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Does vegan "black pudding" qualify as black pudding?

Does vegan "black pudding" qualify as black pudding?

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No, marketing guff!

Don't get the clamour for meat versions of everything? My partner is vegetarian and by consequence I've tasted nothing that compares with meat alternatives but I've had some amazing vegetarian dishes. Beyond burgers are good but still not on the level of a decent beef burger.

As a carnivore I'd much rather reduce my meat consumption by eating hybrid burgers designed to reduce the meat content rather than being direct swap. Imagine being offered a Beef, Halloumi and mixed bean burger using 25% beef as opposed to a veggie bean, soya or tofu alternative. Much more enticing for meat eaters to reduce demand for red meat without giving up beef.

I'm sure this might appeal to those looking to reduce meat intake and wanting a veggie full English but for those wanting go vegetarian, the emulation of fried pigs blood might be too far!
 
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Mince Pies don't have any Mince in them. I guess it all depends on what the person eating it wants to call it.

Personally I prefer vegetarian products that try to be their own thing rather than emulating (and never living up to) something else. But I know it's also a much harder sell to get people to try something new rather than an equivalent.
 
At the moment it feels like vegetarian options are getting worse. A lot of places are replacing distinct veggie options with plant based items, which are great if you're a carnivore wanting to eat something like meat that isn't meat, but not so great if you're a vegetarian avoiding meat or a meat substitutes.

For example, Burger King have begun to phase out the Spicy Bean Burger and replace it with a plant based Whopper and the Halloumi burger. The plant based Whopper is targeted at the audience I mentioned above and the Halloumi burger is essentially a cheese sandwich that has been put together using components that they use as up-sells on other 'normal' burgers.

On another front, you have a number of vegetarian options being replaced by vegan ones, which then creates a single option for both V/Ve requirements, but as a vegetarian, I am not always looking for something Vegan, because it invariably comes with vegan cheese, vegan mayo, etc. Subway did this with their Veggie Patty sandwich, which was discontinued and replaced with the 'Plant Patty', removing anything non-Vegan, making it an odd combination of spicy and tasteless.

Worst of all, you have to ask for a 'Plant Patty' which sounds ridiculous.
 
You do get the impression that vegetarians and their go-to options are being side-lined more and more. Maybe we will end with two divisive extreme ends of the spectrum like politics...hopefully not.

Meat is certainly too cheap and on an unsustainable path, but I don't believe that mas consumption of vegan products would be particularly sustainable or without health implications either.
 
Tom said:
You do get the impression that vegetarians and their go-to options are being side-lined more and more. Maybe we will end with two divisive extreme ends of the spectrum like politics...hopefully not.

Meat is certainly too cheap and on an unsustainable path, but I don't believe that mas consumption of vegan products would be particularly sustainable or without health implications either.
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It's all relative. Obviously if everyone switched immediately to a vegan diet right now there wouldn't be the infrastructure in place to do that cheaply and sustainably.

However long term it would clearly be much more sustainable. As for health implications, it is VERY easy to keep yourself in good health as a vegan with a minimal amount of research.

Like any other choice for the greater good, it takes a little bit of effort. That doesn't mean it isn't doable or that somehow it isn't helpful.

I do agree with Rick though in that vegetarian / vegan options both seem to be changing towards meat substitutes at the expense of all other alternatives. Not necessarily a helpful thing as it gives the impression that vegetarian diet is only for those who want to cut out meat consumption. Genuinely tasty vegetarian alternatives, that are their own thing and therefore have potentially widespread appeal, are surely a better way forward.
 
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When I was away a couple of weeks back the vegetarian 'sausages' at breakfast were one of the most vile things to ever cross my lips, but at dinner the vegetarian options that weren't trying to be meat succesfully tempted be away from chunks of cow on a couple of evenings. Beetroot Wellington is incredible.
 
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