Vegan fast food that looks like meat

[veganlookslikemeat]

E.g. all the new vegan options that chains have been coming out with recently. All the vegan fake meat burgers/subs/pastries etc (Burger King, Subway, KFC, Greggs etc)
They all look like the real thing they are trying to mimic so how can you actually tell you've been given the vegan option and not meat by accident?!
AIBU to want a vegan option that you can clearly tell is vegan... or can someone share how to differentiate these vegan items with the non vegan counterparts?

I went vegetarian in the mid 80s, vegan 6 years ago.

I’m not keen on the realistically meaty foods on offer.

One of the many reasons for removing meat from my diet was the taste/texture of the stuff.

However if others like it, if it cuts their meat consumption then I’m fine with that.

There also the issue of guests or family who are meat eaters - most are quite happy to eat veggie meat & I like pies pasties & sausage rolls
Funny thing is after years of not eating meaty sausage rolls but the veggie equivalent I accidently got a meaty one &, yuck, the taste! I prefer veggie sausage rolls

@NowtSoQueerAsFolk

Why is it, whenever anyone starts a thread about vegans, people start with dickish comments like 'i don't understand why they want options that are like meat' and 'how can they support these places that sell meat'.

It happens every time. It is answered every time. And yet there always seems to be someone that 'doesn't understand' in a way that is critical of other people's choices. It seems at best, lacking any kind of critical thinking, and at worst, deliberately obtuse.

I'm not vegan. I'm not even vegetarian. I often choose the vegan and vegetarian options at places that have them. Why? Well, it really shouldn't matter to anyone other than me. But seeing as some people 'don't understand' the answers are because I want to. Because I like them. Because I wasn't to be kinder to our planet.

Some meat eaters get so defensive about their choices and try to rip vegans apart. They wouldn't do the same with Jews not eating pork for example. But they perceive the moral stance of Veganism as an attack on them personally.

I only ever see anti vegan sentiment on here with lots of faux naivety. There's never the stereotypical vegan activist telling everyone to go vegan

For the same reason people use dildos. Looks the same, feels the same, fills a hole, but no hearts are broken in the process.
@MishMashMummy you win the internet today!

@IHaveBrilloHair

I'm an omnivore and love veg so often choose the veggie option, but only if it doesn't resemble meat. I also hate things being called plant based as it doesn't tell me anything about them really.

In almost all cases (the Burger King whopper, with massive cross contamination issues, being a notable exception) it just a marketing term that means vegan, but aims not to put the omnivores off.

FWIW when doing some marketing I saw a huge uptick in sales when I changed the order of the words - from "Vegan X" to "X (Vegan)" as evidently the word vegan at the beginning just made some people stop reading.

For the same reason people use dildos. Looks the same, feels the same, fills a hole, but no hearts are broken in the process.

Bahaha perfect response to an idiotic statement

@1940s I've been vegan for seventeen years and veggie another decade on top of that so spent a lot of time around people discussing the topic. I've very rarely come across the stereotype of the 'militant vegan' you hear so much about (in fact most vegans I know you wouldn't actually know were vegans unless a situation came up where it was obvious), but dickhead comments about 'bacon is too good/a lion would eat you/what if you were on a desert island/why do animals taste so good if you're not supposed to eat them' etc. are very frequent.

There's a reason that subset of meat eaters tends to get so defensive.

I think there are times when being served the non vegan option might be harmful. If you’ve chosen the vegan option to avoid dairy due to an allergy, for example.

Some meat eaters get so defensive about their choices and try to rip vegans apart. They wouldn't do the same with Jews not eating pork for example. But they perceive the moral stance of Veganism as an attack on them personally.

I only ever see anti vegan sentiment on here with lots of faux naivety. There's never the stereotypical vegan activist telling everyone to go vegan

This is my experience too. I know the stereotype is that vegans constantly preach and won't stop talking about it but I have never actually witnessed this. Ime it's usually meat eaters getting offended and bitching about mythical preachy vegans.

If you’ve chosen the vegan option to avoid dairy due to an allergy, for example.

Vegan does not necessarily mean dairy free from an allergy perspective. There are lots of products that are sold as vegan but are not safe for those with serious milk allergies.

Only veggie but so much prefer the meat like veggie burgers. Unless they are super special, the general veg patties are boring. I wasn't sure however, if those fast food chains cook on the same grills so don't tend to order from them.

No doubt OP you'll get the nitwit replies who enjoy trying to prove vegans wrong. Ignore them. They don't understand.

Oh I've definitely witnessed the militant vegan. It's usually the newly converted vegan that has just become aware of information that is new to them (whether that's to do with the environment, animal welfare, health), and they think it's important that everyone should know.

It's usually done with a level of naivety (assuming other people aren't aware), and it's done for the right reasons (although it can come across very badly). And it's temporary. It's basically people sharing a new found passion. But imo it's a bit like religion. People should find it if and when it's right for them, and not have it forced onto them.

