Thumpy Rose Cauliflower does not taste or smell like animal meat. Piggyback marketing sends false information about plant protein. And I do not hear enough vegans correcting this lie/deception. More so, marketers need to correct product titles about plant-based protein. I respectfully hold vegans accountable for some of this false advertising. Some might label this article as a ‘Vegan unpopular opinion(s)’ article. But, on this platform, I aim to create plant-based African food recipes with good sources of plant protein. Aiming to learn about each country on the African continent. And it’s more than the popular Meat Free Monday, with emphasis on plant-based protein vs meat. This is because I’m a foodie and I would like to include vegans and vegetarians out there. This is not plant-based eaters’ propaganda.
After transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle, I became more aware of Meat Free Monday. This idea is popular because it leads people to learn about good sources of plant protein. Which might bring up the discussion of ‘plant-based protein vs meat’. I’m interested to read people’s opinions on the topic of meatless incentives. You can also add any vegan unpopular opinion. That way we can air out our thoughts and broaden our knowledge.
DISCLAIMER: Images herein are mainly for relational story telling. The creators or businesses should not be harassed in any way, shape, or form.
Using animal flavor as a standard is like being compared to an ex
What sane person gets in a new relationship only to keep fantasizing about their exes? Who would want their behaviour, style, and essence compared to a past relationship? This metaphor summarizes how I feel about food labels that describe plant protein in these ways: “tastes like chicken”, “vegan fish”, “soy crab cakes”, “meatless”, etc. This cannot be healthy mentally or emotionally. To those that are not aware, understand that food producers listen and cater to vegans’ demands (or cancellations) lol. Because they want people to buy their products. Talk of unjust piggyback marketing. This means plant-based folks can and should stop associating animal names with plant protein.
Using animal flavoring as the standard is not fair to humble veggies’ good sources of plant protein which should be allowed to shine. As an effect of stopping this, the plant varieties and names will become familiar. Especially to newbies and curious meat eaters.
Good sources of plant protein exist abundantly. Plus, plant names deserve full attention on the label; not linked to fish, chicken, or beef!
Plant-based protein vs meat comparison fibs
Vegan unpopular opinion number five, lol. Oga, you know scallops and king oyster mushrooms do not taste the same! Not even close. You know chicken does not taste like mushroom and vice versa. This confuses the children and unintentionally discourages potential newcomers to the plant-based lifestyle. I used to eat sardines out of the can and eat both chicken and cow meat like they were going out of style. I know what those animal foods taste like. When wheat gluten was used to create this spicy sandwich, it tasted delicious as-is. The seasonings brought out flavors to support the wheat gluten which doesn’t have the strong smell that is associated with chicken flavored food.
Certain plant-based folks catfish meat-eaters this way because some are very determined to sway carnivores over to the plant lifestyle. Fat chance! No, seriously. Look, the only way Jimmy, Ngozi, or Kojo will ever give up their meat/fish is if they come to that point in life and make that choice. Most people switch over for health reasons. I shared my story and discussed my dietary transition. I think converting people through manipulation or illusion is wrong and creates distrust. Only chicken tastes like chicken! When it comes to plant-based protein vs meat, some plant-based folks do not want to accept carnivores whose diet is 50% meat /50% vegetables or 75% vegetables /25% meat; they think if everyone converts to no meat/fish it will save the world.
Related: Thanksgiving For Vegans Handling Buzzkill
Piggyback marketing gives unethical companies easy access
If all one has to do is slap a label with an animal-plant title on it and that gets them more sales from plant lifestylers and carnivores, they will do it. The more plant lifestylers use animal names in conjunction with plant products, the more we are helping unethical corporations cash out. Realistically, corporations care about their bottom line (profits) and they collect data from our buying patterns and observe what is trending online. Corporations do not have souls or feelings (since there are many moving parts to them obviously). Plant lifestylers need to gently remind and consistently send the message of what we want: to detach animal names from plant food. Some corporations understand that meat eaters will buy high-volume plant-based products. Why? Because some meat eaters are on the fence about their lifestyle so it is more important to create trust and not a quick conversion.
Dear marketers looking to cash in on the Meat Free Monday food market, it is only a matter of time before piggyback marketing becomes ineffective. As a millennial, our generation is responsible for what goes or stays. Since wholesome products are expensive, you can imagine why vegans and plant-based folks are so quick to cancel products. Advice to big or small businesses: Take the time to research the ingredients; we read the ingredients! And simplify odd chemical terms, we are not chemists, but you will not confuse us. Do not cut corners on quality. If you do, I will teach my children to not trust or buy your brand.
Vegan unpopular opinion- high cost to make it taste chickeny
Chickeny, cowy, fishy. I’m having fun with this, can you tell? So here’s the thing: It costs a lot of money to make something taste almost like chicken or beef. I left out seafood because seaweed is seafood so if a person wants seafood flavor, wrap it with seaweed or drizzle seaweed on it. It tastes amazing, with a hint of sea essence. Back to the high cost; most people will attempt to make plant protein taste like animal flavor to learn what their effort amounts to. Such is the case with the below image. Know that influencers are not telling the whole truth about these things. Of course, it takes a significant amount of time since we create our protein from scratch, but it is worth it. The plant-based lifestyle becomes expensive if you always aim to make the plant taste like meat.
Related: Affordable & Easy Homemade Plant-based Protein Recipe
Plant-based incentives have the world’s attention, so I urge some vegans NOT to settle for a quick conversion. Be honest that liquid amino and the many specialty food ingredients used to perfect that beef-like flavor are not attainable to average people who want to experiment with Meat Free Monday. If I had relied on public hype on what to expect when I gave up animal products, I might have given in and continued eating beef, chicken, and fish. Early phases of the transition from animal protein to plants are the most difficult because the animal food craving is quite strong. As a result, some people think creating a mental trick will work. It does not, just like unfair piggyback marketing. At least not in the long run.
On a side note, shout out to PIGS & GOATS! They will never get the flavor out of you right so they don’t even try to imitate soy pigs feet or goat meat. I rest my case.
