And yet the most consumed plant in the US is one that is barely edible for humans, and inedible for most the animals we feed it to.
All these tasty meats and people decide to eat what the food eats.
ok vegan
I love taste.
It’s far easier to slap a chook in the oven and end up with something delicious than what I’ve been able to figure out that’s only plant based.
If I wasn’t meant to eat pigs, why is every single part of a pig so damn delicious?
It’s pretty ironic that ribs evolved to prevent a pig from being killed
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you are aware animals eat animals right
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I’d easily eat humans if it were legal and they processed in our bodies correctly! I don’t get it, why you would want to let all that meat go to waste?
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That’s a jump, from “I’d eat a human” to necessitating the human have been purposefully killed to be consumed. The previous poster even pretty clearly said not wanting to waste meat, implying the human was already dead and would just be burnt/buried otherwise.
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I definitely didn’t say that. My views on eating animals isn’t relevant to this conversation. Just pointing out you’re framing the words the previous poster used in a vastly different light than what they said. Kinda like you tried to do to mine.
That said, honestly yeah, if you accidentally kill an animal, use it’s meat.
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Prions are a great reason.
Worth noting that other animals too have prions such as the one that causes mad cow disease. Not to mention diseases like E. Coli, Salmonella, etc.
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But… I haz both.
There’s more than three affordable animals lmao. Even if you count fish as one you still have crawfish, shrimp, fish, beef, chicken, pork, lamb, venison, turkey, etc. This also doesn’t even account for the million ways to prepare the meats
Sorry, I’m trying. Honestly. I’m looking for vegan and vegetarian recipes and while it usually tastes “fine”, it’s mostly just “meh”.
I don’t get the hype for things like lentils or quinoa either. Both are “meh” at best.
So far, I’m unable to find meat-free recipes that truly satisfy me.
And no, I’m not a bad cook.
Tell me your reasonably priced vegan and vegetarian recipes that little children will eat, too. Serious request.
Ok, this is going to be long!
I would advice, apart from tying out new recipes, try to look at how you cook rice, make a green salad and tomato based sauce again. Often there are a few basic things one can improve that elevate all other dishes as well. This doesn’t have to be expensive, you save a lot of money by not buying the meat, after all.
(A few of these things you will probably know, but perhaps you learn something new.)
For rice try the following:
- most children prefer basmati rice and rice with tumeric
- cumin also tastes good in rice but not all kids like it
- most types of rice have to be rinsed a few times, a good job for kids lol
- when you let the rice soak in water (~30 min) after rinsing it, you get more predictable results
- when you want to fry the rice, use rice you cooked the day before
- try different rice varieties from different brands because they all tend to need a different amount of water for best results
- when your family really becomes rice fans invest in a good rice cooker because it saves time and older kids can make their own
- after cooking, let it steam for a few minutes on the turned-off stove
For a good tomato sauce try the following:
- diced or crushed tomatoes in cans often have low quality, when using cans use whole peeled tomatoes and cut them when still in the can
- do not crush garlic, instead chop it very fine
- use a really good oil, it has to taste so good, you would eat it with bread with nothing else
- oil is a whole beast, try different types and be careful which of those can be heated to which temperature
- some finely chopped celery often tastes good in tomato sauce
- heat very slowly and don’t make it boil, don’t cook too long
- add sugar to taste, baking soda if it is too acidic
- add herbs only when the sauce is finished, perhaps add oil again
- some people think tomato sauce tastes better the next day
Some tips to make your salad better:
- the oil hint from above
- for vinegar all the hints for oils apply
- mix something crunchy into your salad, many kids love sunflower seeds or peanuts, which are less expensive than walnuts and similar
- when you want roasted sunflower seeds, buy them raw and roast them shortly without oil in the pan until you can smell them
- wheat grains roasted taste great, they smell amazing as well
- top your salad with something hot, for example caramelized pear slices or seasoned tofu cubes, marinated fried champignons, etc.
