This is not meant as a personal dig in any way but..................................... I'm constantly confused why 'vegan' folk that hate to eat animals appear to be forever in search of veg' food that tastes of the animals they don't wish to eat.  Surely even the name beef, chicken etc should be anathema to vegans?

What am I missing?

@Morgan, many people like the taste of beef and chicken burgers, but have an issue with the way the animals are raised – a staggering 99% of the world's meat is raised in intensive livestock units which are nothing more than enormous meat factories and where the quality of the meat is extremely poor.

So to get the taste of a beef or chicken burger, from a plant-based source, is a bonus. We're not vegan or vegetarian but when we do eat out I'll opt for the vegan or veg option.

Posted by: @morgan

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This is not meant as a personal dig in any way but..................................... I'm constantly confused why 'vegan' folk that hate to eat animals appear to be forever in search of veg' food that tastes of the animals they don't wish to eat.  Surely even the name beef, chicken etc should be anathema to vegans?

What am I missing?

People choose a vegan or vegetarian diet for many and varied reasons. Plenty of other people are open to the idea, but just have too many obstacles.

Broadly, though, there are three motivators to switch to a plant-based diet:

1. Health reasons. This could be the result of the substantial evidence being amassed that balanced plant-based diets can provide benefits over balanced diets including animal products. However, it could simply be for allergy reasons or as part of a wider weight-loss dietary change.
2. Ethical reasons. This could be the conceptual idea that killing sentient life for food is wrong when there are alternatives available. However, it could also be related to the ethical questions raised, as @editor points out, by the conditions in which livestock is often raised.
3. Environmental reasons. This is the most clear-cut and simply relates to the fact that growing plants to feed to animals to feed people is less energy efficient than feeding people with the plants, and that this inefficiency carries an environmental cost that is increasingly difficult for the planet to afford.

I'm not a vegan or vegetarian, but my kids are. As a result, I get to hear both the cogent arguments and the misinformation, and have become pretty adept at navigating it all. As you can see from the reasons above, nothing about a choosing vegan diet suggests anything about flavour. Nonetheless, switching diets does mean a significant change and faux meats are generally targeted at people who are wavering on the fringes rather than those who have wholeheartedly embraced veganism. In short, it's easier to encourage someone to give up meat if there are plant-based alternatives that are good imitations.

Most vegans I know don't, in fact, keep searching for meat alternatives since convincing faux meats are often heavily processed. Nonetheless, whenever I as a meat eater am on a long motorway trip I'll generally grab a plant-based option for lunch from the fast-food outlets available at the motorway services since ALL the options are pretty rubbish but at least there are fewer questionable things the food industry can do to a bean than to a cow or a chicken to hit a price point.

@majordennisbloodnok   I am not in the least bit concerned as to WHY folk choose to become Vegan/ vegetarian. It is a life style choice.  Not one I would ever be interested in but we all have a choice.  No vegan/vegetarian is required to justify themselves to me even if I consider it an odd choice (although I do occasionally choose a veggy option).  My question was specific to the post by @editor because I often hear vegans and vegetarians extolling the virtue of veg that taste like meat.  Simples.

@Morgan, it's the hunt for meat flavour without the adverse environmental impact. Simples. 😉

Posted by: @morgan

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@majordennisbloodnok   I am not in the least bit concerned as to WHY folk choose to become Vegan/ vegetarian. It is a life style choice.  Not one I would ever be interested in but we all have a choice.  No vegan/vegetarian is required to justify themselves to me even if I consider it an odd choice (although I do occasionally choose a veggy option).  My question was specific to the post by @editor because I often hear vegans and vegetarians extolling the virtue of veg that taste like meat.  Simples.

Agreed, @morgan, but the why is often necessary to understand the wish for meat substitutes. If someone likes meat but wants to save the planet, for instance, the choice doesn't seem odd at all.

Eventually, though, the majority of vegans I know or have talked with are not particularly interested in meat substitutes - fine occasionally but not worth making a dietary staple. Faux meats seem to be more favoured by people trying to make the transition than those who've forsaken animal products for years.

Posted by: @majordennisbloodnok

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Posted by: @morgan

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@majordennisbloodnok   I am not in the least bit concerned as to WHY folk choose to become Vegan/ vegetarian. It is a life style choice.  Not one I would ever be interested in but we all have a choice.  No vegan/vegetarian is required to justify themselves to me even if I consider it an odd choice (although I do occasionally choose a veggy option).  My question was specific to the post by @editor because I often hear vegans and vegetarians extolling the virtue of veg that taste like meat.  Simples.

Agreed, @morgan, but the why is often necessary to understand the wish for meat substitutes. If someone likes meat but wants to save the planet, for instance, the choice doesn't seem odd at all.

Eventually, though, the majority of vegans I know or have talked with are not particularly interested in meat substitutes - fine occasionally but not worth making a dietary staple. Faux meats seem to be more favoured by people trying to make the transition than those who've forsaken animal products for years.

 

Posted by: @editor

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@Morgan, it's the hunt for meat flavour without the adverse environmental impact. Simples. 😉

LOL I've no desire to get involved in the ethics, reasons, planet salvation of transnational bean eaters or any sort of whataboutery.  It really was a simple one off question which has been very adequately answered in @editor 's first reply.  But please accept my gratitude though. 😆