9 ms·

I don't understand why you need to imitate something that isn't vegan or vegetarian, when you want to eat vegan or vegetarian. There is a metric shitton of vega

I don't understand why you need to imitate something that isn't vegan or vegetarian, when you want to eat vegan or vegetarian. There is a metric shitton of vegan and vegetarian dishes from the entire world's cuisines that you could be eating right now insteaed of a substitute for something you've decided never to eat again. Why pretend-eat what you don't want to eat in the first place? That's just mad. Go eat Indian (meaning food from a dozen different places in and around India, including Bengali, Bangladeshi, etc). Eat a mediterrannean diet. Eat a North African diet. But why do you have to eat something vegan and call it cheese? That just doesn't make sense.

TchoBeer 6y ago
Lol why are you so mad that people want to eat vegan cheese. Maybe people just enjoy eating vegan cheese.
- isatty 6y ago
  Read the username
screwt 6y ago
Easy! People have lots of different reasons why they may choose not to eat meat or dairy. "Not liking the taste" is one possible reason. If that particular one isn't your reason, then you may still miss the taste/texture of certain foods, so having a substitute helps.
- cheese_goddess 5y ago
  Who said anything about liking or disliking the taste of meat? If you're vegan, you don't want to eat meat, for whatever reason. What sense does it make to then pretend to eat meat anyway? If you like meat so much you just have to have it, then what sense does it make to be vegan? Be flexitarian. Eat meat once a year, every Easter Sunday. Eat vegentarian. I don't know! But at least accept the fact that you can't stand being vegan because you really want to eat meat and dairy. For me, anyone who eats pretend-meat or pretend-dairy is a pretend-vegan. If you're going to go off meat to save the planet, or because you think meat is murder, then stick to your own morality and go without anything that is in any way "like" meat. Otherwise, you're just advertising the need to eat meat and justifying everyone else to keep eating it and ignore your pleas for the environment and the baby calves. If you tell me "I'm vegan, but I have to eat something like cheese", the easiest thing for me to reply is "I'm not vegan and I have to eat cheese". It just makes a joke of the whole idea of being vegan.
  - missblit 5y ago
    I mean maybe they just like the taste? I don't really understand it either because I'd usually rather have tasty veggies than imitation meat, but what someone finds tasty is what they find tasty and they don't need to justify it.
    - cheese_goddess 5y ago
      You mean maybe they just like the taste of pretend-dairy, not as a reminder of the taste of dairy, but as something new? Then why call it "vegan cheese"? That just smacks of self-deception to me.
  - hjek 5y ago
    > For me, anyone who eats pretend-meat or pretend-dairy is a pretend-vegan. I love that you can get all the taste without the violence and suffering. Eating is not always a single-person activity, so having vegan substitutes for meat and cheese is great when eating together with non-vegans who may be wary of falafels. There are very few vegans who are vegans because of taste. Many are worried about the environmental impacts of mass animal agriculture killing trillions of animals every year. The most prominent and outspoken animal liberation advocates — Ali Tabrizi and Ed Winters come to mind — are strong proponents of vegan-dairy, vegan-seafood and vegan-meat. It really doesn't make sense to call those people "pretend vegans". Check their talks and films[0][1], they aren't "making a joke of the whole idea of being vegan". I don't get why carnists place such importance on real suffering and real death. Is it not real Adidas shoes if it isn't made by slave labour or something? Is it not a real car if it's not guzzling diesel? Why not cut down on causing harm when it's so easy? I don't get it. [0]: Earthling Ed vs Infowars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScbeMdYkKDc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScbeMdYkKDc [1]: Land of Hope and Glory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF3VOpa3a7c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF3VOpa3a7c
    - cheese_goddess 5y ago
      You're asking me whether I think two big-name vegans who make movies and give TED talks about veganism are pretend-vegans? For pushing pretend-animal products? Yes! Yes they are! It's like asking me if the Pope is a pretend-Christian for pushing pretend-faith and pretend-salvation if you just do what he says. Sure he is! You want to be like saint in the world and reduce harm? Then don't go baptising nut mush as "cheese" so you can enjoy what you have sworn off and are pontificating against, like the apocryphal stories of Catholic monks baptising their meat "fish" so they could eat it on Wednesday. Stop advertising meat and dairy with your actions, contrary to your words. Stick to your principles and then come to preach to me about mine.
bromley 5y ago
Here's one: because you love cheese but you also love animals and so don't want to contribute to their suffering. In my experience people tend to become vegan: 1. for the animals; and/or 2. for the planet; and/or 3. for health. I have never heard another vegan say they became vegan because they didn't like the taste of cheese.
- balls187 5y ago
  Here is another: you love cheese and are allergic to casein. Not me, but the gal I am dating is allergic to dairy, and so we had some fun finding vegan cheeses that did not have casein. It was nice to make a dish that typically has cheese, that we both could enjoy.
  - bromley 5y ago
    Good point! Vegan cheeses are so much better now than they used to be, there's never been a better time to have a casein allergy :D Honestly if it weren't for all the amazing fake meats, milks, and cheeses, I would find it a lot harder to be a vegan. As it is though, it's a piece of (vegan) cake :)
  - cheese_goddess 5y ago
    Allergic to casein and any animal matter besides? Your friend can't eat meat?
    - balls187 5y ago
      She enjoys meat just fine. It's just milk proteins she is allergic too, and it's not an intolerance.
      - cheese_goddess 5y ago
        So she's not vegan then? I thought you meant that your friend is vegan because of her allergies and that you said that to give me an example of another reason to be vegan?
balls187 5y ago
Flying Pie Pizza in Issaquah WA makes incredible pizzas, and last I had it, they offered vegan cheese as an option. I've had a slice of their vegan pizza and it's quite awesome.
roland35 5y ago
I would eat cheese if I wasn't lactose intolerant! These vegan cheeses aren't perfect but they work well enough for some things!
- africanboy 5y ago
  there are many kinds of cheese that are very low on lactose see my previous comment https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26988408 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26988408 I'm lactose intolerant myself, but have no problems with Parmigiano