- get a salad spinner if you don’t have one already
- some children like vegetables raw they do not eat cooked, for example fine broccoli florets and zucchini slices
- good mustard or lemon juice on the side
General tips for vegan and vegetarian recipes:
- a good rule when it has to go fast is: combine grain + green + bean
- experiment a lot with combinations of textures
- grating vegetables adds lots of moisture, can be good or bad…
- roast whole spices without oil until their smells hit you before you cut them and put them into your dishes
- make your own vegetable broth by freezing clean vegetable scraps (skins and ends) and simmer them when you have a bag full
- maple syrup + non-dairy milk mixed make a crust on baked goods
- infuse oil yourself with herbs, chilli, garlic
- learn to sauté a base of spices, garlic and onions before adding your ingredient
- learn how to make natto, get used to the taste and then addicted to it
- now that you are a pro with herbs, make your own fresh tea and experience a new world of taste
Ingredients which you perhaps never used before but are very useful:
- nutritional yeast !!
- soak and blend cashews for a versatile cream base
- Kala Namak
- liquid smoke
- miso
- tamari
- seaweed
- the water from chickpea cans is aquafaba
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Try out Indian cuisine, we got a ton of great vegetarian food here but depending on where you are, getting all the good spices needed could be quite difficult and pricey.
Honestly. I’m looking for vegan and vegetarian recipes and while it usually tastes “fine”, it’s mostly just “meh”.
If it’s about eating ethically, I highly suggest trying to eat locally instead. It’s much better for the environment, and you can usually get a better nutritional balance.
I mean, if eating “meh” makes you feel good, go for it. Just please make sure to study all the supplements you need and keep researching because there are regularly discoveries that might change the supplement intake you require.
Transport is a teensy tiny part of the climate/environmental impact for food. In 99.9% of cases, a plant-based food will beat out any meat from next door.
That being said, local in the sense things that actually grow locally and are in season is still a good idea, though more from a community building perspective.
Transport is a teensy tiny part of the climate/environmental impact for food
Food Transport is estimated to be as high as 3 gigatons tons of CO2 emissions per year, a full 20% of all food-related CO2 emissions. From my point of view (not considering all animal-related CO2 emissions as a single line-item), that makes transport the single largest cause of CO2 related impact in the entirety of agriculture/horticulture.
For context, ALL manure CO2 emissions is only 2.6 gigatons (full disclosure. I lost and re-found this link, and see another source estimates manure closer to 7B. I’m sure you know my thoughts on that. Food Transport is still of dominant significance and fertilizer impact cannot be that effectively reduced). And in many cases, that manure is less harmful to the environment, yes EVEN CO2 impact, than the other fertilizer options that replace it when used in crop farms.
There’s a strong argument for “less meat” being good for the environment, but I am convinced (in part from hands-on experience) that the only arguments for “no meat” being any good are entirely fabricated.
I don’t agree with Hannah, in this case. Specifically, I challenge anyone who leaves cow methane on a chart or in an argument without covering the CO2 production by non-manure fertilizer or the fact that only depopulation will stop cows from pooping. And unfortunately, a plethora of studies are showing that synethetic fertilizer production creates massive amounts of methane gas as well. I’m fairly convinced she is (perhaps inadvertantly) including that under “cow farm” when it should be under “plant farm”.
She also just handwaves saying transport costs are low despite studies she opted not to cite or rebut that place them at 20%. But here’s the funny part. That was the first link. The second agrees with the 20% figure for logistics (though she uses the term “Supply Chain” and separates physical transport from processing, packaging, and retail storage (all of which are cut out or down from local). Digging into supply chain figures in the left article’s graph, she just disagrees with herself (and, to be honest, other experts).
In fact, the numbers on her second article suggest bias to me in her first article. She blames land use for 1/3 of beef GHG production. But in the second article, only 2/3 of Land Use GHG goes to animal, with the other 1/3 going to “land use for human food”. I’m sure you can see the next line. If Land Use is such a large part of meat GHG production and crops are so good at everything else, then Land Use should be dominant and in-your-face on the crop chart in the first article. Instead, apparently she’s undecided about that?
Look. I can see why you might decide that eating less meat might be the wrong choice for you. But when there are studies that say eating local is important and studies saying eating less meat is important, one article is not going to get me to change my entire life, and risk the environment, just to feel good about myself.
or the fact that only depopulation will stop cows from pooping.
Yes. We kill 80 billions mammals and trillion fish each year and billions are lost to diseases, fire and low profitability. If the whole word would decide to not abuse animals farmers would gas or burn the animals. Once, and not the perpetual killing all meat eaters have no problem with, but the fantasy scenario where we stop killing is a problem?
