No wonder people think vegan food is shit

[Superape]

This isn't about you though is it, this is about a vegan fair that's trying to make an impression on the general non-vegan public.

If it makes a bad impression on people then how's that going to help their cause?

True, but there was also a general moan about the amount of meat substitutes involved, about which subject other people posted their preferences & opinions, so I added mine. Part of that opinion is that dietary choice is personal & requires no justification or explanation to anyone, & proselytising veggies get on everyone's tits.

It's going to be very difficult to persuade a committed meat eater that vegan food is an acceptable diet because it's bland mush - so why not include substitutes that will make that dietary choice more palatable and easier to manage? Not everyone has 3 hours of their life to prepare mung beans for their death and knit their own tofu, and not everyone realises that there are textures available that will add to the meal, & if people like them what's the problem?

 

[Herbsman.]

True, but there was also a general moan about the amount of meat substitutes involved, about which subject other people posted their preferences & opinions, so I added mine. Part of that opinion is that dietary choice is personal & requires no justification or explanation to anyone, & proselytising veggies get on everyone's tits.

It's going to be very difficult to persuade a committed meat eater that vegan food is an acceptable diet because it's bland mush - so why not include substitutes that will make that dietary choice more palatable and easier to manage? Not everyone has 3 hours of their life to prepare mung beans for their death and knit their own tofu, and not everyone realises that there are textures available that will add to the meal, & if people like them what's the problem?

So you think anything that doesn't contain meat substitutes is either 'bland mush' or takes three hours to cook.

How very knowledgeable.

 

[_angel_]

why are vegetarians and vegans always trying to make their food look and taste like meat??

I don't. I don't like meat substitutes.

 

[two sheds]

So you think anything that doesn't contain meat substitutes is either 'bland mush' or takes three hours to cook.

How very knowledgeable.

Well he did qualify with ... "and not everyone realises that there are textures available that will add to the meal, & if people like them what's the problem?"

So, herbie, how come you're so opposed to other people not eating meat? You're not a closet veggie yourself are you? They're always the hardest line veggie haters, so i hear.

 

[Herbsman.]

Well he did qualify with ... "and not everyone realises that there are textures available that will add to the meal, & if people like them what's the problem?"

So, herbie, how come you're so opposed to other people not eating meat? You're not a closet veggie yourself are you? They're always the hardest line veggie haters, so i hear.

Where on earth have I implied that I am opposed to other people not eating meat?

All I am saying is that the food on offer was boring, ininspiring, uncreative.

Throwing some soya mince into a pan with some onions and spices is not going to capture the hearts and minds of the general public and make them think "wow I was wrong about vegan food, this food is amazing, I might even consider going vegan one day" Which is clearly the whole point of having a vegan food fair.

 

[two sheds]

Where on earth have I implied that I am opposed to other people not eating meat?

It was just the way you responded to the post of someone who seemed to be trying to answer your question. Seemed a bit sneery:

So you think anything that doesn't contain meat substitutes is either 'bland mush' or takes three hours to cook.

How very knowledgeable.

I've re-read your OP though and fair do's, it is as you say.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

I'm vegan and occasionally I like something to at least take the place of meat - TVP in a spag bol, minced vegetables in a burger, Linda Mac pies & sausage rolls o I know... ) - but you are making the same boneheaded assumptions as everybody else. Just because people don't like the idea of meat doesn't mean that they dislike the sensation of meat, which is a nice little niche that faux-meat provides.

Holland and Barrett do good veggie sausage rolls and 'pork' pies.

 

[Firky]

I like those chewy sausages you get, cauldron I think they're called. I am had some the other night with egg and chips

 

[Firky]

These fellas:

(No idea why they're Welsh?!)

 

[Poot]

Madzone once commented that Quorn was like self-harm. That made me smile.

In answer to your question, I don't know but most of the best vegan food is very fresh and goes off quickly, so perhaps it was too tricky to organise. Whereas you can leave a frozen burger swimming in grease for hours before re-heating it and serving it. Mmmm... botulism.

 

[laptop]

why are vegetarians and vegans always trying to make their food look and taste like meat??

I have a theory.

Very many kids decide to stop eating meat.

The market for meat substitutes is their parents.




Meanwhile, I'd add a category before Mrs M's two:

0) Those for whom veganism/vegetarianism/food-faddism is a substitute for anorexia - so of course they want their food to look and taste like shit

1) Those for whom it's a statement of commitment (including self-denial) - ditto

2) Those who love food the food they love (unfortunately rare)

 

[scifisam]

That's a shame. The vegan festival in London had tons of amazing food; there were a few meat substutes around, but there was also lots of vegan cheese, vegan cakes, huge, brightly-coloured platters of salad and sprouts and so on, beer and wine. So it is possible to do a vegan food fair well.

