THE BIG PICTURE: Pros and Cons of Eating Vegetarian Fake Meat (Mock Meat)

The fact is that I like hotdogs, ham, burger, bacon…and other usual favorite comfort food of the average person. But here’s the twist: My version is made with soy. It’s called mock meat, pretend meat, or veggie meat—which is clearly a substitute to the real meat.

Now you’d probably question how vegetarian mock meats are processed, how safe they are, how they taste like and just why vegetarians eat fake meat. In this article, I welcome your curiosity. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of eating mock meat.

Pros of Eating Mock Meat

1. You can be sure you’re not eating some pretty dubious meat-based products.

Mock meats are the lesser evil than the real meat. You can view these processed food substances as an electric cigarette which can free you from nicotine and still experience the fun. True enough, veggie meats do not contain saturated fats and animal hormones which many of the sicknesses and diseases today are inherited from.

2. Free yourself from guilt.

Just why vegetarians eat mock meat? By replicating animal-based food with mock meat, you free yourself from the guilt of eating cooked dead animals. With each bite of faux meat, you’d miss the thought of animal cruelty substantially. 

For instance, if you miss eating chicken but don’t actually want to succumb to this hunger, you can eat pretend chicken meat as alternative. Veggie meats are delicious after all; they are not bad-tasting and they are just chewy as the real ones. So you can totally give up the idea of eating actual animal meat.

3. Mock meats guide your transition to vegetarianism.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), a society defending veganism and vegetarianism, calls mock meat as “transitional food.” When you were not born as a vegetarian or you have only adapted to the vegetarian diet recently, you must be craving sometimes for the taste and texture of meat. Mock meats are a great gateway to vegetarianism. By eating mock meat, you can have a faster transition from being a strong meat-eater to a vegetarian starter.

Another idea is to better convince your non-vegetarian friends and relatives to be vegetarians! You can invite them as guests to your home and prepare nice dinner with mock meat. The trick is to present with really nice plating with abundant of colors. Make sure it tastes luscious. And don't tell them it's fake, not until they ask. They will just be surprised to know the truth!

Cons of Eating Mock Meat

1. Faux meat-like substances are mostly made of soy products.

While you can be safe by not consuming actual animal fats, much cholesterol, triglycerides and others, by eating mock meats, you are also getting your body prone to some risks.

Some reports indicate that too much in soy may cause cancer. But there are also those scientific studies which affirm this to be a sham, proving it wrong by counting the number of benefits soy protein provide to our bodies, especially to vegetarians. 

The fact remains a fact, though: eating mock meats every day in every meal may just be harmful to your body. Also, soy sends mixed messages about protein. You can absolutely easily get enough protein from whole foods: grains, legumes, fruit and veggies.

2. Eating fake meat is not really healthy.

In relation to the above statement, consuming mock meat frequently is not good. Compared to eating fresh vegetables and sticking to a plant-based diet, eating mock meat does not constitute to a healthier lifestyle. Rather, it can be pointed out as a contradiction to the reason why you became a vegetarian (if your reason is for health concerns and not religion, ethics, etc.).  

Veggie meats contain many artificial ingredients and preservatives such as sodium, MSG and a large amount of salt. They are processed whole vegan foods as opposed to whole vegan foods. It sends mixed messages about what vegans really want to eat (meat or cruelty free vegan food?)

2. The processing of mock meats damage the environment a lot.

There can be devastating loss of rainforest as a result of farming soy. This is because growing and harvesting soy to create mock meat requires the usage of chemical hexane to isolate soy protein. This is very toxic for the natural environment, indeed.

Conclusion

I’m all for eating real vegetables but not against eating mock meat as well. My conviction is to balance everything. If you haven’t tried mock meat, going for one today may excite your taste buds for a new adventure. 

For vegetarians and vegans, do not think that you are limited to only vegetables, fruits, nuts and other meat-less stuff. Embrace other varieties available – adding mock meats into your plate from time to time is not evil!

This post was written by:

Rochkirstin Santos is an IT professional and SEO writer, a vegetarian for life.

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Categories: Eating Vegetarian Food