There are a lot of vegetarians out there that like meat (I am one of them) but choose not to eat it for moral or political reasons.
What do these moral eaters do when Thanksgiving rolls around and they crave a large, stunning, chunk of meat to serve to their vegetarian buddies? I decided to investigate this year’s veggie-meat-feast options:
Quorn’s Turk’y Roast
This hefty hunk of meat-like protein is made with mycoprotein (specifically Fusarium Venenatum, a kind of fungus), rehydrated egg white, and pea fiber, amongst other natural (but nonetheless interesting) ingredients. The roast is advertised as high in protein and fiber, made form natural ingredients, and containing 77% less fat than roasted turkey breast. (link)
Veat Vegetarian Breast
At $50.65, the price of this vegetarian subsitiute is pretty steep, however it is one of the few products on the market that offers a turkey-like shape (note the dainty wing and leg protruding from half of the protein-filled mass). (link)
Unfortunately, the actual product looks kind of creeeepy:
[photo from Casual Living]
Ying Ying’s Tofu Roast (Tofu “Turkey”)
Apparently created for Canadian consumer, this Tofu Turkey is made with a tofu sheet “stuffed with an old style Canadian recipe for turkey stuffing.” (link)
I am not sure if Ying Ying’s Tofu Roast sells all that much in America, but it strongly resembles Tofurkey’s Roast, which I have seen for sale at Trader Joe’s (see below).
Tofurkey’s Vegetarian Feast
Tofurkey Vegetarian Roast is a combination pack of several Tofurkey products, including the Tofurkey Roast, Cranberry Apple Potato Dumplings, Giblet and Mushroom Gravy, Wild Rice, Whole Wheat Bread Crumb Stuffing, and Jurkey Wishstix. (Link)
What makes this product unique is that it offers not only a vegetarian meat substitute, but dumplings, gravy, rice, stuffing, and “Wishstix” (whatever those are), thus making this not only a vegetarian alternative, but also a quick and easy thanksgiving meal for vegetarians that are particularly hesitant on the cooking front. Unfortunately, the Tofurkey Roast looks kind of scary before it is sliced…
[photo from Molly Snyder Edler o nOnMilwaukee.com]
… but perhaps when sliced and paired with the other Tofurkey branded Thanksgiving products, it comes across as quite charming!
Overall, Vegetarians do have fancy turkey / roast alternatives, but the alternatives typically suck in the Looks Department. Perhaps in the future, synthetic holiday meat offerings will be more attractive! What interests me most is the prospect of synthetically grown meat- also known as in vitro or cultured meat.
Apparently, the synthetic meat industry is well on its way to viability. Many scientists believe that the technology is there- it just needs the funding to become a mainstream innovation. In 2007, some tried to speed the process along by establishing the In Vitro Meat Consortium as “an international alliance of environmentally concerned scientists striving to facilitate the establishment of a large-scale process industry for the production of muscle tissue for human consumption through concerted R&D efforts and attracting of funding to fuel these efforts.”
Whether or not the technology is viable, there is a certain amount of hesitation on behalf of vegetarians and meat eaters alike. After all, there is still widespread concern over GMO foods, much of which stems from more vague discomfort with the fancy science that goes into it. With this being the case, can you even imagine the reaction to widespread production of cultured meat?
Beyond that, animal rights activists haven’t all agreed that they like in vitro meat- perhaps they question its overall sustainability, or their reasons for giving up meat (was it harm to animals, or a reaction to industrialized society?), or their dislike of animal testing used to develop the technology. To qualm the trepidation of such hesitant animal lovers, someone has even established a website to convince them that cultured meat is the way to go. It remains to be seen what the overall vegetarian verdict will be.
For the time being at least, let us be thankful that vegetarian Thanksgiving options are, if a bit unappetizing, simple rather than basted with scientific, moral, and political conflict. Whether it be meatless or not, I wish you a very happy holiday!
