Back on March 20, 2021 I did a post about some meatless hamburger alternatives. Recently, at random, I came upon some more meatless versions of "meat-ed" things while in the supermarket--beef jerky. I've had quite a few meatless offerings (see my September 14, 2014 post), but "beef" jerky hasn't been one of them. So I picked up a couple. These were both from the Gardein ultimate plant-based jerky line--their original flavor, and then their hot and spicy kind.
The official Gardein website I located was very brief, and not at all detailed about the company itself. Essentially, it showed what products they make. These include soups and chilis, meatless meals, fake fish/shellfish, faux chicken and turkey, and veggie burgers. Also a third flavor of jerky--teriyaki. About the only other item on the site was a description of Meatless Monday, the practice of skipping meat on this day of the week, and how environmentally beneficial this is. The listed celebrity supporters of this include Paul McCartney, Oprah, Al Gore, Russell Simmons, Olivia Wilde, and Kathy Preston. (Some of these folks regularly have Meatless Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, too, it should be said.)
There was quite a bit of information about Gardein's parent company, though, which is Conagra. Conagra is huge. According to their data, they employ about 16,500 people, at approximately 50 locations, and have an annual revenue of $11,000,000,000. Some of their better known brands include Duncan Hines, Slim Jims, Healthy Choice, Hunts, Manwich, Vlasic, and Orville Redenbacher. Conagra started in 1919, when Frank Little and Alva Kinney bought four grain mills and merged them, naming it Nebraska Consolidated Mills, or NCM. The business moved from Grand Island, Nebraska, to Omaha, Nebraska in 1922. In 1940 they started making their own flour, and in 1942 NCM expanded into making feed for livestock. NCM started the Duncan Hines brand in 1951, but sold it to Procter & Gamble in 1956. The company's name was changed to ConAgra in 1971. Which was also when the business was near financial ruin. However, in 1974 C. Michael Harper took over and saved it, largely by buying up pre-existing brands. The business flourished, and in 2016 they changed the spelling of the name to Conagra.
The thing that struck me most, though, was all the controversies surrounding the ConAgra/Conagra company. I should preface this paragraph by saying some of these complaints are alleged, not proven, but still, they're troubling. In 2006 Conagra was cited as having the worst company response to global warming, and having a very bad environmental record around the same time. There have been various bitter labor disputes, too. Also, some apparent criminal issues--in 1997 ConAgra plead guilty to federal criminal charges of fraud and bribery, and reportedly had to pay large fines and penalties. And in the 21st century there have been several product recalls for salmonella and E. coli outbreaks, some of which resulted in hospitalizations and even deaths. Additionally, ConAgra was allegedly very supportive about blocking legislative efforts to label products which use GMOs. There was even an explosion at a North Carolina Slim Jim plant in 2009. All in all then, it's a little weird that the brand, Gardein, which seems to care so much about health and environmental causes, is owned by a large company that has such a questionable track record on these issues.
Gardein Ultimate Plant-Based Jerky, Original Flavor: Color of strips was dark brown, and looked similar to real beef. Had a strange odor--herbal-y, not really like meat. The texture wasn't very beef-like, as it was too smooth, almost cake or fudge-like, and didn't have the stringy bits that meat does. It lacked sinew, and the chewiness of meat. The taste was marginal at best. It was somewhat like beef, but somehow "off." Once again, it reminded me of that scene in the 1986 version of "The Fly," when Geena Davis's character notes that the transported steak tastes somehow synthetic, and bad somehow. Overall I thought it was a poor substitute for beef.
Gardein Ultimate Plant-Based Jerky, Hot and Spicy Flavor: It was identical to the Original kind except there were visible pepper pieces stuck to the outside of the shredded jerky strips. So the same color, texture, and odor. The taste was poor. There was a noticeable spice bite that built up, but it wasn't enough to cover the weird, unbeefy flavor. A bit better than the Original, but still well below average. I often mention that I don't know if I could tell the difference between products and other types of the same, or similar things in a blind taste test. Not true in this case--I can't imagine I could ever mistake either of these for real beef jerky.
In conclusion then, I certainly wouldn't recommend these jerkies to anyone. They do a pretty bad job of replicating beef. So if you're a vegetarian or vegan for moral reasons (i.e., you like the taste of meat), it's not a good imitation, and you should look elsewhere. Sometimes I've found certain plant-based versions of meat don't really taste like meat, but their taste is otherwise okay, or even good. This wasn't the story here. However, I will definitely not be opposed to trying other plant-based beef jerkies, when and if I encounter them. And I'll give other Gardein products a go, too.
Finally, my next five posts will be in the month of October, which is the prime month for horror enthusiasts such as myself. Therefore, my plan as of now is to do three posts about horror trivia for some horror movie classics, one about the World Series (since that's also in October), and one about a Halloween season consumable. Hope you find these topical and entertaining.
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