You need to try a lot “plant-based meat” products. Many of them are meh and taste like meat flavored cardboard, but I’ve personally found some that taste waaaay better than meat.
Sticky tofu is hands down my favorite. Something like this: https://veganonboard.com/sticky-lemon-tofu/
Soy Curls is honestly my favorite ‘meat replacement’ (though, I’m not too hot on ‘replacing meat’). They work for doing things like mongolian beef, or just lightly frying after marinading for ‘chicken strips’ to top salads or sandwiches. https://thevietvegan.com/vegan-mongolian-beef/
Soups are of course, pretty easy. I like Lentil Chilli, heavy on the seasonings and beans aside from lentils. Minestrone or lemon orzo are both also great. Thai curry or pho are both more work imo, but amazing (though, both broth bases can often have chicken or shrimp in them).
Burgers, and while impossible meat et. al. are fine I guess, they’re a bit pricey. I honestly prefer a good chipotle black bean burger over them 9/10 times. They’re pretty cheap to buy, but also not very hard to make, with most of the ingredients being cheap.
I personally like seitan, but I know quite a few other vegetarians don’t, so it might be divisive. BUT, in terms of cheap protein, its damn near rock bottom in price. It is some work to make stuff out of it from scratch, but ‘indian mock duck’ is usually seitan, and can be bought from indian stores if you just want to try it. But seitan works to replace burgers, chicken tenders, steaks, sausage, etc. Tons of recipes out there.
Tofu is pretty versatile as a meat replacement or even just a general texture thing. I like to fry small tofu cubes and use them in place of the cheese in palak paneer, or instead of chicken in something like General Tso’s. It takes a bit more work since you have to press the tofu and find a good way to cook it so it doesn’t turn out soggy (and it’s usually more expensive), but I’m a meat eater and it’s satisfying to me.
Beyond/Impossible Meat is also pretty good imo. I actually tend to like it better than real beef, but that’s definitely not a majority opinion. If you like the taste, you can crumble the patties for ground beef texture or break them into chunks for more of a meatball vibe. I’ve even done a sort of faux bulgogi with chunks and gochujang sauce that works surprisingly well.
One more thing I think can help is to not try to replicate meat for everything. There are ways to make vegetarian/vegan food that let it stand on its own and still be satisfying (beans and chickpeas can help a ton), without it feeling like it’s trying too hard to be meat. Things like cauliflower stir fried or batter fried and coated in some sort of sauce can be good just as cauliflower in sauce.
Finally, mushrooms, if you like them. Soaking dried mushrooms will get you stock that can replace chicken or beef stock for most things, and frying even the cheap baby bella mushrooms that come pre washed and sliced can give you a meaty texture in something that needs it.
We eat tofu every now and then and like it a lot and I did already try out some meat “substitutes” and some of them are actually pretty good, but not cost-effective. I’m not saying I have to look at every cent I spend, but things have gotten harder in recent years, not gonna lie.
I don’t need or want to replicate meat everywhere. I’m totally fine with non-meat dishes, but my complaint is that many of them don’t taste as good as people (especially vegans) claim, even in restaurants. It’s been quite disappointing multiple times to try that “really, really delicious curry”, that in the end didn’t really taste that great and it’s been a recurring thing for me / us when trying to eat more plant-based foods. This is also true with cauliflower, for instance. I like it in “traditional” meals as side-dish, but no, to me, batter frying cauliflower doesn’t make it good.
Mushrooms are a staple in our cooking, because I really like my umami flavor (I also use MSG a lot), but unfortunately, my daughter doesn’t like any type of mushroom. I guess, it’s the texture. Tried several different things and she always puts them away.
Anyway, thank you for your comment. Beyond meat has been on our “try out list” for quite some time.
Honestly I think the important thing is to just try alternatives. You don’t have to end up liking them or completely replacing meat if it’s not practical, just try to find ways to add more vegetables.
That’s what I’m doing. I like to eat “traditional” salads and stuff like that, but I grew up with them being side dishes most of the time and I think, it’s hard to break habits.
From a moral standpoint, I’d like to go vegetarian or even vegan at some point, but this requires me to find things that I’ll actually like to eat on a regular basis. Often times, when I search for vegan recipes, something often throws me off. Be it the flavor, the texture, the strength of the flavor or lack thereof, etc. Maybe it’s just that I’m not used to it or that animal fats are carrying so much flavor that I’m now kinda addicted to it? I know, it sounds really stupid, but when I go to the grocery store, I often gravitate towards animal products automatically.
