Veganism is actually a fairly new phenomenon in general, a lot of Jains in particular have adopted it. But vegetarianism in India dates back over a thousand years BCE , so yeah, they've got a bit of a head start.

Vegetarian? Yes. Vegan? No.

I am a vegetarian. I eat dairy. I don't eat meat and eggs.

Yeah I have a lot of vegetarian Indian friends, not as many vegan.

They're more vegetarian than vegan.

The idea that India is like the veganism world capital, is misinformation that spawned from reddit

It's not vegan so much as veggie. They definitely respect those cows they get the milk from though.

Quite popular, in my city it's quite hard to find meat in the popular restaurants. And these places are quite old and we'll know.

Most foods don't have any form or trace of meat or eggs, although milk and related items are very widely consumed.

It's vegetarian and not vegan.

I've been vegetarian for... more than a decade? I love meat substitutes and generally prefer having the substitute present in meals (either as the main thing, like a burger, or as an inclusion). I do agree that meat substitutes are a fantastic way of reducing meat consumption for meat-eaters, but that doesn't mean you need to do away with it completely once you're in 'full veg' mode

inaccurate. Even a brief wiki would correct you on this.

Not just the meat, there is cheese and milk involved in a lot of it as well.

It's not just culture, or itch, or whatever.

I just love the taste of meat! My body craves for it. But if I can keep that delicious flavour in my plate without killing an animal, that's great!

To be fair, a patty sandwich of any type (be it hamburgers, chicken sandwich, beans, or any kind of imitation meat) is going to be similarly labor intensive and time consuming if one had to make the patty and bread oneself rather than being able to just buy them. I'm sure traditional recipes for most cultures can be made similarly convenient if probably somewhat different from their original form, if demand exists for them to be premade and sold that way. There's a specialty grocery store very close to my home that specializes in Indian food, tho also has some international foods from other places too, and it's freezer section has all sorts of Indian dishes done up as tv dinners, or premade frozen samosas of various flavors one just has to fry in a pan for a few minutes, among other things.

What does a British person's home made curry taste like? I'm curious.

You're chatting out your ass, this is like saying lesbians shouldn't use dildos in case they go back to fucking men

Complete ignorance of the thing you're talking about

Bravery has nothing to do with it. It tastes good, and there's no harm to any animals. So why not eat it? Denial for the sake of denial is not a virtue.

If you keep relying on meat substitutes, you haven't let go of meat entirely, and it would be easy to get back to meat eating.

That's like saying that if you enjoy shooting people in video games, then you're one step away from shooting people in real life. I've been eating fake meats for almost a decade now, and I've never been tempted to eat real meat.

I know how horrible and senseless factory farming is, and I have images of the slaughtered seared into my memory from vegan documentaries. Why would I go back to that when I can have substitutes that are just as good, if not better?

Who cares for bravery? Avoiding meat is avoiding meat. Crazy strawman.

So your whole point is a slippery slope fallacy. Gotcha.

Being called stupid and criticizing my decisions kept me from "being brave"

Like "You're not good enough until you are this much" bullshit. If that's the attitude, then fuck no. Why do I wanna go even further into things if y'all are assholes right off the bat. Like, no. fuck you. If it's this complicated then I am going to do what has been a life of hassle free eating. My guilt is very easily wiped away like that.

Nothing against people who prefer meat substitutes. But I do think they should be brave and just abandon meat altogether.

Looking at someone not eating meat: you should stop eating meat.

I don't think meat substitutes is is the major problem to worry about. In fact, perhaps they could help?

https://plantbasednews.org/...

Nothing against people who prefer meat substitutes

That's good.

I do think they should be brave and just abandon meat altogether

That's bad.

Now, firstly, thank you for defining a lot of people cowards.

Secondly, while I like indian food, I like meat more. And I liked it since forever. If I can have the delicious taste of meat in my plate without killing an animal, that's great. Fantastic! I'm eagerly waiting for lab crafted meat any day. I'm willing to pay it more than real meat, because I'm not fond of killing living beings to eat them. But if that's not yet possible, I'd still have my steak and my hamburger.

You don't make friends with salad that attitude.

I think that speaks to OP's point: instead of thinking in terms of trying to replicate the meat dish without meat, think in terms of making a vegetable dish that satisfies the same mood.

What was first, the eggplant or the chickenplant?... 😛

I mean personally I'd sub it in for something with some protein, though you definitely don't need nearly the amount you get from a piece of meat.

