JCC Calling all vegetarians/vegans

You can vegan beef stock (http://www.massel.com.au/products/vegan/) so it's possible the beef flavour is not actually from beef.

Edit: OK so in the US only they are made with real beef flavouring. lol McDonald's USA wtf.

 

I think when I read that they removed it, it was only from some places like in India where Hindus and Jainists were very upset as they don't eat beef or in the case of Jainists any animal products.

I wish they would remove it. At least Wendy's is experimenting with a black bean burger that is vegan if you leave off the cheese. They don't have it in Fargo yet, but hopefully soon.

 

It's very hard for me to speak about this, since I experience cravings of all sorts for normal foodstuffs (I suspect the psychological effect of trying to deny them has amplified the phenomenon.). However, how do you all feel about things like "beef flavoring" or tofu that's been re-designed to seem like meat? I feel like people should be comfortable in whatever lifestyle they choose.

I was read an online discussion between an Al-Shabab member and a Western security analyst once. He brought up the idea of using rap videos with re-designed lyrics to help as a recruitment tool. The Al-Shabab member noted that he had never really liked the strategy, since it mostly seemed to signal that they still thought the original rap videos were themselves "cool" or worthy of emulation. I think I'm grasping for something similar here. If someone has denounced alcohol, why use non-alcoholic beer? If one does not believe we ought to eat meat, why make such a show of producing foodstuffs as close to meat as possible?

 

Well, I don't like the experience of eating meat, so I'm not thrilled by the idea of eating pretend-meat . . . but honestly, I see no ethical concerns here. If no animals died to make your dinner, than no animals died, even if it's called "Beef-like Pork-like Chicken-like Reminiscent-of-Animal-Parts Extruded Food Product."

 

Speaking for myself (though others will probably agree), I like the texture and tastes. I just don't like the idea of killing for my food, to say nothing of how many workers in the industry are treated. As a farmers kid, I know too much.

But liking the flavor and wanting foods that remind of what I ate growing up, but are cruelty free means I do buy some faux meats. I don't eat them every day, as I can make a great meal with out them. But sometimes I want a brat and kraut, or a burger and fries or a fish fillet (Gardein makes a great one). I've also used portabello mushrooms or eggplant to make a great meat free sandwich that is very similar to a meat one.

I think for a lot of people they don't want to eat meat, but they still like the taste and comfort of foods they grew up with, so they find meat free ways to make the same dish.

I've also made Seitan, though mine isn't as good as the one a friend of mine makes.

 

That comparison is stupid. Vegetarianism and veganism aren't inherently part of religions, and they're certainly not comparable to extremist movements such as Al-Shabab. wtf?

Why is so hard to understand that vegetarianism = not eating meat and veganism = not consuming animal products and that's all they are? Imitation meat that does not have animal products in it isn't violating anything. Again, there's no religious dogma here.

 

The comparison to Al-Shabab wasn't supposed to be a bad thing. That's just where I heard the line of argument first, and it happens to resonate with me. I try to give credit where it's due.

 

Ok but regardless of the comparison your argument doesn't make a lot of sense. Who cares if vegetarians want to eat something that tastes sort of like meat? That is in no way hypocritical. It's not like they're vegetarians who are simultaneously wearing leather. They just want their food to taste a certain way, the same as anyone else.

For my part, obviously I could Google "things you think are vegetarian that aren't". But I was actually just wanting to know which ones people here specifically avoid or look out for.

 

I'm not saying it's hypocritical. In the first place, I wasn't even trying to frame it an accusatory fashion, though re-reading I guess I can see how it came off that way. I did want to explore what I guess are some underlying attitudes about vegetarianism. For instance, ophelia's sentiment is sort of what I expected to find: People dislike the sensation of meat, or at least had come to morally dislike the idea of it. It follows pretty readily from that stance that one would not be terribly interested in imitation meats, since that would either call to mind the tactile and gustatory sensations (or through those sensations invoke the mental associations) one was trying to avoid in the first place. However, if someone took up vegetarianism for a more modest rationale, then I could see that aversion not being as prominent.

 

I wouldn't call my rationale "modest." I liked the taste and texture of meat when I ate it and I may still like it though I've pretty much lost the cravings. That said, I haven't really encountered imitation meat that actually tastes like the real thing. Some are close, but they're still obviously not meat. That's not to say they aren't good, though. I like some variety in my diet.

 

Some people stop eating meat because they can't tolerate the taste or texture, we all have foods we hate. But others like me, love the taste and texture just not the fact that it was a living animal at one time.

There are also environmental and other reasons, I won't go into this post