Ive never understood the drive to make meat substitutes instead of celebrating vegetarian cuisine. I’m not a vegetarian, but if I eat some dish that is vegetarian, why wouldn’t I want to celebrate the vegetable itself made from instead of trying to make some fake meat that never quite hits the mark?
I’m a vegan. I don’t longer eat meat because I find industrial farming repugnant and environmentally problematic, not because I suddenly dislike the flavor. I grew up with meat on my plate and liked it. Now I use plant-based products to recreate the tastes and textures I remember while leaving behind the cruelty and waste. I also doubt many meat eaters are pausing to “celebrate the animal”. They’re just grabbing shrink-wrapped, shelf-stable convenience foods without much thought to how they got there.