Food is a part of us. Food is a part of our culture. Food is what we enjoy. Food is actually what drives some people and get them through a day. It is everything almost. Its kinda serious but joking but not.
I’m on Instagram a lot and I try to share the vegan/vegetarian meals that I make for myself and my wife. Some super darn delicious and others not so much. It can be hard. A lot of meals in every culture revolve around meat meat meat. And I’ve touched on in the past how this is affiliated with masculinity and sports. I wanted to take a deeper look at the issue with myself and what I observe.
Vegans on Instagram are constantly posting their meals they made and its super good. Fresh bright array of colors from a variety of foods. They boast about how flavorful it is. They push the wonderful benefits to the human body and the environment. And guess what it saves animals too. We try to convince others on all these other factors on why they should be vegetarian or vegan. We try to reach them and change them.
I don’t mean to rag on my fellow compassionate friends. But all that other shit don’t matter. People value things very differently. How does someone in poverty in another country make me feel? How does gender equality influence me? How does racism make me feel? So many causes and degree of caring and efforts to help. So what about the environment? Things seem good to me. Why do I care about somebody else forest being cut down and greenhouse gases. The forest in my backyard is good. Health? I feel fine. I won’t worry about health until I’m 70 years old. To make people change their WHOLE LIFE because of those factors. Really?
You can like fruit,vegetables and whole grains. To convince somebody else it tastes better than meat. Don’t think so. I don’t think anybody can truly convince me a salad tastes better than a burger. You may feel better, you may weigh in all these other factors, but at that very moment when they bite, all that matters is, does it taste good or not?
And I think that is what needs to be targeted. Just plain and simple. Make food taste good and I’ll eat it. If it taste good, people will do it. My brother likes to joke with me “How is my grass tasting”? Well yeah he has a point, its pretty bland. Some of my stuff I pack for lunch I’m amazed how flavorless it can be. But yeah I love animals more, I’ll stick with it. And in the end, that’s the focus, lets make vegan food taste REALLY damn good. Lets get lots of dishes that are super delicious and flavorful they won’t even know or miss meat. Take something people are familiar with and lets mimic it. Not try to convince them that broccoli tastes good.
I like to take thai food for example. Pad thai. Instead of beef, use tofu. Drunken noodles, instead of chicken, use tofu. All the spices and sauces that make up these delicious dishes are already mostly vegan, just that last 5% needs to be switched. People aren’t going to complain really. It tastes good and I don’t need to convince my body and mind that something sucks and its good. I think with any food culture or group it can be done. I’m researching a lot online and cooking at home. Finding ways to turn meat loving dishes into vegan ones. Its a good challenge and one I hope to share with others.
If people can just make it taste good, then people will change. I think if you make a beef taste like broccoli and a broccoli taste like a beef. I bet you 100% they will stay away from beef and eat broccoli. So thatch a challenge to all the chefs out there professional and at home. Make the meal good, make it taste real good. So that they don’t wanna go back to the old meat eating ways.
That’s why I think the biggest vegan battle will be won in the lab. Companies out there trying to mimic the taste of chicken or beef. They try to make a vegan burger than even bleeds these days. Beyond Meat is a groundbreaker in this. Put that meatless patty in a bun with some lettuce, onions, add some ketchup. You can’t even tell the difference! Thats when people will do the right thing and do it with ease. Because it sure darn tastes good. Make change through their stomach.
No Comments