team consume things that are not normal fare at meals.  Some southern cooking developed after the Civil war & the resulting depression that followed in the south.  Myth or fact?  The term 'red neck' came from the diets of the surviving families eating the red clay of the deep south mixed in their meals.  Can't say that it's true, in the UK the bread soaked in animal fat was created out of need to supply their children with protein.  In some areas of Cambodia, they have developed a taste for tarantulas because of the lack of food during Pol Pot.  

Eat your granola bars, trail mix, sugary power drinks if you want, I choose to stay with basic, fresh (non processed) foods.  If that includes a 'cute' bunny so be it.

The movie 'Soylent Green' is looking more like a documentary rather than SciFi.


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## Guitarist (May 10, 2016)

That is what I figured you meant.  Alternative meats, not meat alternatives.   Soy and veggie "burgers" are meat alternatives, not alternative meats.  

I was told "redneck" came from the way farmers "tanned" -- because they wore long sleeves and long pants and hats to protect them from the sun, the only thing that tanned was their exposed necks, front and back, so, "red neck." I've heard barn managers refer to their "farmer tan," because working around horses they wear sun protection summer and winter so don't get a "full" tan.


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## Son_of_Perdition (May 10, 2016)

> Ameriscot:  Try Quorn which is also in the US. http://www.quorn.us/
> 
> We use it all the time for curries, chili, etc.


Can't say the eating a fungi only discovered 40 years ago would be advisable.  I would want to see what if any problems develop with long term use.  In nature plants & animals survive by producing & mimicking enticements to lure edibles to their lair.  LOL, could the fungi be creating a taste to lure humans?  Mushrooms are a fungi, You can't get me to eat them unless I buy them sliced & canned from a well known company & purchased at my LARGE local grocery chain.    Some are instant death!



> Guitarist:  What about venison? Squirrel? Bison? Do you know the nutritional value of these meats?


I have eaten venison & Bison, never had squirrel.  Although when it was being cooked up on 'DD' it looked quite tasty.  I don't like the wild flavor of venison but there is nothing better than deer liver & onions.  I have only tried bison/buffalo once.  I was turned off by the dark color & the texture of the meat.  We had a well known steak house located near where I was raised that raised their own beef & buffalo.

Squirrels can get rabies, I would not choose to process them, rabbits can get tularemia, mostly a disease of 'Jackrabbits' that's deadly to humans.  Bison/buffalo carry Brucellosis, a deadly disease to beef.  It would also create another strain on our environment.  But then again the 'buffalo robes' would be a plus.

As for the 'red neck' I was just quoting something I had read or heard, total myth.  

Interesting, the most discussed about TV shows on Senior Forum is 'The Walking Dead', & 'Fear of the Walking Dead'.  I've NEVER watched even one episode of either, isn't it about zombies searching, chasing & trying to devour humans?  Don't seem to bother SF fans that they are eating little children.


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## Cookie (May 10, 2016)

Ameriscot said:


> Try Quorn which is also in the US.  http://www.quorn.us/ We use it all the time for curries, chili, etc. You don't need meat to get plenty of protein.



The Quorn does sound pretty good AS, but I've never seen it here in my Toronto supermarkets, but maybe Whole Foods carries it. I agree you don't need animal meat for protein, probably a taste thing or all in the head.


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## Capt Lightning (May 10, 2016)

In the town where I worked was a fish & game merchant.  Around the time 'Watership Down' was shown in the cinema, they places a sign in their window  "You've read the book, you've seen the film,  now eat the cast".

I like rabbit, but prefer hare. I have most of a roe deer in my freezer.  I've eaten horse, reindeer, kangaroo, crocodile, ostrich, bison and bear (apart from beef, pork & lamb).  I've never eaten goat, but I'm told that it tastes very nice.


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## Ameriscot (May 10, 2016)

Capt Lightning said:


> In the town where I worked was a fish & game merchant.  Around the time 'Watership Down' was shown in the cinema, they places a sign in their window  "You've read the book, you've seen the film,  now eat the cast".
> 
> I like rabbit, but prefer hare. I have most of a roe deer in my freezer.  I've eaten horse, reindeer, kangaroo, crocodile, ostrich, bison and bear (apart from beef, pork & lamb).  I've never eaten goat, but I'm told that it tastes very nice.



