VeganMania

[CavemanLynn]

I went vegan for a month at the start of the year. I'd cut down massively on my meat intake after trying keto last year and IFing 3-4 days a week still, and I've got loads of veggie and vegan friends, so I thought I'd give it a go. I liked it. A bit carb-heavy, but great if you're into umami. Mixed beans became a staple. Took me a while but made decent gram flour omelettes. Kept my protein up with Myprotein's vegan blend which I actually prefer to their other blends (and I still use it in baking). Although I felt decent, my other half said I lost weight and looked pale. I'm not vegan, but I definitely appreciated the psychological benefits - our 'meat and two veg' culture means it can be odd imagining a meal without it, but now I do check out the veggie options when we go out and I've learned a lot more about preparing and flavouring food thanks to it. It also helps that there's a pukka vegan Chinese around her that does fucking delicious tofu balls. So yeah,  definitely worth it

[Keith Houchen]

28 minutes ago, CavemanLynn said:

pukka

EDIT - @Onyx2, a vegan pizza place near me does a "Gary" pizza.  Apparently someone had a rant about vegan cheese that went a bit viral and said you might as well call it Gary because it isn't cheese.  It got co-opted after that, or something.

Edited September 24, 2018 by Keith Houchen
Two Can Play That Gammon.

[SpursRiot2012]

There was something quite amusing on the London open mic comedy scene recently related to veganism. It was a comedy show being promoted by vegans, for vegans and with only vegan comics allowed to perform, with all the material being about veganism. Some body did raise the point that it seemed a little odd that only vegan comics were welcome to apply to perform - because if you've got actual, good vegan jokes then who cares? But I think they were worried they'd get some outlaw up there telling jokes about how awful vegans are (or are sometimes presented as). Although, I wonder how they checked if the comic was a legit vegan? Stick a nice piece of steak in front of them and see if they don't eat it?

[Onyx2]

14 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

EDIT - @Onyx2, a vegan pizza place near me does a "Gary" pizza.  Apparently someone had a rant about vegan cheese that went a bit viral and said you might as well call it Gary because it isn't cheese.  It got co-opted after that, or something

I read up about it earlier. All a bit weird. 

I came across it looking for somewhere to go for dinner, and they do a vegan pizza called Mar-Gary-Ta featuring the handsomely named cheese. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

5 hours ago, UK Kat Von D said:

 This weekend I’m in London so will be heading straight to Temple Of Seitan 

I’m not a vegan (I’m pesceterian, leaning more towards Seagan) but I adore temple. It’s out on the beaten track a bit (and proper Camden has some great options too.

also add me as another No bull fan. Those  new items they’ve added are all pretty good

[PunkStep]

Me and my friends were discussing veganism recently and wondering how long before it becomes the norm and eating meat is socially frowned upon- or even outlawed. I can absolutely see this happening, perhaps even this century to an extent.

Society has changed massively over the past 100 years and activism/awareness has not only helped shape the way we think and treat people of other walks of life, but the way many people look at how animals are treated has increased significantly over the past several years. In 2099 I can imagine my grandchildren, in their 60s I guess, being part of the last generation of meat eaters, moaning about the 'fackin tofu munchers ruining our fun'.

Then that led onto a conversation about zoos (zoos as we know them) and whether they will exist in the future, and what will happen first- outlawing of zoos or veganism being commonplace. I reckon zoos, but with bespoke animal sanctuaries and rescue shelters replacing them.

[Arch Stanton]

Most zoos nowadays are part of conservation programmes anyway, aren't they? The big ones all are I think. There are plenty of species of animals in zoos in this country and around the world which would be extinct by now if not for captive breeding programmes. So that's the future for them. Obviously the traditional zoo format is being phased out.

As for the rise of veganism, it won't primarily be concern for animal welfare which drives it, but the need to supply an increasingly overpopulated planet with food. It's that which is pushing scientists to develop things like lab-grown meat substitutes. As the technology and infrastructure required for that improves, demand for real meat will naturally decline. 

[UK Kat Von D]

3 hours ago, PunkStep said:

Me and my friends were discussing veganism recently and wondering how long before it becomes the norm and eating meat is socially frowned upon- or even outlawed. I can absolutely see this happening, perhaps even this century to an extent.

I reckon by 2030 it’ll be the norm. It’s already changed and moved a lot in the last five years, and it has a snowball effect. The main deterants are lack of options, price and availability. The more people hop on board then more places will offer it as a serious alternative. The more places that do that then the more people will hop on board. 

I honestly think my grandkids will be shocked at the world we live in now. Society is moving at a faster pace than ever before, I reckon the switch will happen sooner rather than later. 

5 hours ago, SpursRiot2012 said:

Although, I wonder how they checked if the comic was a legit vegan? Stick a nice piece of steak in front of them and see if they don't eat it?

We have a secret handshake... I reckon you are over thinking it, they are probably just being very clear about their marketing so no one shows up who won’t enjoy it. No different to any other themed comedy night. 

[Onyx2]

3 hours ago, UK Kat Von D said:

I reckon by 2030 it’ll be the norm

I do think it will become the norm in our lifetimes but not by 2030. That's a lot of economy to migrate - there's people with farms, abbatoirs, refrigeration, distribution, the whole supply chain, and all the people along the way who pay taxes on that. ~10 years isn't long enough to settle that down. 

You'll also have to convince China who eat ungodly amounts of pork per head. 

Edited September 25, 2018 by Onyx2

[UK Kat Von D]

Yeah, fuck those people they can just find a new job. I think ten years is totally realistic.

 

The China market is pretty volatile and can have big shifts in consumer trends 

[PunkStep]

Spot on @Onyx2, 2030 is far too soon. But not only from an economical perspective (which is a massive reason in itself), but the longest transition will be socially. The mindset of an entire civilisation will have to change and that will take generations.

[Onyx2]

7 minutes ago, UK Kat Von D said:

Yeah, fuck those people they can just find a new job. I think ten years is totally realistic.

That's the thing though, millions are suddenly unemployed - we don't need many more people to harvest carrots. And that's tax and levy revenue each government is going to need to replace. Decommissioning diesel is taking something ridiculous like 15 years, removing farmed meat from the economy will take considerably longer. 

I think smallholdings and old-fashioned farms will persist while the fully commercial operations wind down. Some of them have been in families for hundreds of years. 

What are your thoughts on cow's milk Max? If you don't partake, what do you substitute with? 

[Hannibal Scorch]

Almond, Oat and Coconut are my 3 faves. But I’ve never really liked cows milk so my switch was easy. After a few days you don’t even notice 

[UK Kat Von D]

Jobs become redundant all the time, it’s upto them to find new work. It won’t be governments removing farmed meat, it will be a drop in demand which puts them out of business. I doubt many people will continue to eat meat just because they want to support the economy or dying businesses.

Cow milk is just as bad as eating meat in my opinion, horrible industry that. I like oat milk on cereal and will switch between soy, coconut and almond milk for coffee

 

[Carbomb]

Another thing you're failing to take into account, Max, is the influence of Big Beef. It's a huge industry lobby, and there's no way they won't pull out all the stops to keep it going, and that includes dirty tactics as well.