My first goal will be to reduce meat intake to one, maybe two times a week.
As a fellow omnivore trying to eat more vegan/vegetarian recipes, I think rainbow plant life on YouTube has the best recipes that I’ve tried. If you’ve read Salt Fat Acid Heat, most/all of her recipes are based on that technique/ideology. Her red lentil curry is really good and I make a double batch about once every other month to keep in the freezer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHRyfEbhFFU
I live with people that don’t like coconut milk so I just use a mixture of heavy cream and milk. I also sub half of the red lentils for brown lentils for extra fiber.
Thank you very much for the hint, I checked out the red lentil curry video and it does look quite delicious. Chicken curry is actually my favorite food and I tried green, brown and red lentil curry before, but didn’t quite like them, even though I’m half asian, lol. I’ll try her recipe, though.
I personally love coconut milk.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=BHRyfEbhFFU
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.
Sloppy joe made with lentils is an easy dinner for a night and kids love a sloppy joe
Seems to be pretty american. I’m from Germany and never had that.
I mean I think it’s pretty telling that there are lots of plant based versions of meat based food, but not the other way around. Nobody is trying to replicate the taste of salads in meat form
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There’s more than three animals that you can eat.
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You don’t even eat all 80000 of those plants.
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Plants make excellent side dishes, unfortunately I can’t spend a third of my day shoveling quinoa and lentils by the bucket load just to get enough protein, so meat it is.
I cut beef out of my diet almost entirely, both because it’s unsustainable for the ecology (cattle require more resources per pound than any other animal) and because red meat isn’t as good for you. Also it’s expensive.
The meme is questionable, no argument (aren’t most?)
But point 3 is just straight up wrong.
- There’s vegan body builders, including some that have literally never eaten a single piece of meat.
- There’s also a SIGNIFICANT difference between “enough protein to be healthy” and “enough protein for my entirely optional hobby”.
- 90% of the (wannabe) body builders I know still supplement with artificial proteins (powders, shakes, bars, etc.). You could do the same with vegan sources
- Most people also forgo taste pleasure anyway, eating just rice and chicken, or plain greek joghurt. At that point, might as well eat a block of Tofu
Counterpoint. Nutritionists (many, not all) tend to agree that protein is under-represented in the average non-plant-based diet already, and the body processes plant protein at 50-67% effectiveness compared to a similar amount of animal protein. And people with particular common medical issues have nutritional need for higher protein amounts. My wife’s nutritionist wants her at 100-120g protein per day, counting plant proteins at 50% (so 240g if plant). Her food intake is about 12-1500kcal.
I challenge you to find a healthy way to to hit 180-240g of protein at a reasonable calorie intake. The best I can find is about 20 to 1 (which would be 3600 calories of high-protein meals to hit 180g). Or she could eat one 600cal steak and then whatever else she plans on in the day.
More importantly, my doctor wants me around the same, if only 100g. But I don’t want to eat 3000calories a day.
This is the fair and balanced take. Of course it would be better for the planet and our wallets to not eat meat, but our diet more or less requires some amount of meat for iron and protein; the responsible thing to do is to be selective about types and frequency. We don’t need meat in every single meal or even every single day, but you’ve got a better chance of pitching meatless Monday to most Americans than full vegetarianism. And even a small reduction is better than no reduction.
Personally I like fish, I meal prep mostly with fish and they’re far easier to farm and it’s less damaging than most land animals.
Vegans, even life long vegans, exist. We do not need meat. And the reformist position overlooks the question whether it actually works. Convincing 10 people to CONSISTENTLY AND FOREVER decrease their meat intake by 10% is the same as convincing just 1 person to go vegan (aka 100% reduction). I don’t have studies either way, but anecdotally people are extremely bad at keeping up dietary/lifestyle changes, but veganism is a lot simpler. “No animal products” is simpler than “have I reached my 90% yet?”.
Again, would love some studies on this, but it just seems more like wishful thinking. Additionally, we could just encourage both.
Vegans, even life long vegans, exist. We do not need meat
I know lifelong smokers. The human body is resilient. If your argument is that veganism is healthy, you need a lot more than “I’m vegan and I’m not dead”.
