Vegetarians who eat "meat substitutes" do you really think you are truly in your heart, a vegetarian?

Question

What I mean is: If you are really a vegetarian, you shouldn't eat any meat. If you are eating stuff that looks and tastes like meat, isn't that cheating in way?

Answer 1

It sounds like you have never eaten a fake meat product. They are made out of beens they don't taste or even look much like meat.

BTW: I eat gingerbread men, does that mean I'd like to eat people?  

Answer 2

Who said that vegans and vegetarians don't like the taste of meat? I'm a vegan and I love the taste of meat, but it doesn't make me any less of a vegan. It's a personal thing. Some vegetarians and vegans I know love the taste of meat.

What I don't like is the slaughter, cruelty, violence and abuse that is inflicted upon animals. And for that - I'd rather live a life without eating products derived from animals. Regardless how good they may taste.

Answer 3

Yes, you are.

I like Indian tikka masala sauces, which are generally only available with lamb, chicken, or beef at Indian restaurants; if I make a tikka masala sauce at home and just pour it over rice there's no protein in it.

Same goes with Thai sauces like Panang curry, mee krob, etc: absolutely delicious but boring on their own; it's like having a bowl of marinara sauce.  I generally ask for them with tofu instead.

The "meat substitutes" I use I don't use to substitute the flavor of meat, which I find disgusting.  I use them because I like their taste on their own, and because it means I'm getting some protein when I eat.  For instance, when I get veggie burgers, I don't get the ones that are supposed to approximate the taste of meat, I get the garden veggie or tomato basil versions.

Answer 4

Nope!

You should consider the fact that not all vegetarians are vegetarians for the benefit of the animals. Some people have health problems and have to stop eating meat. The meat substitute certainly makes life easier for them!

Answer 5

I'm a meatetarian and I ask myself the same thing everyday.  When I eat meat that meat might have been next to lettuce or tomato or it may actually contain some sort of veggie seasoning on it.  

Answer 6

No because a meat substitute is just that, a substitute. There is nothing wrong, or hypocritical  for that matter, in wanting the taste but not the meat itself.

A vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat or slaughter by products. Mock meats or substitutes are neither meat not slaughter by products.

Answer 7

The goal is to not eat meat so that we don't support the torturing and killing of animals.

Meat substitutes come from plant sources like soybeans and wheat, so we can eat them without supporting animal abuse in any way.

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Answer 8

I totally agree with you!  It seems to me to be a lack of commitment to true vegetarianism.  I go through periods when I am vegetarian, and would never consider eating meat substitutes.

Answer 9

Soy made to taste like meat is still soy.

As long as someone's not eating meat, they're a vegetarian. If mock-meat makes it easier for them, or they like the taste of it, that's their business.

Answer 10

Being a vegetarian means not eating any meat. So..being a vegetarian and eating something that's not meat? How is that 'cheating'?

I assume you eat meat; but I'm guessing that not a lot  of the meat you eat actually resembles the animal  it came from. Instead it's often spiced and  flavoured,  with added soya and other fillers,shaped it into sausages, patties, rashers and other shapes until it no more resembles the cow or pig it came from (in taste or appearance) than it resembles a head of brocolli? See? Same logic, same question. Does that mean that you are truly, in your heart, not a meat-eater?

One reason fake meats are popular is probably that they make it easier for a new vegetarian or vegan to make the change from eating meat. And they're fine for people who may have a moral objection to eating meat, but who enjoyed and miss it.

But mostly it's just that they’re different tastes and textures, and who doesn’t crave that in their diet?

And they don't resemble meat - sausages, patties, rashers etc are just forms, usually made from meat, but they can just as easily be made from seitan, tofu etc. They’re not necessarily meat substitutes, but ways of processing and shaping food. You never saw a round flat animal, after all, or a sausage shaped one. They're just convenient shapes to form the centrepiece to a meal.

Meat ‘substitutes’ aren’t the healthiest or cheapest food you can eat, but if you’re feeling lazy and uninspired they’re fine now and then And some of them do taste good.

Answer 11

I don't see how it could be cheating, if you stop because you don't want to kill, then you've stopped killing. Saying a vegan can't enjoy the taste of meat is like saying you can't believe the world is over populated and still like kids.

I personally tend to avoid these meat like meals because they cost more than I'd like to spend. Also, I like to know as much as I can about the food I eat (so typically I make it myself). But I still enjoy having a vegi dog with my more carnivorous friends every once and a while. Also, if I ever host a dinner, I tend to try to have vegi sausage or something there so the meat eaters can still feel comfortable. I'd rather like to make something completely new, but lots of people don't go for “new”. In a society like this, fake meat can really come in handy.

Answer 12

No.

If you eat gummy bears, you're not eating a bear.

If you eat animal crackers, you're not eating the entire zoo.

True neither of those taste like bears or tigers, but it's still being completely vegetarian if you like the taste of meat. I haven't eaten an animal in two and a half years, and I still crave meat. Having the option of the taste without killing something just makes it better.

Answer 13

i am a vegetarian and we deserve to have good tasting food. as long as it isnt an animal that was once living, i eat it.

it is not cheating, its just eating

Answer 14

No , these day's there are so many different kinds of foods that go beyond the standard vegetable dish and vegetarians have a right to eat them and enjoy them without any guilt at all . Dumb question.  

Answer 15

No. My nephew asked me about this and I told him that I wasn't eating it because it tasted like the meat it was supposedly substituting (because most times it doesn't taste like that), but because it is shaped and formed in a way that I can use it to make things like sandwiches with it. If I simply bought tofu then I wouldn't have this type of option.  

Answer 16

Look at it this way: Have you ever heard of a butcher shop that advertises its steaks by saying they taste just like tofu?

Answer 17

No to cheating

Yes to being a vegetarian.

(This appears to be the consensus.   But when I saw all the no's, I thought people were answering the bolded part of the question.)

Vegetarianism is about eating plant based foods,  not avoiding things that taste like meat.

Answer 18

Nope.  It's not cheating.  I didn't stop eating meat because I didn't like it.  I stopped because of the cruelty involved.  There is no cruelty involved in the production of fake meat.

  

Answer 19

no because it is not the real thing, it is just a replica..its soy, so there are no animals in it, i dont eat seafood, meats, rennet, lanolin, retinal pollinate, gelatin, keratin, or any other animal cruelty things    

Answer 20

no. the kind i get doesnt even taste like meat really.  just because we want something that tastes good, and gives us PROTIEN doesnt mean we want to eat meat. its not from an animal, its not meat, its not cheating, end of discusion.  

Answer 21

Vegetarians do not eat animals.

"Meat substitutes" are not made with animals.

You seem desperate to find flaws in other people.

Answer 22

Short answer: No.

You are still a vegetarian as long as you do not eat meat. You are not "cheating" in anyway. Cheating would be taking a bite out of a juicy hot dog. Most vegetarians give up meat for moral reasons so as not to harm animals. These people do not give up meat because of the taste of it. They may love the taste but hate the fact that animals had to die for it. In my opinion, vegetarians show great discipline and control when it comes to their eating habits.