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

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

#231

Post by larrik »

sterkekoffie wrote: post #42
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,…

I know some people who eat vegan to avoid a number life threatening allergies, so it's not always about ethics. It usually is, though.

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

#232

Post by nefitty »

justsubmit wrote: post #197
nefitty wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What blocks you from even considering the option? It's a little strange to see a comment so boastful of a lack of intellectual curiosity on HN.

> What blocks you from even considering the option? Human biology, perhaps? After all, haven't we evolved over thousands of years to be omnivores? > It's a little strange to see a comment so boastful of a lack of intellectual curiosity on HN. In other words, according to you, people who aren't interested in being vegetarian lack intellectual curiosity. It's a little strange to see a comment so boastful of intellectua…

It's not necessarily the lack of interest, but instead the absolute choice to not consider it at all.

In terms of biology plenty of humans thrive on vegan and vegetarian diets.

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

#233

Post by ebg13 »

SubuSS wrote: post #190

I would highly suggest vegetarian food seekers to try out cuisines that have worked out vegetarian options over time (Indian / Thai) rather than the options that try to substitute a green salad. I also have a HUGE resistance for stuff like Beyond meats - When I want meat, I really don't want to try out synthetic haeme or whatever that makes this taste like meat - at least for the next 15-20 years when we figure out w…

> I really don't want to try out synthetic haeme or whatever

It's not synthetic, though. It's real heme in real leghemoglobin produced in yeast instead of hemoglobin in animals.

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

#234

Post by mamon »

tom_mellior wrote: post #142
throwaway66920 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a good point. It would be neat to look at credit card data and infer how much of the customer base is new

> It would be neat to look at credit card data and infer how much of the customer base is new The study did track people over time: https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/09/24/1907207116 "Linking sales data to participants’ previous meal purchases revealed that the largest effects were found in the quartile of diners with the lowest prior levels of vegetarian meal selection." So the heaviest meat eaters as a group…

Probably it is just laziness: if the next closest place to go for lunch is few miles away and your office cafeteria goes vegetarian then you simply find few least bad vege options and stick with them.

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

#235

Post by sudosteph »

ethbro wrote: post #204
sudosteph wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not all meat but it it's not healthy either. I can't speak to Cajun food, but fried okra, hushpuppies, and Cole slaw, are all important side dishes where I live. Fresh tomatoes or fried-green tomatoes too are good ones too.

I will say, as someone who's live in both southern and northern US states... - Northern "American" food traditions tend to completely lack seasoning of any sort (note: not including appropriated ethnic traditions here) - Southern "American" food traditions tend to heavily season vegetables (often with ham) Essentially, if you just took raw vegetables and steamed them, nobody would bat an eye in New England. In the So…

I can't confirm if northerners actually eat unseasoned steamed veggies (surely they at least add salt and pepper?)

But I can can confirm that would be considered basically inedible in the south. For example, the most common broccoli dish is typically a broccoli casserole loaded up with cheese, bread crumbs, and various seasonings, and butter and/or cream as well.

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

#236

Post by randomsearch »

_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 comment does not describe the UK. It’s great to be veggie or vegan here.

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

#237

Post by devb »

markkanof wrote: post #210
ohbleek wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get so tired of this argument. If you were raised eating meat then you'll likely have tendencies to eat meals based around meat. Meat substitutes make sense in the current world and given the typical diet of western cultures. It doesn't have to taste just like the meat it mocks, it just has to taste good. There is nothing special about the taste of chicken or beef other than it is good and you're used to it. If som…

You might get tired of it, but it's a pretty strong argument. If I know what real bacon tastes like then eating some vegetarian facsimile of bacon is going to lead to massive disappointment and drawing the conclusion that eating vegetarian is not really an option for me. If instead I just eat things that are vegetarian and have no meat based equivalent then there is a good chance of discovering new and interesting fo…

For people who feel strongly enough about the ethics of animal farming and the environment, meat substitutes can be "good enough." When I gave up meat years ago I just considered it to be the price of doing what was right.

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

#238

Post by analog31 »

_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…

Vegetables are hard to prepare, especially in a production setting. Of course it has to taste good, but also not turn to mush on the trip from the kitchen to the table. Meat, especially when started with sous vide portions, is much less critical of timing and other conditions.

It's a lot easier at home, and in fact, even heaps of vegetables can be quite good if they're fresh and prepared to your taste.

With one vegetarian in the household, we eat great at home, but restaurants are always a coin toss.

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

#239

Post by dmje »

30 year vegetarian here: I'd say in the UK we've had good vegetarian options for maybe 10 years. Before that it was "have a crappy tomato sauce with pasta" as a terrible substitute for whatever the fleshies were eating. Now, pretty much everywhere in the UK has reasonable non-meat options.

What has also happened though is that low end food places - pubs, cafes, other "beige food" eateries [burgers, chips, you know, beige] - have become extraordinarily more expensive, whereas really great places have only incrementally increased prices. So you'd probably pay £15 for a crappy fish and chips in a pub, but say £18 for a really great dish in a restaurant. This has been a bit of a leveller - but also alongside this you find exponentially better veggie food in a good restaurant, whereas pubs are all still a bit "meat and two veg"...

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

#240

Post by lukeschlather »

benj111 wrote: post #219
lukeschlather wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean for me it's just a question of nutrition. Especially if I'm doing a lot of activity, vegetarian food that "pretends to be meat" gives me a lot more protein with less fiber and carbs which translates into a better balance for exercise.

It doesn't sound like you're a vegetarian for an animal welfare reason though? If you've stopped eating meat for environmental/health reasons then there isn't really the contradiction. 'Salty Crispy protein bits' gets us the same thing as vegetarian bacon, without seemingly being morally objectionable to a demographic you're targeting.

I'm a vegetarian for a variety of reasons, but I don't understand why anyone would have a moral problem with making facsimiles of dead animals. (It's actually imprisoning and killing living creatures that I think most people have a moral problem with.)
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