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I've replaced meat with avocado mostly plus im addicted to it. But we do have those chinese food nights once in a while so i pick up vegan sesame chicken or anything else they have at my local veggie chinese food restaurant and i enjoy it and it taste awesome. Better than meat
I love vegan sesame chicken! I need to find a good recipe so I can make it at home.
Then why do people use them as direct substitutes for meat? Tofurky dinner on Thanksgiving, a Gimme Lean sausage and cheese breakfast sandwich, eggs and Gimme Lean bacon, TVP to replicate ground beef in chili, Veggie dogs and burgers at a BBQ, Chik'n nuggets as...chicken nuggets, deli slices so you can pretend you're eating a ham and cheese sandwich, fake meatballs because, apparently, spaghetti just isn't the same without them.
Convenience and variety, like anything else. A few days ago, I had to make lunch in a hurry. I warmed up some vegetarian meatballs in a jar of sauce, and in 20 minutes I had Italian rolls split open and toasted hot. We're lacto-ovo, so I added cheese on top. I know where you're coming from, because I do not like the soy cheese substitutes I have had and I sometimes feel the way you do about sugar-free syrup, fat-free ice cream, dairy-free cheese, etc. We eat a lot of salads and quinoa and beans and lentils, and I try to use a lot of simple ingredients. But, you know, sometimes I just want a hot sandwich, and I don't want to take 45 minutes to make chickpea burgers from scratch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anna19
Even the manufacturers advertise that way with things like, "Breakfast just isn't breakfast without sausage or bacon. And with our veggie versions it never has to be." Or, "Enjoy an all-American classic, veggie style", referring to a soy dog. Or, "A vegan ham that looks tastes and handles like real meat". The selling point for all these things is how meat-like they are and that you don't have to sacrifice that dinning experience.
I have not seen those ads, sorry. Most of what I've seen is in magazines, because I don't watch a lot of commercial television. I have a vague impression of Morningstar stuff being presented as a simpler, healthier way to live, but that's pretty much what all of the convenience foods seem to do. Overworked parents are saved by Stouffers ... oh, don't get me started.
They advertise in that fashion because it's more profitable for them to market to meat-eaters who may be looking for an alternative than to those who are already vegetarian (a small % of the overall population).
I have not seen those ads, sorry. Most of what I've seen is in magazines, because I don't watch a lot of commercial television. I have a vague impression of Morningstar stuff being presented as a simpler, healthier way to live, but that's pretty much what all of the convenience foods seem to do. Overworked parents are saved by Stouffers ... oh, don't get me started.
I've never owned a television and don't watch any, so I don't even know if they advertise that stuff on TV. I'm talking about the print and website advertising by the manufacturers.
The other issue is that the majority of these popular, readily available fake meats (or cheeses or big name soy milks) are produced by arms of huge agribusiness corporations that are responsible for so much animal cruelty and environmental destruction. As a lifelong vegetarian and a vegan for the last 13 years even if I wanted to try the stuff, I refuse to support those companies and their practices. Just like I won't buy products from any company that allows animal testing at any point along their supply chain. It's an ethical decision. If some people are comfortable not consuming animal products directly, but don't mind supporting corporations that use animals, that's their ethical choice to make.
I've heard the argument, well, if we buy their vegetarian products, they will see the demand and move in that direction. Of course they will not. Those big corporations just jumped on the "eat better" bandwagon because they saw it as a way to make even more money and grab more control of the food market. They had to make sure they still ruled grocery store shelves when the Meatless Monday movement started to pick up steam around 2004. They don't give a crap about the morals of the small vegan or vegetarian population, especially when a large chunk of that group shows no hesitation at throwing their financial support behind the company just as it is. They may expand the fake meat choices, but they most certainly will not reduce the meat and dairy production.
[quote=Anna19;27870478]I've never owned a television and don't watch any, so I don't even know if they advertise that stuff on TV. I'm talking about the print and website advertising by the manufacturers.