I love goat!  Ate it often when we lived in Uganda.  It's the most popular meat.


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## Ameriscot (May 10, 2016)

Cookie said:


> The Quorn does sound pretty good AS, but I've never seen it here in my Toronto supermarkets, but maybe Whole Foods carries it. I agree you don't need animal meat for protein, probably a taste thing or all in the head.



Husband uses legumes and beans often in his curries and chilis.  Very easy to get protein without eating meat.  But when we eat out, I usually order meat.


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## Son_of_Perdition (May 10, 2016)

Ameriscot said:


> Husband uses legumes and beans often in his curries and chilis.  Very easy to get protein without eating meat.  But when we eat out, I usually order meat.


Legumes & beans are a great protein source along with being good carbs, but like anything good, too much of it can be bad.  I mostly eat the low sodium canned beans, too much effort to process my own & would spoil before I could eat enough to justify the effort.  Beans have 18-22 carbs in 1/4 C.  I have to limit my carbs even good carbs to less than 130 daily.  I eat beans for my noon & evening meals 40 carbs down.  Sodium intake has to be below 2000 daily for BP.  Beans even rinsed thoroughly still add to the limit.  Meats & eggs are almost carb free so I eat them freely within reason.  High in protein, calcium & B-12 & many other nutrients.  I eat 6-8 servings of fruit & veggies (counting beans).  Each has 5-12 carbs another 30 down now I'm at 70.  My oatmeal morning meal + almonds + flaxseed + hemp hearts adds 40-50 more carbs, add my helpings of cottage cheese to that I hit my 130 limit for BS & BP.  My cholesterol & triglycerides are normal but do have them monitored every 6 months.  It's a balancing act that I have adhered to for the last 8 months & all my medical professionals are happy with the results.  I take absolutely no fad supplements.


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## Ameriscot (May 10, 2016)

Son_of_Perdition said:


> Legumes & beans are a great protein source along with being good carbs, but like anything good, too much of it can be bad.  I mostly eat the low sodium canned beans, too much effort to process my own & would spoil before I could eat enough to justify the effort.  Beans have 18-22 carbs in 1/4 C.  I have to limit my carbs even good carbs to less than 130 daily.  I eat beans for my noon & evening meals 40 carbs down.  Sodium intake has to be below 2000 daily for BP.  Beans even rinsed thoroughly still add to the limit.  Meats & eggs are almost carb free so I eat them freely within reason.  High in protein, calcium & B-12 & many other nutrients.  I eat 6-8 servings of fruit & veggies (counting beans).  Each has 5-12 carbs another 30 down now I'm at 70.  My oatmeal morning meal + almonds + flaxseed + hemp hearts adds 40-50 more carbs, add my helpings of cottage cheese to that I hit my 130 limit for BS & BP.  My cholesterol & triglycerides are normal but do have them monitored every 6 months.  It's a balancing act that I have adhered to for the last 8 months & all my medical professionals are happy with the results.  I take absolutely no fad supplements.



We only use dried beans and lentils.  Use a pressure cooker to make sure they are thoroughly cooked.  Never used canned.  The only thing we buy in cans is chopped tomatoes to add to curries.  Our dinners have a LOT of vegetables.  My husband does the cooking and his dishes have either beans/lentils/legumes or tofu or Quorn.


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## Cookie (May 10, 2016)

Ameriscot said:


> Husband uses legumes and beans often in his curries and chilis.  Very easy to get protein without eating meat.  But when we eat out, I usually order meat.



Oftentimes it depends on what is available in the restaurants as well as the popular culture of the place where one lives, not to mention community of friends and influences and certainly one's belief system as to dietary choices. It's not all black and white.

When I was a small child living in Australia my mother often made rabbit as there were tons of wild rabbits running all over the place and it was very very cheap. But she never ever made it after we moved to Canada.


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