Over the last few years I have been decreasing the amount of meat I eat but a huge amount of my meat free meals are homemade.
I don’t have a lot of trust that these vegetarian packaged meals are very healthy
So much of it tastes dreadful, the vegetarian (by default) Cadbury Dairy Milk doesn’t taste as good as it good as it used, it is nectar of the gods in comparison to the vegan Cadbury plant based ‘chocolate’.
A lot of vegan food is hyper-processed in comparison to vegetarian food.
Here are two very simple **vegetarian** sandwiches that can be made with basic ingredients:
I’m vegan, but little surprise/disappointment here for me – the shelves of large supermarkets are ridiculously stacked with several versions of the same product (15 types of vegan burger anyone?)
We don’t need that, just suitable alternatives, it’s inevitable that model isn’t sustainable and has been driven by hype.
It’s great that people are eating more meat free produce but the processed stuff still has a negative impact on the environment. It’s better to get your protein from whole foods, nutritionally and environmentally.
I think people have realised that paying twice as much for highly processed crap that mostly tastes rubbish isn’t worth it.
Meat free products are constantly being double reduced around here (South wales)
I always thought the surge in ultra processed vegan and vegetarian foodstuffs was odd.
Besides those who go veggie or vegan for ethical reasons. You have a sizeable group of in particular vegetarians who do so for health reasons.
A health-conscious individual doesn’t strike me as a great customer for ultra processed meat alternatives.
I’m guessing this contraction is a result of this.
I’ve used what appears to be my ‘one free article a month’ allowance so can’t revisit, but surely a contraction in the number of ranges/products stocked is entirely natural, and can’t be interpreted as ‘meat-free growth tailing off’?
Over the last few years manufacturers have been chucking products at the shelves and seeing what sticks. Some gain traction, others fail.
I’m amazed at how many different brands of faux-meat supermarkets stock, and it seems inevitable that this would reduce over time. How many ‘real’ sausage and bacon brands does a regular store have in comparison?
Have certainly noticed a shakedown in the ‘non dairy milk’ aisle, and it’s logical to expect the same thing will happen in the meat-like sector.
It’s a bit of a shame, I’ve been finding myself trying a lot more in the vegetarian range and reducing my meat intake.
It’s come a long way in the past few years. It’s being ultra processed is a shame but I’m willing to take that hit if it means fewer animals will die.
(Hopefully lab grown meat will be a viable alternative in the nearish future)
Apparently eating meat is becoming cool again lol and veganism uncool. Fuck knows. I haven’t eaten meat for 20 years but find it hard giving up dairy and chocolate and whatever else. Most of the vegan / vegetarian ready meals are surely as unhealthy as the meat equivalents. I think if you eat fresh non processed foods you can be very healthy with a meat or vegan diet right?
Ultimately people will eat what they can afford and fits their budget.
That’s because everyone who didn’t already want it has tried it and realised almost all of it tastes crap…
A tesco superstore here used to half an entire plant free isle here next to the chilled sections. But i would often see most of it marked down. I dont think it sold very well. The whole isle has gone now. On the flip side the gluten free/intolerance isle has now doubled. I kinda see the whole vegan thing as a fad that happened. I mean supermarkets arent stupid they have masses of data on what sells and doesnt. They wouldnt stop selling this stuff if it made money.
I’ve cut down a lot on my meat and you know what I haven’t replaced it with? Meat free shit that looks like meat.
I learnt how to cook a bit better and it turns out vegetables and salads are delicious when you know what you’re doing.
I’ve never understood this need to replace meat with something that looks like meat!
Like lots of people, I’ve reduced my meat intake recently, but haven’t ever felt the need to random stuff squished into meat-like shapes, what’s the point?
One particular product: bean burgers. I’ve noticed they’re either rarer, or the quality has dropped (bulked out with onion, less beans). Up to about six months ago, Aldi/Lidl/Morrisons were reliable for stocking decent options. Annoyingly, the fake meat burgers are usually in stock (which are worse than either beans or real meat).
Lifelong vegetarian here.
Have 0 interest in meat-imitating highly processed food. Give me a bean burger ahead of a beyond burger or whatever it’s called any day of the week
As long as Aldi keep up their unashamedly junk food section I’ll be happy.
Ultra processed meat substitutes are not healthy alternatives to meat.
there are plenty of options using real food for people who don’t want death on their plate. the rise in “meat free” processed shite was always going to slow.