Great - you have made your choice and I support you in your right to make that choice. Not all of us feel the same way as you do and we are entitled to live our lives the way we want to. I am fine with buying fake meat once in a while for my husband....it keeps him on the vegan path and that is all I care about.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aone
i have no interest in the look or texture of meat. Frankly, its disgusting and i want nothing on my plate resembling it. If i want something to look like meat, i'd eat meat.
There are lots of non-meat products these days that are supposed to be very similar to animal meat/flesh which try to resemble them in taste and looks. These products try to imitate not only the flavor but also the texture and the appearance of their meat counterparts. I guess the idea behind this is that we became so used to eating meat/flesh at some point in our lives, that those tastes and textures are imprinted in our brains as being the preferred ones. And so when we eat one of these faux products, we are brought back to re-awakening those "preferred" tastes and textures from the past. To me, it's like not being able to let go of the meat eating days by trying to fake ourselves out of it with plant-based substitutes. How do you feel about it, and do you like those products?
I've heard and read Colleen Patrick-Goudreau say that meat was originally meant to mean "that which is eaten" to distinguish it from beverages.
At first when I switched to vegetarianism I was more interested in recreating the animal products I used to eat. I eat veggie meats but the frequency with which I eat them has decreased. Right now I have a veggie meat about once a week or every 10 days-it really just depends.
I haven't tried a lock of veggie meats but I love the Gardein seven grain chickn tenders and the Lightlife Gimme Lean Beef.
I've found two restaurants that serve great veggie sausage and I've love to get the recipe or know what product they use but I'm too shy to ask.
I am not a vegan or vegetarian but meat and dairy makes up the largest part of my diet. I enjoy meatless dishes for what they are and find the naming of foods with meat-like names is disconcerting. In my mind, I am comparing the "fake" meat to the "real" meat and it never ever tastes the same. I am not saying it tastes better or worse, just different so it comes across as a compromise. Eating a BLT made with smoked tempeh just tastes better then a BLT billed as a fakin bacon sandwhich because there is no comparison. I can see why making the comparisons make it easier to get some people to try new things BUT in my mind I would prefer to foster an appreciation for a lentil burger then try and swallow that it is the same as a hamburger.
I am not a vegan or vegetarian but meat and dairy makes up the largest part of my diet. I enjoy meatless dishes for what they are and find the naming of foods with meat-like names is disconcerting. In my mind, I am comparing the "fake" meat to the "real" meat and it never ever tastes the same. I am not saying it tastes better or worse, just different so it comes across as a compromise. Eating a BLT made with smoked tempeh just tastes better then a BLT billed as a fakin bacon sandwhich because there is no comparison. I can see why making the comparisons make it easier to get some people to try new things BUT in my mind I would prefer to foster an appreciation for a lentil burger then try and swallow that it is the same as a hamburger.
I feel the same way, and I felt that way when I -was- a vegetarian as well. Granted, there were much fewer choices back then for meat "substitutes" and the few that did exist, weren't all that good. Now that I'm no longer a vegetarian, trying mock meats seems pretty pointless for me, since I can (and do) enjoy the real deal.
There are lots of non-meat products these days that are supposed to be very similar to animal meat/flesh which try to resemble them in taste and looks. These products try to imitate not only the flavor but also the texture and the appearance of their meat counterparts. I guess the idea behind this is that we became so used to eating meat/flesh at some point in our lives, that those tastes and textures are imprinted in our brains as being the preferred ones. And so when we eat one of these faux products, we are brought back to re-awakening those "preferred" tastes and textures from the past. To me, it's like not being able to let go of the meat eating days by trying to fake ourselves out of it with plant-based substitutes. How do you feel about it, and do you like those products?
I take those products on their own merits, not in comparison to or substitution for meat. The very thought of putting animal/bird/reptile flesh into my mouth makes me gag, so I have no desire to have that mouth feel or taste spot on in a substitute. I enjoy things like MorningStar Farms Tomato & Basil Pizza Burgers just because I like the taste.
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