I mentioned elsewhere about protein intakes. It’s not a controversial take that protein is one of the most important things we need in a day, that protein is easiest to find in meat, and that our body isn’t as good at digesting plant protein. For the rest, telling someone to go plant-based when you need a lot more than just a multivitamin to hit the Iron and B-12 content you need.
Whether or not veganism can be healthy (it might be), it is a known quantity that naive veganism is absolutely unhealthy. So my problem with “getting them vegan is easier than getting them to cut 10% meat” is that you’re trying to create naive vegans. That means you’re trying to create smokers.
Considering half the country threw a temper tantrum over being asked to wear a mask during a respiratory pandemic, I don’t think you’re being realistic in your view of everybody being able to go vegan. Many of these people threw a fit over AOC “wanting to take away your cheeseburgers” even though that wasn’t what she was proposing; they just knew that it would rile up the rural base.
I think it’s much more reasonable to convince people to make two easily implemented changes: no more meat at breakfast, and meatless Mondays. With these two easy changes, only 12 out of 21 weekly meals is eligible for meat, which is a ~43% reduction. Not everybody will do it obviously, but the same people willing to cut 10% will probably cut 43% when presented in this way. Especially if you bring up the financial cost, health risks, and storage inconvenience of buying and eating so much more meat than is necessary.
I also think it’s a little silly to say that it’s easier to go vegan. You need to study food labels and nutrition facts to see if there is some animal byproduct involved. When you go out to eat, it’s not always clear whether options on the menu are vegan friendly, but restaurants are getting better about that nowadays. But I think you’re also assuming that people have the means to always choose a product that may be significantly more expensive. I think you’ll have better luck convincing people to occasionally think about whether their stirfry really needs steak or if mushrooms are actually enough to carry that earthy, satisfying bite they’re looking for this time.
Convincing 10 people to CONSISTENTLY AND FOREVER decrease their meat intake by 10% is the same as convincing just 1 person to go vegan (aka 100% reduction).
I don’t think so. 10 people reducing it by 10% is nothing in a society where everyone claims they have reduced it and only eat happy to be killed animals from their uncles farm. On the other hand one vegan could show hundreds of people that there is no magic to not abusing animals and change some. It is not only about the personal impact but when veganism hits a critical mass and changes society.
Of course it would be better for the planet and our wallets to not eat meat, but our diet more or less requires some amount of meat for iron and protein
I think people really get a skewed view of this. It’s better for our planets if we eat less meat, and if people who need high protein intake won’t stop eating meat it’s a bit better if you eat zero meat to competensate. But it’s a “little vs a lot” thing . We still need meat to support the horticultural industry.
I mean, the cows and pigs in my area serve the important purpose of providing much of the fertilizer for all the vegetable farms in my area. They would still be there, getting fed, if nobody ate them or drank their milk. Their deaths would just be more of a waste. There is a point where too many cows/pigs are producing more fertilizer than crop farms need. But you want to hear something scary? WE AREN’T THERE YET; not even close. In the US at least, we only produce enough manure to support 20% of our horticulture, and the rest is supplemented by compost and synthetic fertilizer. And that synethetic fertilizer? Pretty terrible for the ecosystem and wild animals as well.
The real answer is that we haven’t solved the problems. It does “feelgood” to know that we can genuinely help a little by eating a little less meat. And we should all be doing that. But all of us going vegan is a real problem for reasons unrelated to the (very real) nutritional issues.
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Hahahaha, what a funny meme here on c/memes. I’m literally laughing my ass off.
I’ve eaten chicken, turkey, sheep, cow, pig, duck, rabbit, snail, deer and horse. It’s a bit more than 3, and that’s just the general category (for example, counting boars and pigs as only one type) and only land animals. If we list each fish species, crabs, squids, calamari…
Most food animals would go extinct if humans stopped raising them for food. A number of food plants too.
Man, here’s the thing. I can’t digest fermenting ogliosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols.
So no beans, mushrooms, onions garlic wheat rye or barley, apples, apricots, most berries, etc etc etc.
I also lead a “fairly” active lifestyle against my own wishes. So where does my protein come from? Meat. Chicken, eggs, and hard tofu.
If I cut meat from my diet, I’m eating three meals a day of hard tofu. What even is the point of life, then?
