I became a vegetarian in 1979 because I was really tired of steak for dinner at home (my family raised our own grass-fed beef before it was cool) and the college cafeteria meat was frightful -a lot like the soles of shoes. I think I was a vegetarian for a semester without really knowing it because I'd go through the cafeteria line and get the vegetables and the salad bar and was happy.
Over the years, I turned out to be the only member of my family without high blood pressure and without a need to take antacids. (sometimes, I will sip on pickle juice because I like it) A year ago, I had a doppler ultrasound of my neck (carotids and jugulars) and my blood vessels are totally clear. The tech said the images were like the images she had seen in her textbook of a baby's blood vessels. (some of this might be due to the fact that I gave up eating transfat around 1992 when that first big study about it clogging arteries came out)
I currently don't eat much of the meat analog stuff, I'm just not that interested in meat. As a child, I loathed hot dogs because they oozed grease. I hate/d pepperoni on pizza because it forms little cups filled with grease. I also hated bacon as a child. I do like Smart Dogs, mostly because they are not greasy at all, don't have a meat texture, and because I really like the combination of mustard sweet relish and chopped onions as a topping. But, I eat Smart Dogs maybe once a year, usually if I am trying to feed someone else's kids.
IMO, the world has so many vegetables and so many ways to prepare them, I get a lot of variety in my meals.
I did taste a burger, one bite, at one of the newer super-hyped gourmet burger places a couple of years ago. I am still wondering why people bother to eat this stuff at all -it tasted like a thick chunk of felt. Boring. I'd prefer a falafel over it anytime. So, no, I am really not interested. I really prefer the veggie burgers where you can taste the vegetables they are made from, or mostly just not having a burger at all. (falafel, grilled cheese sandwich, eggplant parm, etc.)
If the new meat from a petri-dish stuff is better for the environment and doesn't hurt animals, I would be happy to see real burger fanatics switch. I really wouldn't eat it, not interested.
