I mean really, have you?! Vegan "cheese" is where the basis of my offense lies. I don't want to come off abrasive or angry but Vegan "cheese" offends me to the highest levels of offense. Why must our culture constantly come up with chemical filled foods to replace our already naturally made, REAL provisions. Big manufacturers are already providing our culture with "imitation" cheese and processed meats why do we need the Vegans and Vegetarians doing the same?
For the need of full disclosure, I have been both Vegan and Vegetarian. I have also consumed Vegan "cheese" and meat substitutes intended to be substitutions for meat. I would go as far to say that I have been that obnoxious person in the restaurant ordering a completely non-vegan menu item off the menu but substituting and changing every little thing about it to make it fit into my Vegan lifestyle at the time. I have forced my friends and family to sit there and listen to me while I did this and all I can say is, I AM SO SORRY! I am so sorry. I can not imagine the annoyance and insanity I put you through. To the waitress, I would punch myself in the face if I ever met you again and remembered that you were the poor person that took my order that night. To some of you, this may seem a bit much but when you think about, you should be offended too.
Think....Over processed foods are bad right? Foods with hundreds of ingredients are gross right? Have you looked at an ingredient list to a veggie burger? Yeah, there are a bunch of processed to death ingredients. Now there are a lot of companies that provide FOOD substitutes with normal ingredients. Daiya vegan "cheese" is a good example. Includes things like Filtered water, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and /or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil....the list goes on a little further but once again they are making the mistake of calling their product Cheese. Cheese is a sweet Hittisau raw cows milk cheese or a mild tasting goat's milk Valencay from France or even a basic sharp cheddar. Cheese is not "ORGANIC SOY BASE (FILTERED WATER, ORGANIC SOYMILK POWDER), ORGANIC RICE MALTODEXTRIN, ORGANIC SOYBEAN OIL, ORGANIC RICE FLOUR, PEA PROTEIN, CALCIUM & SODIUM PHOSPHATES, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF SEA SALT, CARRAGEENAN, MONO & DIGLYCERIDES, NATURAL FLAVORS, LACTIC ACID (NON-DAIRY), APOCAROTENAL (COLOR), BETACAROTENE.". That is NOT cheese.
Now for some I might have come across a bit harsh and anti vegetarian/vegan food. So let's talk Tofu. One of the most wondrous creations ever invented. Tofu, ingredients: Soybean, nagari. Yes, tofu was created by a culture that embraced a vegetarian lifestyle due to a Buddhist precept of ahimsa, a non violent belief. I understand that but tofu is a food. It was created as a food not a "riblet", a vegetarian's version of a Mc Rib ( i would be surprised if there was actually meat in it at all) or "meatless Chicken strips"....yum ferric orthophosphate, my favorite! If it's iron, can we just say iron or is there someone out there with a ferric orthophosphate allergy they have to watch out for? The real question is why are they adding these extra ingredients? Why can't we just make these breaded pieces of protein be that, breaded pieces of protein.
I'm sure I am continuing to annoy and frustrate any vegan or vegetarian that has not forcefully clicked away from this page so I will stop here....for now. This blog was created in response to every Vegan and vegetarian that has stood on their soapbox and preached to me about how awful it is that I eat meat. It was created for one of my college roommates who became vegetarian because it was healthier (she enjoyed deep fried mars bars in exchange for a roasted chicken). This is for every Vegan and Vegetarian that has been so offended that my restaurant doesn't have a meatless version of a meat filled item on the menu. This is for every chef/cook that has to endure the pretentious person changing around their most perfectly thought out dish because they want a vegan version of Pieds paquets or Pot au feu. This is for all of you. and this is where i will leave off for the day.
