Why do SOME vegetarians and vegans buy tofu dogs and burgers?

Question

It is like saying you hate children, but have the whole collections of cabbage patch dolls. This is a legit question, and I am not looking for the answer to be directed at me. I am looking for the answer to be directed at the question. Thankyou.

Answer 1

Because most vegetarians/vegans don't do it because they don't like the taste of meat.  There are a variety of other reasons.  Although personally I DO like the taste of meat and don't like fake meat, so I choose not to eat either one :)

Answer 2

It's the tacit and involuntary confession of vegetarians that for humans meat really has an essential role in diet, both for nutrition and satisfaction.

No one has ever taken steak and made it taste just like soybeans!

Answer 3

Maybe it is about the toppings. A tofu burger tastes pretty good when you top it with tomato, pickles, onion, ketchup and mustard. A burger doesn't have to be beef to be yummy. I am not a huge red meat fan but I like a chicken burger. We all need protein in our diet, tofu is just another way to get it. Vegetarians are not against burgers or hotdogs, they just don't want to eat beef.

Answer 4

The analogy is absurd, but I assume you're asking why vegetarians and vegans eat 'meat substitutes' and suggestinfg there's a contradiction?

Well, start by turning the question around -if people like meat so much, why do they  buy/eat it when it's been forced  into sausage shapes, patty shapes, rashers etc , spiced heavily and mixed with soya and other non-meat items until  it no longer bears any resemblance - in taste or appearance -  to  the pig or cow it came from any more than it resembles a soyabean plant?

''No one has ever taken steak and made it taste just like soybeans'' Scott L? Yes they have.

Veg*n products don't resemble meat - sausages, patties, rashers etc are just forms, usually made from meat, but they can 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.

One reason ‘mock 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?

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.

For the life of me I can't see the problem, or the contradiction, in being vegetarian or vegan and eating something that's - well, not meat.

Answer 5

because theyr not disgusted of the idea of how it tastes but rather the idea of klling the animal. so they eat tofu dogs to replace that...

Answer 6

To state the obvious, there is a large difference between cabbage patch dolls and children. Children breathe, express emotions and feel pain. Cabbage patch dolls are merely a toy. You don't have to feed them, take them to Disneyland or even send them off to college. Now that we see there is a difference between dolls and humans, we can take a look at the difference between fake meat and real meat. The taste is similar but not identical. The smell is also similar but not identical. So what's the difference between the two? One was a living thing that had it's life taken away and one is just an imitation of the other. So like cabbage patch dolls, which are imitations of little children, tofu dogs and burgers are an imitation of real meat, just without the cruelty. This is why vegetarians and vegans enjoy them so much. I hope you see my point and I hope my silly lesson helped :)

[EDIT]

Prodigy556 that's exactly what I just said.

Answer 7

Because they like them. You don't have to dislike the *taste* of meat to be veg*n, you have to dislike the idea of it.

Answer 8

research this question, it's been asked a million times.

because many vegs give up meat for ethical/moral reasons not because they don't like the taste. many did like the taste. so if they can have something that tastes the same/similar but does not involve factory farms/pain/suffering/torture/death... than why not? what's wrong with that?  

i eat the 'fake' meats quite often. i love the taste of it. sometimes i want a burger and fries! but i have  no desire to eat an animal, especially one that suffered and was tortured in a factory farm before it was killed.

Answer 9

I buy them, I do it because I need to get protien, ie: tofu (soy).

Also, if i am going to go to a party, and I know that they are serving hot dogs, I will bring my own, that way people don't make a big deal about me not eating, or a big deal about my life choice. I also eat ground tofu (the ground beef varity for chili) so that I can eat chili with protien, and not have those disgusting soy protien flakes.

The same reason why vegans/vegetarians drink soy MILK

Answer 10

I only eat tofu dogs or burgers when I'm with my extended family and they're having a BBQ, as my grandfather will ONLY allow things to be put on the BBQ, and nothing to be cooked in the kitchen.  I don't want to make anyone go out of their way to cook something special for me, so I just hand my grandpa a tofu dog when he's cooking stuff on the bbq.

