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Comment by dymk | Hacker News Reader

Nobody is confused when they buy this product that it’s animal based meat. The packaging is very clear about what it is.

It’s called meat because it tastes and feels like meat. It’s a perfectly cromulent word to use because it describes what the product is.

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When you give it a name that alludes to it being meat you're setting the product up for failure because people will ofcourse compare it to meat and since its not meat they will judge it as "worse."

So, what could we call Turkey Burgers?

Better question: What do we call veggie burgers that predate impossible and beyond meat?

I imagine it's easier to compare it to a burger than it is to spend marketing dollars on a new plant-based sandwich. I also imagine that because it's comparable to a burger, you're not alienating those who are on the margin that still like meat, but are open to trying a plant-based "burger".

I think "burger" is diversified enough that people can accept it not being meat and not compare it directly to meat. When you name a specific meat though like "plant based chicken" you can't think of anything else.

Soy milk is an entirely different product than animal milk and they don't taste at all similar, yet I'm ok with it being called "soy milk" because "soy-based beverage that looks similar to milk" just doesn't roll off the tongue.

The use of "milk" for e.g. almond milk dates back to the medieval era. Despite big dairy's current propaganda run, the term doesn't belong to cow juice.

Call it soy juice.

Soy beans don't have nipples.

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