I get my boyfriend to take a bite first and confirm it for me. Take a willing friend who's happy to be the tester?

YANBU I’m vegan and I hate most mock meat substitutes! I always break into things with my hands/cut them open first to double check, you do get used to the difference. I haven’t eaten meat for a good 17 years but I do know what mock meat looks like and if it looks slightly funny (on the few occasions I’ve been served real meat by accident). The only thing I struggle with is if I’ve ordered a burger and it’s made using the beyond meat patty, that’s far too realistic for me and freaks me out as I genuinely cannot tell the difference. Greggs vegan sausage rolls and vegan steak bakes look totally different to the meat ones too- they have different marking.

Well if we're getting anecdotal about it, a school friend of mine is VERY vocal about being vegan, and just posted on instagram asking everyone she follows who shares pictures of food not to share anything that isn't vegan as the cover photo, as it is very triggering to her, and equivalent to posting pictures of aborted fetuses and she will have panic attacks for the rest of the day. So...preachy vegans do exist, just as asshole defensive meat-eaters exist too.

I think more plant based options are brilliant in general. I'm not vegan, but am very happy to see more options around for all sorts of reasons! I rmade coronation chicken salad sandwiches the other day using "THIS" faux-chicken pieces and we all liked them, even the kids. I just wish they were cheaper, but that's definitely on its way - there are so many companies trying to make plant-based protein substitutes that the price will be driven down eventually.

there are so many companies trying to make plant-based protein substitutes that the price will be driven down eventually

Indeed. The co-op recently announced that they were reducing the prices of their plant based products to be aligned with the prices of similar meat based products.

@NowtSoQueerAsFolk I hear what you're saying - but, I was astounded to learn that my sister (lifelong vegetarian, 30 yrs) genuinely did not know that in order for us to get milk, cows have to be impregnated and then their calves are taken away.

She thought that cows just automatically made milk... On a straw poll of my friends, only one of them realised that cows did not automatically make milk year-round, and instead only make milk when they are mothers, like us.

So don't you think it's okay to bring up topics like that, for general discussion to see if people do actually have the facts?

I have NEVER tried to persuade any body of anything - I've been a lifelong veggie and have plenty of meat eating friends. But I do think people need to have all the information before they can make an informed decision. If they know already what happens and choose to eat meat/drink dairy then that's up to them.

I had the BK whopper the other day and was similarly suspicious, it was so similar to the real thing, I poked about at it and gave it a thorough inspection before I ate it!! I'm not vegan but I haven't eaten meat for several years and I thiiiink I would know from the texture. It's always a risk you take though I think when you order from somewhere like that. Not a problem for me as I would just spit it out or chalk it up to experience if I'd already eaten it and wouldn't be too distressed, but I can understand why you'd be nervous about it if you're stricter about it than I am. It would be better if they made the patties square or oval or something so you knew they couldn't be mixed up easily

@YellowScallion oh yes I understand that for serious allergies of course, it was just an example of why someone who is a meat eater might choose the vegan option.

I choose the vegan option even though I eat meat too but that’s because I enjoy trying different foods.

I know someone who can have ‘may contain’ foods for a less serious dairy allergy and she would choose the vegan option.

There's a difference between discussing animal welfare issues from a point of interest during a normal conversation, and telling people they should be vegan because of animal welfare issues, or always bringing the conversation back around to veganism.

I'm not saying discussing veganism is always militant vegan, of course that's not the case!

@TinaYouFatLard

Why support multinational companies that support the torture and murder of animals?

Because if there is no demand for it then companies will not progress? Look at the Gregg’s sausage roll, that took off massively. Now they have the vegan steak bake, they made all of the Belgian Buns vegan and have a whole new vegan menu coming soon including a vegan breakfast sandwich. They’re releasing a multitude of vegan things and none of that would have happened if there wasn’t a high demand for it. No companies will make these changes if vegans aren’t buying them.

The same could be applied for vegans who shop in supermarkets such as Tesco. We would still be buying our soya milk in shops such as H&B if we didn’t show there was such a high demand for it by shopping there. Now we have a whole vegan section. If we applied that logic to everything we would hardly be able to shop anywhere because so many big corporations do support the torture and murder of animals. If they don’t see that there is demand for other products, they will never implement change. Veganism should be easily accessible for everyone and not everyone has the option of having a vegan takeout where they live.

You can tell by taste, no account of dressing up a vegan burger makes it a real juicy beef burger.

I strongly dislike meat look-a-likes/taste-a-likes personally but I do get that some people prefer them. I would like there to be more variety of vegan and vegetarian options on menus. It’s all just about demand though I suppose.

Never mind that it's been cooked in the same oil as the meat. Unless you go to an actual vegan restaurant then it's "contaminated" with meat anyway...

@bunburyscucumbersandwich

Never mind that it's been cooked in the same oil as the meat. Unless you go to an actual vegan restaurant then it's "contaminated" with meat anyway...

Not always. The royale from Burger King and the first vegan one from kfc all had their own fryers