Answer 11

If we can get to eat a hot dog or burger and nothing had to die then why not.

Answer 12

Because since they can't eat meat they eat tofu which has like all these really weird stuff in it that's okay for them to eat.....?

Answer 13

Having a Cabbage patch doll is much different than having a actual baby. Dolls require no care, food, money, schooling, or affection. I know at least one person that does not like children and yet has a very large doll collection. I also know someone who does not like pets, but has one of those real looking sleeping dogs on a pillow in the living room.

I think it is safe to say that the difference between a doll and a real baby, is comparable to the difference between faux meat and real meat.

The eating of fake meat is much different than eating  actual meat. No animal has to die in order for a boca burger to be produced. I am against the cruelty behind the production of the burger and the health concerns regarding the consumption of meat. I never really had anything against the taste of meat when I used to eat it, so eating something that has a similar taste does not bother me.

Since faux meat is healther( in cholesterol, saturated fat, etc) and there is no cruelty involved, than the consumption of the product is no different that eating any other vegetarian food.

I myself, liken it to a person who is watching cholesterol, who switches from regular bacon to turkey bacon. Should the person avoid turkey bacon because regular bacon is high in cholesterol... no, because what they are looking for is something healthier, just the same as vegetarians are looking for a cruelty free and healthier alternative so they choose fake meats.

Answer 14

That's a pretty funny analogy. I'm sure Cabbage Patch dolls are a lot easier to take care of than children.

Reasons:

1. Some vegetarians used to eat meat and are used to eating certain textures and so on.

2. Some people have to eat less meat because they were told to do so by doctors or dietitians. Maybe they aren't very happy about it and fake meat seems like the next best thing.

3. Those fake meat things are convenient and easy to cook.

4. Some vegetarians may have situations where they are eating with meat eaters in a group and they don't want to be call attention to themselves.

5. Making a hamburger or whatever out of soy beans, etc, isn't the same thing as eating meat. It isn't really made out of an animal. Meat eaters eat something called "hot dogs" that aren't really made out of dog meat. Eating a cookie shaped like Santa Claus isn't the same as eating human flesh. I don't see what the big deal is.

Answer 15

Because being a vegan or vegetarian is not about disliking the taste of meat, it's about being disgusted by the way those animals are treated. So if you still like the taste but don't want to eat dead animals, tofu makes a nice substitute.

Answer 16

Well i am a vegetarian and i eat those all the time but they are  very good for you and high in protein instead of all the c**p they put in your meat

Answer 17

Its just the feel of the food.We ALL grew up on burgers and hot dogs...Or at a cookout, so you dont look out of place being the only one without a burger. If you dont tell anyone that its a tofu burger, they wont even notice. Then you wont have to be confronted "omg you dont eat meat! you will die!!" Trust me, that gets annoying REALLY quick :-)

lol @ majnun...santa claus cookie

Answer 18

Protein is important to anyones diet and tofu is a very good source.

Answer 19

Because tofu dogs and burgers aren't meat, and cabbage patch dolls aren't children. Have you ever read the ingredients to tofu? No animal parts. Have you ever seen a cabbage patch doll? It doesn't cry or p**p or cost you money for 20 years.

Answer 20

I don't eat meat, but that doesn't mean that I can't eat things that are like meat.  No one had to die to make those things. Also this question has been asked like 999,999,999,999,999 times and my answer is still the same: It's because I want to and it's perfectly fine.

I ate meat for a lot of years and I became accustomed to the taste.  I like fake meat because it works well in the recipes I made before I went vegetarian.  

Oops sorry.  I directed this at you.  You asked the question and I told you what I think.  Part of what I think is the fact that you seem to not know you can look up old questions on here.  This has been done...and it wasn't that intelligent or well-thought-out the first time or any time after that.

Answer 21

because they dont hate the food they hate the idea of killing something for the food.