I mean it’s all the same stuff anyway, you don’t need 6 different brands of meat free burgers.
Just got 3 packs of vegan plant sausages for 10p each in the reduced. Wish me luck!
This makes it seem like people are becoming less vegan which is not true. This shows a bit of the growth of people trying veganism and sticking to it . Its definitely growing. https://veganuary.com/
I can’t afford a lot of meat replacements so I mostly cook from scratch just using tofu or beans for protein.
Luckily I live near a Herons which usually do packs of Linda McCartneys at a more reasonable price than big supermarkets.
I’m not paying 3 quid a pack for some vegan bacon or chicken 😄
This meat-free trend has been, in a lot of cases, practically forced upon us.
But I have noticed a couple of things. Vegetables and a lot of vegetarian/vegan products are so tasty and versatile, I just don’t understand the need to make these products look and traste like meat. And secondly, I have looked at the nutritional values of some of these vegetarian/vegan processed crap, and often they have more sugar, salt, and saturated fat than their meat counterparts. And mostly a lot more expensive also.
I really think that it was just a fad, and more people are maybe seeing the disadvantages, which there often tends to be, than the ‘supposed’ advantages that aren’t so clear-cut as first thought.
A lot of talk in here about which is healthier and tastier and as usual hardly anyone is talking about the animals.
Some of the meat free gear is rubbish and overpriced, though I like Tescos meat free frozen bangers. I reckon if the price came down it would be more popular, as it stands my local Tesco ends up bulk reducing whole sections.
Being meat free isn’t healthy in itself, most vegans for example to back to animal products due anyway.
These meet free options are also just pumped full of rubbish.
27 comments
Over the last few years I have been decreasing the amount of meat I eat but a huge amount of my meat free meals are homemade.
I don’t have a lot of trust that these vegetarian packaged meals are very healthy
So much of it tastes dreadful, the vegetarian (by default) Cadbury Dairy Milk doesn’t taste as good as it good as it used, it is nectar of the gods in comparison to the vegan Cadbury plant based ‘chocolate’.
A lot of vegan food is hyper-processed in comparison to vegetarian food.
Here are two very simple **vegetarian** sandwiches that can be made with basic ingredients:
Cheese sandwich – bread + cheese (milk, salt, starter culture, veggie rennet)
Egg mayo sandwich – bread + egg + mayo (egg, oil, vinegar, mustard, seasoning)
Here are the ‘delicious’ vegan versions (showing actual ingredient lists):
‘Cheese’ sandwich – bread + fake cheese (Water, Coconut Oil, Modified Starch, Starch, Sea Salt, Sunflower Kernel Grounded, Mature Cheddar Flavour, Acidity Regulator: Lactic Acid, Olive Extract, Colour: B- Carotene, Vitamin B12)
‘Egg’ mayo sandwich – bread + fake egg (whole algal flour, whole algal protein, modified cellulose, cellulose, gellan gum, calcium lactate (plant source), carrageenan, nutritional yeast, black salt) + fake mayo (rapeseed oil, water, spirit vinegar, sugar, salt, modified maize starch, natural flavouring (contains MUSTARD), lemon juice concentrate, antioxidant (calcium disodium EDTA), colour (paprika extract) ).
I’m vegan, but little surprise/disappointment here for me – the shelves of large supermarkets are ridiculously stacked with several versions of the same product (15 types of vegan burger anyone?)
We don’t need that, just suitable alternatives, it’s inevitable that model isn’t sustainable and has been driven by hype.
It’s great that people are eating more meat free produce but the processed stuff still has a negative impact on the environment. It’s better to get your protein from whole foods, nutritionally and environmentally.
I think people have realised that paying twice as much for highly processed crap that mostly tastes rubbish isn’t worth it.
Meat free products are constantly being double reduced around here (South wales)
I always thought the surge in ultra processed vegan and vegetarian foodstuffs was odd.
Besides those who go veggie or vegan for ethical reasons. You have a sizeable group of in particular vegetarians who do so for health reasons.
A health-conscious individual doesn’t strike me as a great customer for ultra processed meat alternatives.
I’m guessing this contraction is a result of this.
I’ve used what appears to be my ‘one free article a month’ allowance so can’t revisit, but surely a contraction in the number of ranges/products stocked is entirely natural, and can’t be interpreted as ‘meat-free growth tailing off’?
