Weasel Wording?

[ffutures]

If a vegetarian fake meat product is labelled as "Vegan friendly," does that mean that it's Vegan, that it was made following Vegan guidelines so might be OK, or that the chemist in charge of the factory has a good mate who's Vegan? Or something else on that spectrum, of course.

Comments

[autopope]

Per Feorag, look for the Vegan Society trademark. That's your gold standard.

Failing that, look at the ingredients. If you see honey, eggs, milk, fish, or derived products, then it is definitely not vegan (it may well be vegetarian, though).

Most likely what it means is "we didn't use animal products but don't want to pay for VS trademark licensing", or "it's vegan, but prepared in a factory that makes non-vegan products: there may be animal cooties floating around in the air".

If you see a label saying "vegan friendly" that lists animal products in the ingredients (especially if it's something like lard or processed meat), then you can't trust that manufacturer's product descriptions, period.

(Source: have been with/married to Feorag for nearly 30 years at this point, I am used to feeding a vegan. You can get even more authoritative info via Dave Clements, one of whose partners actually works/worked for the Vegan Society.)

[ffutures]

It's definitely vegy, so I think your second class applies - like not labelling foods as kosher, even though they meet the standards, because the factory as a whole doesn't.

[ffutures]

To clarify - this is the fake bacon Tesco sell, they list "flavourings" in the ingredients without getting specific, but the rest of the list is definitely vegetable.

And re the kosher thing, I know you also need certification for that, I oversimplified it.

[legionseagle]

You need Lord Peter Wimsey: "Was it made "wholly from Vegans" "from Vegans" or "with Vegans"?

[ffutures]

Well, vegans presumably contain meat so there might be a few problems any of these ways. And there's no detectives dressed up as Harlequin to investigate anyway!

[vincentursus]

Well, I've seen the distinction made that humans are not animals.

Extending that logic, you could make food from vegans that contained no products derived from animals.

[ffutures]

Or turn them into Soylent Green

[kedamono]

I find that you'll find three kinds of vegan and vegetarian foods in a grocery store:

1. Industrial Vegan: We're a major Food Company and to be inclusive, we've made this here "vegan food", not Real Food™. It's barely seasoned, has off flavors, and a texture like spackling paste. Why? Because we hate you vegans.

2. Small Vegan Food Company: Dude, we make this vegan food for you to heal your soul and cleanse your body. Also, we understand that you're still hungry for that tasty, juicy, grilled hamburger, so here's one we've spent $10,000,000 developing out of lentils and vegetable heme. Also we add a lot of salt, sugar, and other carbs to the food so you feel that you've eaten something.

3. Real Vegan: Our cuisine is based on Indian or Buddhist recipes that are centuries old and are truly good for you, and are low in carbs and sugars, while still having excellent flavor and aromas. Sadly, because we aren't mainstream, you'll find our products in the Ethnic Aisle of the store, in less that one meter's worth of shelf space.

Of these three, I prefer 3, as they are good food and don't blow my blood sugar out of the water.

[ffutures]

I'm not actually a vegan (or even vegetarian) but I like some vegetarian foods, and they've helped me cut down on meat considerably. I was just a bit surprised by the wording of the label.

[joseph_teller]

I hate the Vegan fake meat products. They need to commit to their beliefs and give up the Taste and texture of meat.

And they need to give up their hiding their food behind salt and Garlic. If a dish is going to have 3 times the daily recommended level of salt in each serving then all they are doing is changing one health problem for another.

Vegans create more methane than normal humans. They are producing as much methane from their bodies as 3 normal adults and contributing to global warming. They are NOT saving the planet they are feeding their egos.

[eledonecirrhosa]

I suspect the vegan/vegetarian 'taste and texture of meat' ethos is more aimed at people like me, an omnivore who hates the taste of many vegetables. I've been given vegan sausage rolls and vegan meatballs by a friend and they were just like the real thing. So I'd buy those for myself to cut a bit of meat out of my diet.

The 'too much methane' argument can end up all sorts of places we really don't want to go. Like let's all go to the Serengeti and shoot the million wildebeest - think of all the methane emissions that would save! :-)

[ffutures]

Sounds like me - e.g. I mostly eat vegy bacon because it freezes well and cooks well from frozen, and because it tastes enough like the real thing that it doesn't bother me and is better for the environment. Ditto using quorn in spaghetti etc. where the taste is mostly the sauce. But so far I haven't come across a steak substitute that works for me, so I occasionally treat myself to the real thing.

[joseph_teller]

I do a lot of chicken, which is the meat that is considered the most environmentally friendly per pound. Generally 5 meals a week will include chicken or eggs.

As a diabetic I am limited on what I can and cannot eat in regards to grains, fruit and vegetables (yeah there are fruits and veggies I am not supposed to eat because of sugar level in them or high starch, like white or red potatoes, corn, bananas, beets, etc.)

I have to do some fish weekly and some pork or beef every few weeks by doctors instruction because of my health conditions (I become anemic without so called red meat in my diet, and I need the fish to balance my cholesterol/triglycerides).

[joseph_teller]

Oh yeah, and the fact that the country with the largest population of cattle is.... India, a place where they don't eat Beef at all, but allow them to roam as holy symbols all over the countryside and in the cities.

[eledonecirrhosa]

I read an anthropology article many years ago which explained how the economics of sacred cows worked. Or at least how they worked when the system first arose. It was something along the lines of the cow roams free so the owner pays nothing to feed it. But they'll get a bit of milk out of it and one calf in 2 will be a bull calf which is not sacred, so can be castrated and used as a draft ox.

[joseph_teller]

Except these days they have lynch/attack gangs in India that attack people who "interfere" with cows, including the bulls, even government workers who are sent to round up cows and herd them out of places that they are getting in the way of trains, construction work and traffic.