Live data from Hacker News

On ‘Plant-Based’

aliciakennedy.news

21–30 of 210 posts

Re: On ‘Plant-Based’

#21
post #9

For people who want to reduce meat consumption for environmentalist reasons, being strictly vegan would sometimes do more harm than good (e.g. almond "milk" involves more CO2 emissions than milk). So the concept of a meal that doesn't include large amounts of meat, without necessarily being vegan, is a valuable one.

you got a source for that claim, chief?

[deleted]

Re: On ‘Plant-Based’

#22
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why doesn't the menu say "cauliflower wings" with some "V" icon or leaf icon next to it? I will never understand why parts of the vegan movement need to disguise foods as something else. Vegetables are good!

Why do meat eaters disguise things as burgers, sausages, and nuggets?

They don't "disguise" things as burgers, sausages etc. That's how meat has been prepared since time immemorial across all cultures.

Why do vegans and vegetarians insist on disguising vegetables as meat - now that's the question. Even though the same cultures have a mind-boggling variety of foods that don't involve meat, and don't pretend to be meat.

Re: On ‘Plant-Based’

#23
post #8

I think "plant-based" is a better term than "vegan". "Vegan" describes a person or food. "Plant-based" can only describe the food—you wouldn't say "Bob is plant-based", you'd say "Bob eats plant-based food." If you order "vegan buffalo wings" you're attaching yourself to the vegan subculture and the baggage that comes along with that. Ordering "plant-based buffalo wings" just means you're ordering cauliflower.

Why can it not be simple vegetarian?

Re: On ‘Plant-Based’

#24
post #4

‘Plant based’ initially meant vegan, but vegan is a dirty word for some people, likely because a lot of the early vegan meat alternatives were ghastly. As a vegan, I see a lot of labels boasting ‘plant-based’ but no mention of it being vegan or not, often not even on their website. That alone means I will not purchase. It’s either not vegan OR they’re scared to put that 5 letter word on their product. Market it as pl…

> but vegan is a dirty word for some people, likely because a lot of the early vegan meat alternatives were ghastly Probably more to do with stereotypes of vegans themselves - ie. condescending, arrogant, self-righteous hippies. As a non-vegan, I think a lot of vegan food is actually really good. But as a rule of thumb I avoid vegan dishes that use substitutes for traditionally non-vegan dishes.

Being serious, but have you ever met one of these vegans?

I've definitely heard about them online, but every vegan I've ever met have been nothing alike.

I've often been happily surprised to find someone who I'd been chatting to was also vegan as it didn't even come up before we'd ordered food and they go for a vegan dish.

Re: On ‘Plant-Based’

#25

I think it's a shame that 'vegetarian' has come to mean 'lacto-ovo vegetarian' in the vernacular. Now, 'plant-based' generally takes the position in language that 'vegetarian' should occupy. To be clear, there is also a distinction between 'plant-based' and 'vegan' in that the latter has ethical implications. If making a product caused animal suffering, but that product wasn't made from any animal products, then I'd…

I don't believe vegan has any ethical implications on its own? Especially given "ethical vegan" is a thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism

Re: On ‘Plant-Based’

#26

I think it's a shame that 'vegetarian' has come to mean 'lacto-ovo vegetarian' in the vernacular. Now, 'plant-based' generally takes the position in language that 'vegetarian' should occupy. To be clear, there is also a distinction between 'plant-based' and 'vegan' in that the latter has ethical implications. If making a product caused animal suffering, but that product wasn't made from any animal products, then I'd…

There is another distinction: Vegan is like kosher. It is for people who "can't" eat meat. I feel funny if I order something that is vegan or kosher because I wonder what people think about my identity. But there is no such problem if I order something that is "without meat" or "made from vegetables" or even "plant-based" (or in the case of kosher: beef or chicken instead of pork).

Still, I prefer the term vegan over plant-based because the latter seems convoluted and corporate, as opposed to just "meatless" or even "food" (and marking the non plant based products instead).

Re: On ‘Plant-Based’

#27
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why doesn't the menu say "cauliflower wings" with some "V" icon or leaf icon next to it? I will never understand why parts of the vegan movement need to disguise foods as something else. Vegetables are good!

Why do meat eaters disguise things as burgers, sausages, and nuggets?

That's not the same at all, 'beef burger' tells me what it is; 'vegan burger' (worse: 'vegan chicken nugget'!) only tells me what it isn't.

Re: On ‘Plant-Based’

#28
post #8

I think "plant-based" is a better term than "vegan". "Vegan" describes a person or food. "Plant-based" can only describe the food—you wouldn't say "Bob is plant-based", you'd say "Bob eats plant-based food." If you order "vegan buffalo wings" you're attaching yourself to the vegan subculture and the baggage that comes along with that. Ordering "plant-based buffalo wings" just means you're ordering cauliflower.

Why can it not be simple vegetarian?

[deleted]

Re: On ‘Plant-Based’

#29
post #17
post #9

For people who want to reduce meat consumption for environmentalist reasons, being strictly vegan would sometimes do more harm than good (e.g. almond "milk" involves more CO2 emissions than milk). So the concept of a meal that doesn't include large amounts of meat, without necessarily being vegan, is a valuable one.

You're saying that vegan people have to use milk alternatives like almond milk. Which is certainly not the case. What a non-argument. Also, the problem with milk is not necessarily CO2 but CH4.

> You're saying that vegan people have to use milk alternatives like almond milk. Which is certainly not the case.

For vegans it certainly is the case. Vegans don't eat food that comes from animals. Milk is one such product. So vegans will definitely use milk alternatives.

Re: On ‘Plant-Based’

#30
post #19
post #9

For people who want to reduce meat consumption for environmentalist reasons, being strictly vegan would sometimes do more harm than good (e.g. almond "milk" involves more CO2 emissions than milk). So the concept of a meal that doesn't include large amounts of meat, without necessarily being vegan, is a valuable one.

No Vegan believes that everything they do is always the best for the environment - I just believe over the course of being a Vegan, I will end up reducing CO2 emissions overall. I'd imagine Almond milk is a miniscule part of a Vegan's diet compared to how much meat someone would eat anyway. This argument really annoys me because it seems like you're trying to discredit vegans and justify the act of eating meat to you…

The example in the parent comment is also wrong. Almond milk produces way fewer emissions than dairy. It just uses a surprisingly large amount of water, which is still roughly half that of dairy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46654042

Post reply on HN