Over the last few years manufacturers have been chucking products at the shelves and seeing what sticks. Some gain traction, others fail.
I’m amazed at how many different brands of faux-meat supermarkets stock, and it seems inevitable that this would reduce over time. How many ‘real’ sausage and bacon brands does a regular store have in comparison?
Have certainly noticed a shakedown in the ‘non dairy milk’ aisle, and it’s logical to expect the same thing will happen in the meat-like sector.
It’s a bit of a shame, I’ve been finding myself trying a lot more in the vegetarian range and reducing my meat intake.
It’s come a long way in the past few years. It’s being ultra processed is a shame but I’m willing to take that hit if it means fewer animals will die.
(Hopefully lab grown meat will be a viable alternative in the nearish future)
Apparently eating meat is becoming cool again lol and veganism uncool. Fuck knows. I haven’t eaten meat for 20 years but find it hard giving up dairy and chocolate and whatever else. Most of the vegan / vegetarian ready meals are surely as unhealthy as the meat equivalents. I think if you eat fresh non processed foods you can be very healthy with a meat or vegan diet right?
Ultimately people will eat what they can afford and fits their budget.
That’s because everyone who didn’t already want it has tried it and realised almost all of it tastes crap…
A tesco superstore here used to half an entire plant free isle here next to the chilled sections. But i would often see most of it marked down. I dont think it sold very well. The whole isle has gone now. On the flip side the gluten free/intolerance isle has now doubled. I kinda see the whole vegan thing as a fad that happened. I mean supermarkets arent stupid they have masses of data on what sells and doesnt. They wouldnt stop selling this stuff if it made money.
I’ve cut down a lot on my meat and you know what I haven’t replaced it with? Meat free shit that looks like meat.
I learnt how to cook a bit better and it turns out vegetables and salads are delicious when you know what you’re doing.
I’ve never understood this need to replace meat with something that looks like meat!
Like lots of people, I’ve reduced my meat intake recently, but haven’t ever felt the need to random stuff squished into meat-like shapes, what’s the point?
One particular product: bean burgers. I’ve noticed they’re either rarer, or the quality has dropped (bulked out with onion, less beans). Up to about six months ago, Aldi/Lidl/Morrisons were reliable for stocking decent options. Annoyingly, the fake meat burgers are usually in stock (which are worse than either beans or real meat).
Lifelong vegetarian here.
Have 0 interest in meat-imitating highly processed food. Give me a bean burger ahead of a beyond burger or whatever it’s called any day of the week
As long as Aldi keep up their unashamedly junk food section I’ll be happy.
Ultra processed meat substitutes are not healthy alternatives to meat.
there are plenty of options using real food for people who don’t want death on their plate. the rise in “meat free” processed shite was always going to slow.
I mean it’s all the same stuff anyway, you don’t need 6 different brands of meat free burgers.
Just got 3 packs of vegan plant sausages for 10p each in the reduced. Wish me luck!
This makes it seem like people are becoming less vegan which is not true. This shows a bit of the growth of people trying veganism and sticking to it . Its definitely growing.
https://veganuary.com/
I can’t afford a lot of meat replacements so I mostly cook from scratch just using tofu or beans for protein.
Luckily I live near a Herons which usually do packs of Linda McCartneys at a more reasonable price than big supermarkets.
I’m not paying 3 quid a pack for some vegan bacon or chicken 😄
This meat-free trend has been, in a lot of cases, practically forced upon us.
But I have noticed a couple of things. Vegetables and a lot of vegetarian/vegan products are so tasty and versatile, I just don’t understand the need to make these products look and traste like meat. And secondly, I have looked at the nutritional values of some of these vegetarian/vegan processed crap, and often they have more sugar, salt, and saturated fat than their meat counterparts. And mostly a lot more expensive also.
I really think that it was just a fad, and more people are maybe seeing the disadvantages, which there often tends to be, than the ‘supposed’ advantages that aren’t so clear-cut as first thought.
A lot of talk in here about which is healthier and tastier and as usual hardly anyone is talking about the animals.
Some of the meat free gear is rubbish and overpriced, though I like Tescos meat free frozen bangers. I reckon if the price came down it would be more popular, as it stands my local Tesco ends up bulk reducing whole sections.
Being meat free isn’t healthy in itself, most vegans for example to back to animal products due anyway.
These meet free options are also just pumped full of rubbish.
Bring on carbon neutral lab grown farming.