Two years ago, I was very pregnant (as opposed to moderately pregnant) and searching for ways to keep my vegetarian cravings in check. Being a vegetarian was certainly not a problem, because you can ask any pregnant woman out there and most of them will say that the smell of meat is not the most appealing thing. However, as I grew bigger, I realized I could not live on perogies and watermelon alone (although I tried. Man, did I try.).
I found this product called “Beyond Meat” (which reminds me how in 1996, I interviewed at a company named Starbucks. “Have you heard of us?” they asked. No, I hadn’t.). Beyond Meat didn’t smell like meat when it was cooking (although, honestly, it didn’t smell particularly pleasant either). Yet it gave me the taste of a burger.
Years later, that innocent little box is EVERYWHERE. I found it in the actual meat section in a supermarket the other day. Mock meats used to be, well, mocked. What was the point? Either you were a vegetarian and you embraced vegetables for all of their vegetableness, or you were a die-hard carnivore, looking for blood.
In the past, we weren’t so good at the grey areas of life.
Mock meats celebrate the fact that just because someone is a vegetarian doesn’t mean that they don’t like the taste of meat. Vegetarians may be so because of animal welfare or environmental reasons, but they may still like the smell of bacon. Or mock meats may celebrate the person who generally likes their protein to be meat but wants to try out something new and adventurous.
As early as the 10th century, faux meats were served as an act of hospitality. Buddhist monks could make it for their carnivorous guests and everyone could be peaceful and happy at the table. (1)
If that’s not a model for world peace, I don’t know what is.
Chinese food history also demonstrated examples of families turning to gluten or tofu-based dishes when they couldn’t afford the real thing. They made it work – and they made it delicious. (2)
Meat used to be a luxury, as opposed to what many people now see it as: a given.
Mock meats have run the gamut from soy to gluten-based products to now pea-protein (the new – and very popular – kid on the block). However, with a big movement such as the current Beyond movement (and all of the imitation imitation-meat), people are going to get angry. It is inevitable because change can be triggering.
In this case, it is the controversy on whether vegetarian meat can even call itself meat. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is fighting back against this “false and deceptive marketing.” Mississippi has made it illegal for vegetarian or vegan products to label themselves as “meat” in any capacity. (4) They want the label to be correct and clear, while vegetarian companies claim that they are being descriptive rather than deceptive.
Americans are certainly still eating more meat than plant-based meat, but the rise in vegetarian offerings is attracting a new kind of customer. 95% of people who bought a plant-based burger at a fast-food restaurant last year were meat eaters. (3)
Sink your teeth into that.