 

[dessiato]

link?

I know there was hydrogenated fat in them, but meat products?

I can't find a link, but my wife was a food scientist at the company that makes Linda McCartney products. She says that there was a problem with the food being contaminated with animal products and that the products had to be recalled. Will continue to look for the link.

 

[dessiato]

Found this on the Taipei Times webiste:

When local media reported last week that 70 percent of Taipei's vegetarian restaurants were using animal byproducts in their food, it was reminiscent of the UK scandal a decade ago when a consumer discovered pork in their Linda McCartney brand veggie sausages. While a lot of vegetarian food prides itself on having the same consistency, smell and taste as meat, many vegetarians are uneasy about eating substitutes that taste like the real thing -- and past and present transgressions suggest why.

I am wrong about my timing of the scandal, it seems it was during the mid 1990's.

Apoligies for the thread de-rail.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/06/18/2003175611 edit to include link

 

[Herbsman.]

 

[Sunray]

I would say that being Vegan would make you slightly OCD because of the effort you have to put in worrying about your food.

Plenty of more worthy issues to worry about, like the world not being able to feed itself properly.

 

[Yossarian]

Doesn't the world not being able to feed itself properly tie into the reasons why a lot of people become vegetarian or vegan? It takes something like 20 times as much land to support a meat-eater than a vegetarian...

I don't think I'd last long as a vegan though, although the food doesn't necessarily have to be mush - if they ever brought in enforced veganism I'd just eat South Indian food three meals a day.

 

[Mogden]

Even as a thoroughly commited canivoire I'd like to like eating vegan and veggie food but our local organic/fair trade/knitted yoghurt shop just makes it so meh. Last time I checked salt wasn't an animal by-product but apparently it is cos they don't season their food with it at all. Worst.hummus.ever.

 

[tarannau]

There's a nasty hangover from the wholefood movement, which seemed to associate worthyness with tase-free brown mush. There's loads of good vegetarian food out there, but too often veggie cafes serve low standard nastiness.

I'm glad, for example, that Cranks closed down. That place served awful food.

 

[nadia]

The longer I have been veggie the less I want meat substitutes. However the OH is amazed at my knowledge of lentils

 

[Herbsman.]

I hope you posted on the lentil thread then!

 

[Herbsman.]

I would say that being Vegan would make you slightly OCD because of the effort you have to put in worrying about your food.

Plenty of more worthy issues to worry about, like the world not being able to feed itself properly.

I dont put any effort into worrying about my food really.

Admittedly I don't eat out or get takeaway stuff as much as I used to, but then I didn't do that much anyway.

I know a lot of people who are quite obsessive though.

For me it's not the end of the world if I accidentally eat something with milk in it.

It's not like I've never eaten milk before and it's not as if I'm going to be ill if I do consume milk in some shape or form...

 

[pogofish]

Yup, this is the pork byproduct thing again. You'd be amazed how routinely it happens.

They also used hard/hydrogenated fats, which are pretty unacceptable as well.

Hovever, matters improved significantly when the company was sold to Heinz, which has a longstanding policy of only using natural ingredients.

They were still having to use hard fats in the sausages the last time I looked tho. A suitable alternative has still to be found.

 

[Detroit City]

well once a long time ago i bought a pack of those vegan hamburger patties. they tasted like flavoured cardboard....

never again.

 

[lynne8]

Nah it isn't, it is cleared with fish guts as I recently found out through a friend.

fish guts?? *eek*

I've never done a veggie diet, but sometimes when I have lots of roasted veg and with all the amazing squashes and mushrooms and stuff out there I think I could! I've not really had any meat substitute except for a mushroom type burger thing that was excellent!

 

[Herbsman.]

Right, just to set the record straight, apparently there was loads of good vegetable-based food that didnt use these fake meat products, but because the organisers/volunteers underestimated the response they'd get from the public, they ran out of this food fairly quickly and had to use the fake meat as a back-up (the event was partly sponsored by Alpro soya who donated shitloads of soya mince and tofu pieces).

It seems that if I had been able to go earlier I would have had a completely different view of the event. We'll see next time, innit.

I still think it was wrong to advertise it as a 'free food fair' and say (on the website) that the food was 'all free' when there was clearly loads of food being sold.