To wonder who eats this food and why?

[BingoBonus]

https://groceries.asda.com/product/plant-based-meat-alternatives/plant-based-by-asda-chicken-style-fillets/1000383161908

Plant-based chicken-style breaded fillet. The main two ingredients are water and oil!

I don't understand the boom in plant-based ultra-processed foods...........do people actually buy these as a healthy option? And if you are vegetarian why would you want something that looked like meat?

I’m not a vegan but I enjoy vegan meals and love cooking in general. We try not to eat loads of processed stuff but for me, I find it really hard to come up with a large variety of healthy vegan meals that don’t rely on processed meat substitutes to make the meal substantial. I can totally see why vegan households buy this stuff because it’s hard to go vegan full time without it.

Honestly sounds like minced up plastic bags to me.

I don’t understand why not eat veg if you don’t want to eat meat rather than super processed gubbins.

Why would anyone eat a potato smiley? Do you want to eat a face?

Why would anyone eat Colin Caterpillar?
Do you want to eat a caterpillar?

Why would you eat brown food? Do you want to eat poo?

Etc...

I'm a vegetarian that will occasionally try new things on Ocado, but when you cook something like this or read the ingredients, there's always a sigh moment for me.

I just get a bit bored of eating veg, sometimes, and loathe the texture of tofu.

The blood of newborn babies would be far superior nutritionally than this shit though

Yep. The yellow label reduction section in my Tesco is 90% plant based stuff. If you're vegan you can live very cheaply off them! 😅

Do you know how much water and antibiotics are in chicken?

Keep your antibiotic resistance!

I'm glad that they exist for other people as an alternative to meat. As a longstanding vegetarian, I'm happier to see fake chicken than real bits of dead bird on the shelves. But not on my plate. I would just cry to think someone had gone to the effort of shopping for me, and come up with that. I really hate the texture. I know it sounds infantile. I'd never order anything in a restaurant that was only described on the menu as 'plant-based'.

Didn't you know @BingoBonus you're absolutely not allowed to say a single thing against vegans on here. OR say how shit you think vegan food is. You will get people saying 'oh you don't like BREAD then, and BEANS, and GINGER BISCUITS?' when it's blatantly obvious what people mean. They mean the crap that's made for vegans specifically.. VEGAN FOOD. Plant based shite.

Vegans are not allowed to be critisized, despite the fact probably two thirds of the vegans I know (and see online) are smug and judgemental. They bang on about being a vegan on every other post on Instagram or Twitter, and claim they are better people than meat eaters, (and vegetarians.) YEP, I have seen vegans say they actively LOATHE vegetarians, even more than they loathe meat eaters... make of that what you will.

Whilst a FEW vegans are OK/tolerable, some are insufferable. Most of them I know are quite unhealthy. Yes, I do know a few who are fairly healthy. But most are not in the best of health and are ALWAYS ill. Off to the GP every six or seven weeks, or in A&E, five or six times a year with some kind of infection or illness that their body isn't able to fight.

In my experience, (of people I know - and people I know of,) vegans are some of the most unhealthy people I know. I mean, yes, some meat eaters eat junk food and are a bit unhealthy as well, but this whole idea that vegans are the healthiest is laughable to the extreme. I know way more unhealthy vegans than unhealthy meat eaters and vegetarians. But nooooo, we are not allowed to critisize vegans on here so shhhhhhh! 😝

When I became a veggie in 1980😳there was nothing except lentils, awful dried soya chunks from H&B beans, lots of beans that sort of thing. All of which involved a major cook every time.
Suddenly in 1992 Linda McCartney brought out vegetarian sausages…what a revaluation. I could actually have a meal that involved chewing. I know that sounds weird but I really missed chewing.

The huge growth in plant based processed foods means vegetarians and vegans can now
-just, stick it in the oven, like meat eaters can do
-less time spent cooking
-not have to do so much planning when all you want is a quick meal.
-gives younger non experienced cooks something to eat
-gives more choice
-gives something to chew

A lot of the same reasons that meat eaters eat red meat, smoked meat etc which is unhealthy.
Vegetarians and vegans, certainly when i became one, did so because of the animals. We were not aware at the time that it was a healthier lifestyle choice. That research was in its infancy.

I assume those who don’t eat meat for health reasons don’t eat much of the processed stuff but

Its all about balance. I’m sure we don’t all go round shovelling chia seeds, walnuts and kimchi down our throats and never eat a bit of chocolate.