TchoBeer 6y ago

Lol why are you so mad that people want to eat vegan cheese. Maybe people just enjoy eating vegan cheese.

isatty 6y ago
Read the username

screwt 6y ago

Easy! People have lots of different reasons why they may choose not to eat meat or dairy. "Not liking the taste" is one possible reason. If that particular one isn't your reason, then you may still miss the taste/texture of certain foods, so having a substitute helps.

cheese_goddess 5y ago
Who said anything about liking or disliking the taste of meat? If you're vegan, you don't want to eat meat, for whatever reason. What sense does it make to then pretend to eat meat anyway? If you like meat so much you just have to have it, then what sense does it make to be vegan? Be flexitarian. Eat meat once a year, every Easter Sunday. Eat vegentarian. I don't know! But at least accept the fact that you can't stand being vegan because you really want to eat meat and dairy. For me, anyone who eats pretend-meat or pretend-dairy is a pretend-vegan. If you're going to go off meat to save the planet, or because you think meat is murder, then stick to your own morality and go without anything that is in any way "like" meat. Otherwise, you're just advertising the need to eat meat and justifying everyone else to keep eating it and ignore your pleas for the environment and the baby calves. If you tell me "I'm vegan, but I have to eat something like cheese", the easiest thing for me to reply is "I'm not vegan and I have to eat cheese". It just makes a joke of the whole idea of being vegan.
- missblit 5y ago
  I mean maybe they just like the taste? I don't really understand it either because I'd usually rather have tasty veggies than imitation meat, but what someone finds tasty is what they find tasty and they don't need to justify it.
  - cheese_goddess 5y ago
    You mean maybe they just like the taste of pretend-dairy, not as a reminder of the taste of dairy, but as something new? Then why call it "vegan cheese"? That just smacks of self-deception to me.
- hjek 5y ago
  > For me, anyone who eats pretend-meat or pretend-dairy is a pretend-vegan. I love that you can get all the taste without the violence and suffering. Eating is not always a single-person activity, so having vegan substitutes for meat and cheese is great when eating together with non-vegans who may be wary of falafels. There are very few vegans who are vegans because of taste. Many are worried about the environmental impacts of mass animal agriculture killing trillions of animals every year. The most prominent and outspoken animal liberation advocates — Ali Tabrizi and Ed Winters come to mind — are strong proponents of vegan-dairy, vegan-seafood and vegan-meat. It really doesn't make sense to call those people "pretend vegans". Check their talks and films[0][1], they aren't "making a joke of the whole idea of being vegan". I don't get why carnists place such importance on real suffering and real death. Is it not real Adidas shoes if it isn't made by slave labour or something? Is it not a real car if it's not guzzling diesel? Why not cut down on causing harm when it's so easy? I don't get it. [0]: Earthling Ed vs Infowars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScbeMdYkKDc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScbeMdYkKDc [1]: Land of Hope and Glory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF3VOpa3a7c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF3VOpa3a7c
  - cheese_goddess 5y ago
    You're asking me whether I think two big-name vegans who make movies and give TED talks about veganism are pretend-vegans? For pushing pretend-animal products? Yes! Yes they are! It's like asking me if the Pope is a pretend-Christian for pushing pretend-faith and pretend-salvation if you just do what he says. Sure he is! You want to be like saint in the world and reduce harm? Then don't go baptising nut mush as "cheese" so you can enjoy what you have sworn off and are pontificating against, like the apocryphal stories of Catholic monks baptising their meat "fish" so they could eat it on Wednesday. Stop advertising meat and dairy with your actions, contrary to your words. Stick to your principles and then come to preach to me about mine.

bromley 5y ago

Here's one: because you love cheese but you also love animals and so don't want to contribute to their suffering. In my experience people tend to become vegan: 1. for the animals; and/or 2. for the planet; and/or 3. for health. I have never heard another vegan say they became vegan because they didn't like the taste of cheese.

balls187 5y ago
Here is another: you love cheese and are allergic to casein. Not me, but the gal I am dating is allergic to dairy, and so we had some fun finding vegan cheeses that did not have casein. It was nice to make a dish that typically has cheese, that we both could enjoy.
- bromley 5y ago
  Good point! Vegan cheeses are so much better now than they used to be, there's never been a better time to have a casein allergy :D Honestly if it weren't for all the amazing fake meats, milks, and cheeses, I would find it a lot harder to be a vegan. As it is though, it's a piece of (vegan) cake :)
- cheese_goddess 5y ago
  Allergic to casein and any animal matter besides? Your friend can't eat meat?
  - balls187 5y ago
    She enjoys meat just fine. It's just milk proteins she is allergic too, and it's not an intolerance.
    - cheese_goddess 5y ago
      So she's not vegan then? I thought you meant that your friend is vegan because of her allergies and that you said that to give me an example of another reason to be vegan?

balls187 5y ago

Flying Pie Pizza in Issaquah WA makes incredible pizzas, and last I had it, they offered vegan cheese as an option. I've had a slice of their vegan pizza and it's quite awesome.

roland35 5y ago

I would eat cheese if I wasn't lactose intolerant! These vegan cheeses aren't perfect but they work well enough for some things!

africanboy 5y ago
there are many kinds of cheese that are very low on lactose see my previous comment https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26988408 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26988408 I'm lactose intolerant myself, but have no problems with Parmigiano