News just landed that Teesside University has signed a deal to serve hybrid burgers and sausages to over 20,000 students. Myco, the company behind the Hooba range made from vertically farmed oyster mushrooms, is now mixing its fungi with beef to create what it calls a planet-friendly option.
The logic? If meat eaters can’t give it up, why not meet them halfway?
Read my thoughts below.
On one hand, less meat in meals means fewer animals farmed and killed. If a university student swaps a full beef burger for a half-mushroom version, that cuts the meat load and theoretically trims some of the environmental impact. We all know that animal agriculture is wrecking the planet and reducing it in any way is crucial.
But.
And it’s a big but.
This is still meat. Animals are still being bred into existence to be killed. These burgers and bangers, dressed up as eco-forward innovation, still rely on the commodification of animal bodies. For every hybrid sausage sold, an animal has been raised in captivity and has been slaughtered. That’s not something I find easy to cheer for, even if there are mushrooms involved.
I understand the logic behind harm reduction. I really do. And I know these kinds of transitions can be helpful for some people who find the idea of going fully plant-based intimidating. But we also need to be careful not to confuse slow progress with meaningful change. Celebrating a burger that is 50 percent meat feels problematic.
Of course, this could be a gateway. Maybe one day these hybrid products will fade away and full plant-based options will take over. But will that really happen when companies are pouring time and money into preserving meat consumption in any form?
I find it difficult to celebrate something that still hinges on the suffering of animals, even if it is dressed up in the language of sustainability.
What do you think? Is this kind of development progress? Is half a meat burger better than a whole one, even if it means keeping the animal agriculture system ticking along? Or is it a distraction from what we should really be pushing for, which is total liberation from animal exploitation?
Half measures might save a bit of carbon, but they don’t feel much like justice to me.
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I find with these products it’s actually a way for the companies to make a cheaper product while also trying to give off the impression they care about the environment. It’s effectively half-arsed greenwashing (which is a challenge as greenwashing is a a farce to begin with)
Tesco attempted something similar a while ago with half veg meat products (“meat and veg” was the name of the range).
Nobody who eats meat will bother with them and the veggies/vegans can’t eat it. It mostly went straight to the bin from what I saw. Such a colossal waste of time and resources.