You should still be eating protein...

There’s nothing childish about paying attention to macros. If you’ve ever spent time doing any programmed exercising that includes making linear progress, you know the difference protein can make. And it’s hard to achieve even when you’re not extremely limited in ingredients.

I’m not knocking vegan or vegetarian diets. Just saying it’s not at all easy, and that protein matters a lot.

Also most vegetarian Indian food is absolutely loaded with butter/ghee. It’s not “healthy.”

Italy and Japan life expectancy: 84 years.

India: 70 years.

Drastic differences.

Can I still have 11 bread?

like just because you saw an infograph as a child doesn’t mean you have to have a hunk of a living creature every meal

Especially when said infographic was not only wrong, but also propaganda.

"where's my protein" in the egg. Eat the egg. It will be more than enough for a week.

As a vegetarian, eggs and dairy are a lifesaver.

I think there's a more commercial aspect to it. It's cheap processed food, and in fact it's often cheaper than meat-based processed foods. The real offense is that they charge more for it.

Things like Impossible Burgers, absolutely. I tried one once and it was so much like an actual meat burger it grossed me out. But I will make a seitan corned beef to put in a Reuben sandwich just because it's an awesome sandwich.

Hmm I was 27 years a meat eater, advocating for meat consumption in the face of a vegan mate. Saying things like "we need a little bit of meat in our diets...they're killed humanely...etc"

Took me one moment of realisation, then I dunno, I just tried, not even that hard, vegan 7 years now.

I can see that the transitional foods are a good stepping stone, but imo, the second you see inside the animal agriculture industry without any blinders on (biases), you'll choose to act within your life, if you have the compassion/empathy to.

If someone sees the reality of what goes on behind closed doors and continues to consume animals in much the same way, it says more about that persons internal morality than anything else.

Of course there is. Not saying no vegans eat it ever. It could be a regional variable, but I'm speaking about population as a whole, not your local vegan restaurant. Google says 86% of plant based meat is bought by meat eaters. I also work in the field so have some knowledge on the subject. 86% is about right but could be 5-8% high. But in any case, the people who buy it are broadly meat eater, or more likely "flexitarians" .

And vegans should eat more plant based meats. The better brands are very healthy and it could help them stick to their vegan diets.

Thank you, it drives me nuts when people say shit like "chemical-free". Everything is made out of chemicals, tell me which one otherwise I'll just assume you're uneducated and afraid of things you can't pronounce.

My dude... Says who? You? It's not hard to Google - you find lists of them when you do.

I love how lemon tek was your first example

In general I think people are referring to things that are either A) heavily proccesed and/or B) something that isn't naturally occurring. When they speak about "chemicals"

Your body is made to eat natually occuring plants and animals. Any deviation from that is risking long term issues. Effects that are very often (at least here in the states) ignored unless they just straight up kill you. And even then it'll probably take a couple decades before anyone actually does something about it. So, yes while many people misuse the word "chemical," their fear is not misplaced. You should be skeptical of things that are synthesized until they are proven to interact with the human body appropriately

I think we need to understand what definition people are using for "chemicals". They usually are referring to highly processed ingredients, with highly processed preservatives, highly processed artificial flavors (called "natural flavors", but taken for example from the anal glans of a beaver... yes this is real and common). By the broadest definition, absolutely everything is a chemical. Generally, people should avoid any definition for a word that makes the word nonsensical. And also generally, you will find big lobbyist groups using that general definition to shell-game about the specific chemicals they are trying to protect.

When a food-concerned person mentions chemicals, they are referring to things like antibiotics or hormones, preservatives or processed sweeteners with known side-effects. Some of them are talking about isolates, like soy protein isolate to which there are valid health concerns.

And yes, sometimes people referring to chemicals don't know what chemicals they're complaining about. And yes, sometimes people complaining about chemicals are complaining that their meatless burger's consistency comes from methyl cellulose, (probably) completely harmless but absolutely artificial.

The same way some vegans are made ill by the thought of meat, some folks are made ill by flavor- or consistency-related facts in their food. I mean, I think vegans would be concerned to know the beaver anal secretions above was in some plant milks under the term "natural flavors".

Is light a chemical?

Vegan from protein shakes lol

You have to be a better vegan than them.

Didn't you know? Todd's vegan!

As a Canadian Caucasian I concur that we should all eat more vegetables.

