A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals • Hacker News Board

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#41

Post by flyGuyOnTheSly » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 2:32 PM UTC

_Microft wrote: post #8

The dish mentioned sounds far better than what is usually served as vegetarian food at canteens and restaurants. Quite often they offer just a compilation of side-dishes to have something vegetarian on their menu. (Dumblings with red cabbage and - wait for it - gravy from roasting meat is a widespread menu offer for vegetarians in southern Germany. Not sure if it counts as vegetarian option though). Once people notic…

Vegetarian food can be delicious or disgusting, just as meat can be.

I wouldn't salivate over sitting down to a dinner of boiled stew beef cubes without any seasoning at all...

Which is pretty much the equivalent of boiled rice and broccoli. (Standard vegetarian fare at a lot of cafeterias in North America).

I noticed something yesterday...

Capitalistic enterprises really shit on vegetarians for some reason, and I can't quite figure out why.

The local pizza place put a flyer in my mailbox... they have plant based pizza now with cauliflower based crusts... vegetarian peperoni and vegan cheese... two servings of vegetables in the crust alone etc etc...

That's great, but why does it cost twice as much as all of the other pizzas on offer?

Or all of these plant based meat patties that are coming out... twice as expensive as the admittedly more delicious meat based counterparts... and that's buying in bulk, looking for the best deal.

I live in Canada, btw.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#42

Post by sterkekoffie » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 2:32 PM UTC

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #20

I always found vegan movement oddly close to religion. At my work, guy drives a car that has a custom VEGAN plate. I am not sure why I should know his dietary restrictions. I don't like liver. Do I add bumper indicating my dislike for liver consumption? Can someone rationalize it for me? Is it like sub-culture?

Veganism is not a dietary preference, it's a system of ethics. If there had been vanity plates in the 1910s there probably would have been some that said 5UFFR4G3, too.

Veganism extends to all modes of consumption, not just food--for example, vegans don't buy leather or animal-tested makeup. Side note, to reduce confusion like yours, some people use 'plant-based' specifically to describe vegan food. People are vegan, products are "suitable for vegans".

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#43

Post by msrpotus » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 2:32 PM UTC

geggam wrote: post #35

Would someone who is a vegan answer this question I have and I mean no offense by it. Why do you want to eat vegetables that are fake meat or made to taste like meat ? It seems silly to me.

I generally avoid fake meat but plenty of people don't eat meat for religious or moral reasons. They might still want something meat-like, though, and fake meat provides that.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#44

Post by mar0ux » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 2:34 PM UTC

geggam wrote: post #35

Would someone who is a vegan answer this question I have and I mean no offense by it. Why do you want to eat vegetables that are fake meat or made to taste like meat ? It seems silly to me.

(long time meat eater turned vegetarian)

It's pretty simple - I really enjoy fake meat for the taste, texture and protein. It also lets me go out to places that would traditionally only have meat options like a burger joint.

SO likes it because she's religiously vegetarian but can incorporate more protein into her diet.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#45

Post by superpermutat0r » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 2:34 PM UTC

geggam wrote: post #35

Would someone who is a vegan answer this question I have and I mean no offense by it. Why do you want to eat vegetables that are fake meat or made to taste like meat ? It seems silly to me.

I like the taste of meat, I like the taste of eggs, texture of yogurt, I like the taste of practically all foods. I do not like the fact that cow, chicken, pig, dog, have to die for my tastebuds to feel nice.

Given that I like the tastes I like and do not want to give them up, I'll rather be calm and eat something that tastes like meat but there's no death of an animal.

That's it.

Could I live without veggie sausages, bruger patties? Yep. But why not eat them when they are available.

What I do not understand is the exclusivity of someone who eats meat. If people today are such foodies, what is wrong with ordering a vegan meal once? Or buying vegan meat replacements, to try them and see how they taste? Vegan mayo?

Why not exploit the luxury of the modern world and enjoy all that engineered food, even if you're vegan or not?

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#46

Post by coldpie » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 2:34 PM UTC

_Microft wrote: post #8

The dish mentioned sounds far better than what is usually served as vegetarian food at canteens and restaurants. Quite often they offer just a compilation of side-dishes to have something vegetarian on their menu. (Dumblings with red cabbage and - wait for it - gravy from roasting meat is a widespread menu offer for vegetarians in southern Germany. Not sure if it counts as vegetarian option though). Once people notic…

I travel to Europe about once a year and I've noticed they're far behind the US in terms of vegetarian options. In the US it's been easy to get a high quality, vegetarian meal at almost any restaurant for at least a decade (edit: at least in metro areas; perhaps rural areas are different, although I haven't noticed this personally). Meanwhile in Europe it's almost impossible to get anything resembling a full meal. Like you say, it's usually simply a meal based around meat with the meat removed. I hope things are getting better over there.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#47

Post by mavdi » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 2:34 PM UTC

elektor wrote: post #13

Speaking from personal experience, I've been eating a lot more plant-based meals now that Beyond and Impossible Beef are available in grocery stores. I wouldn't say I'm completely vegetarian but I'm 60% there.

I think that's a very positive step. We don't need everyone to turn vegan to flight climate change. We only need everyone to consume significantly less meat.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#48

Post by SmellyGeekBoy » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 2:35 PM UTC

traditionmatte wrote: post #17

The first vegetarian meal I've had where I didn't feel hungry afterwards was in an Indian vegetarian restaurant. It also tasted amazingly good. Parts of India are vegetarian, so they have had plenty of time to refine the offering and see what works together.

I'll always go for a paneer-based curry over a meat-based one, and I say that as a big meat eater. That stuff is divine.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#49

Post by nicoburns » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 2:35 PM UTC

_Microft wrote: post #8

The dish mentioned sounds far better than what is usually served as vegetarian food at canteens and restaurants. Quite often they offer just a compilation of side-dishes to have something vegetarian on their menu. (Dumblings with red cabbage and - wait for it - gravy from roasting meat is a widespread menu offer for vegetarians in southern Germany. Not sure if it counts as vegetarian option though). Once people notic…

This has changed recently in the UK. As of the last year or so, pretty much everywhere has at least 2 or 3 decent vegetarian options.

Re: A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals

#50

Post by SolaceQuantum » Thu, Oct 03, 2019, 2:35 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #34

DoreenMichele wrote: post #28

I'm kind of a food snob. I don't eat burgers. They're horrible. I don't eat hotdogs. They're horrible. Reading this article tempts me to want to say "Newsflash: Tasty food sells!" but I'm sure that would be flagged to death as low content snark. Also, it's possibly stupid saying anything at all because people who eat stuff like burgers and hot dogs will get all mad when you give your honest opinion that it isn't exac…

> I'm sure that would be flagged to death as low content snark. Also, it's possibly stupid saying anything at all because people who eat stuff like burgers and hot dogs will get all mad when you give your honest opinion that it isn't exactly gourmet health food. Tastes differ between people. I eat burgers and hotdogs because they're tasty, and their tastiness for me is inversely proportional to the amount of vegetabl…

I'm also quite curious, because palak paneer and other vegetarian indian dishes are awesome, veggies or not, and you didn't specify these sorts of options when you specify disliking vegetables in any form. If you hate tomatoes, does that mean you despise chili, or pasta? Are curries terrible? Is an apple pie better off with just shortbread?