I used to buy this stuff when I was vegan, to fit in, when the family were meeting up. Iceland no bull burgers were lovely. Great if joining in a BBQ. Vegan 'Chicken' fillets were good to mimic when the family were having KFC. There's a lot of foods advertised as healthy which aren't. It's this sort of stuff that is fortified with B12, so I suppose that's a plus.
@FrostyFifi becoming low in B12/ iron isn't inevitable on a vegan diet, but you have to do your research and eat what's necessary, or take supplements.

I was vegan for six years and it was because I didn't want to contribute to the horrific things animals go through for meat.

I've given it up now for totally selfish reasons.

Anyway, the reason I bought these was because I missed meat. I loved meat, the taste, texture, and I would loved to have eaten it but felt very guilty when I realised there is no humane way to do that to an animal. I look at my cats and think they would suffer in that environment and so does a cow, chicken, pig etc. and I felt like a bad person for being part of it.

I still believe it's wrong to participate in something you know causes suffering to others but I do it anyway.

The introduction of these fake meats is not something I agree with, and the fact that I began to eat them all the time contributed to me eating meat again because I don't want all that processed crap in my body. I don't want meat in my body and it's not doing my any favours healthwise as far as I can see.

But the reason is simply because people miss meat but feel morally wrong buying bits of animal they know suffered massively. It's not that complicated.

"I could actually have a meal that involved chewing. I know that sounds weird but I really missed chewing."

What first got to me when I went vegan was the lack of choice for a hangover cure. These foods provide that.

My daughter might, but I’m not sure she realised she had to give you a reason

My DD 4 eats meat but prefers meat free nugget, vegetarian sausages, etc.

I initially bought them for her when she was younger to fit in with everyone else as they had less salt in them, but now she prefers them so continues to eat them.

The opposite for me - I can't understand why people would want to put a dead, bloodied animal in their mouth, or feed their children chicken nuggets with traces of nose and anus!

It's like sex - all the fun without the hurt.

Having too much red meat can literally cause cancer but whatever, you do you. I don’t judge people by what they do and do not eat.

I’m vegan, I have a protein shake after the gym to help build up muscle in my thigh (loss from knee trauma, not from being vegan), which I would do even if I wasn’t vegan because I love putting it in a smoothie, but other than that I don’t take any other supplements and I’m not deficient in anything. My brother isn’t vegan, and he needs B12 supplements. You don’t need serious adaptations and “massive use” of supplements at all - perhaps try being less ignorant and you might learn something!

🤣🤣🤣
I love that hangover comment
Yes we can now have a fry up. I’m afraid fried tofu has never done anything for me.

Btw, I would never make any animals etc eat vegan I do think that is wrong. In fact my dogs are both on raw food and eat that much that I probs have to be vegan just to balance their food out 😂

Eh has not eaten meat in 30 years and meat substitute products are his favourite foods. He loves loves loves Quorn and any processes shite pretending to be meat. His absolute favourite place to eat is a vegetarian pub that does things like veggie chilli dogs and burgers etc, all of which seem to be substitute meat products

I have given up trying to change him. What can I say he has shite taste in food .

To be fair though he loved meat and give up for various reasons based on doing the east harm.possible in the world but has never yet in 30 years learned to really love healthy veggie food. To this day he says he is tempted by cooking meat smells and says he still misses eating meat. He loves all the new options of meat substitute and would live on them , preferably cooked in really hot spices or slathered in really hot chilli sauce

@PuddlesPityParty
another excellent protein as you want to build up muscle is home made seitan.
75% protein
My kids love it.

I haven't bought these specifically but I do buy "fake meat" type products. Mainly burgers and "meatballs".

The burgers because I like the taste and they are cheaper than beefburgers, at least where I live now (Germany)

The fake meatballs because I can chuck them in the oven and they don't fall apart, don't leak rivers of grease and I only have to heat them through, I don't need to worry about whether they are cooked. They make a quick, inexpensive easy dinner with some spaghetti and tomato sauce.

I don't currently buy fake chicken nuggets because they are still more expensive than chicken nuggets. They don't taste different enough to justify buying them both (like veggieburgers).

Why do you cook vegan meals?
Is it for environmental reasons, animal-welfare reasons, health-reasons or financial reasons?

This. It’s all being touted as ‘plant’ ie vegtable based so people who arnt vegan / vegetarian are being marketed to and offered as a healthy option.
In reality they are so so unhealthy and processed but most people wouldn’t look too closely into it.
Eating processed vegan foods and a vegan diet in general to me is very unhealthy.

I don't really buy fake meat as we tend to eat more pulses, tofu etc. But surely it's not that hard to understand that many people go vegetarian/vegan for ethical/environmental reasons despite still liking meat and missing it. So it's hardly surprising that they might choose to buy fake meat substitutes? As long as they're not really processed crap all the time, I don't really see an issue?