The fiber is not the issue. I'm good on that. It was the spiciness that was the problem. I can handle a little bit of spice but there was pretty much no reprieve.

"spicy food" doesnt mean the same thing depending on cuisine. Different types of heat are used in different dishes.

I can eat mexican meals for days and have no issues, cholula and all.

Meanwhile mild indian is usually a treat that sets off a small bomb in my gut.

Also, people make fun of americans like we dont have fuckloads of hot sauce brands all over the place. We live next door to mexico, guys, we have plenty of spicy cuisine.

Taco bell gives you the shits because its poorly cooked meat with a lot of beans, not because the food is good or spicy

Lol, I'm calling it bean cheese from now on

Tofu has a lot of range, there are many types of tofu you just won't see that many in a Western market. There are also a lot of ways to prepare tofu, it's very versatile.

It's still stupid and spawning stupid conversations

No, it’s shit.

Sounds about right honestly It's a shame the best food comes from the most random and niche places

Dude fuck off. Bengali cuisine is great.

The food those Bangladeshis serve aren't generally Bengali cuisine, but rather what sells.

Mfw when 'whole foods' turns out to be a rule of thumb, not a lifestyle.

If only we could genetically engineer cows to grow NATURAL beyond meat burgers everyone would be happy... wait no...

India is known for vegetarian cuisine due to Hinduism. Jains are a small minority.

I never did, lol

Yeah, tell him.

I like that all my different vegetables taste like cinnamon and curry.

Probably. The spices must have been worth more than the actual food though (:

Yeah, some foods are like that - my ex-father-in-law had a similar thing with garlic. You could tell he had it for a couple of days

Haha :D

.... From the picture.

I was speaking metaphorically but I guess you are right when taken literally

Okay, I hadn't thought about pad Thai, but I love pad Thai.

I hadn't thought about taco bell since its been a while since I've been there.

How are bacon bits vegan?

I haven't tried Chipotle's chorizo, I'll have to try it out.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Oreos are surprisingly vegan

It's less surprising when you realize that stuff that processed almost might as well have been constructed from raw hydrocarbons. It's like some NileRed "turning paint thinner into cherry soda"-level shit.

I said this above as a reply to another comment, but I do feel there are a lot of interesting dishes around the world that would be loved almost universally and I wish they would become universally accessible too

As a man who fed a vegan child for 8 years…no. Vegan meals cost way more.

That one kid cost as much as two non vegan kids to feed.

Maybe it was because I was buying what she said to buy.

Fortunately when her mom tearfully said, “please be a vegetarian until you grow up and buy your own food.” she went with it.

It was a nightmare feeding her separate from the rest of us, but I respected her choices. I had to cook two meals every evening. That was rough.

Glad she’s grown and off at college. I miss her but I don’t miss all that extra work.

See, it's arrogant, and stupid shit like this that makes me wanna go get a burger just to spite ya.

"Oh fucking no!! I am torturing plants and shit blah blah blah"

No fucking wonder.

Aren't almonds also bad for the environment? Not the person you're replying to, just curious if almond dahi or paneer substitute are worth the expense

Middle of a Safeway once, in line at McDonald's my ex was called a poser for ordering the veggie burger by someone in line at a fucking McDonald's (dont care if youre just there for the fries), online community of course adds to it because, well yeah, here we are.

Entitled people have a way of announcing and decrying those below them. Like morons who think Android phones are for the poor.

Do you even know what protein is or where it comes from? Have you ever asked yourself where animals get their protein?

I mean . . . is it or not, because your punctuation confuses the matter.

They were being hyperbolic to make a point about OP.

OP claimed the indian food is vegan. It's not, it's vegetarian. Same way Nutella is vegetarian, not Vegan

That's the point. Indian food is rarely vegan.

It's still overpriced and overprocessed. Ridiculous sodium levels as well.

100% serious. On the average our grocery stores are better with far more access to food choices. I can pick out essentially any type of fruit or veggie year round and have access to fresh food from across the planet.

Not your thing? Well, I'm my small city (.5mil) I have access to 3 farmers markets which will get me fresh local veggies and meat.

Y'all are on crack if you think you have access to better food in the EU or Asia.

You'll find that 95% of towns in the US will have access to fantastic food year round.

I mean if you want to be a fatass, that's your choice. You can continue to live however you want. I just had. Ribeye last night from the cow we had butchered a few weeks ago with some potatoes and brussel sprouts from the local market.

But okay, the existence of soda definitely means we don't have access to good food.