<story><title>A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals</title><url>https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02934-5</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>_Microft</author><text>The dish mentioned sounds far better than what is usually served as vegetarian food at canteens and restaurants. Quite often they offer just a compilation of side-dishes to have &lt;i&gt;something&lt;/i&gt; vegetarian on their menu. (Dumblings with red cabbage and - wait for it - &lt;i&gt;gravy&lt;/i&gt; from roasting meat is a widespread menu offer for vegetarians in southern Germany. Not sure if it counts as &lt;i&gt;vegetarian option&lt;/i&gt; though).&lt;p&gt;Once people notice that vegetarian food does not &lt;i&gt;have to be&lt;/i&gt; heaps of vegetables or to taste bland, they&amp;#x27;re far more open to actually try it. I think it&amp;#x27;s rather a problem with chefs not being familiar with vegetarian recipes than people actually not liking it at all.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>jedimastert</author><text>POV: Omnivore with a (previously) vegetarian spouse. We generally ate veg @ home&lt;p&gt;One of my biggest issues with modern veg diets is all of the veg food trying to masquerade as other food. Soy bacon does not taste like, or taste as good as, real bacon. Tofu and Boca burgers do not taste like actual meat. But tofu and the like can taste amazing &lt;i&gt;on its own merit&lt;/i&gt;. It&amp;#x27;s an ingredient with it&amp;#x27;s own flavors and textures, so put it where it can do some good.&lt;p&gt;And don&amp;#x27;t get me started on veg patties. I have a (very) meat loving father who got completely hooked on Boca burgers while on Weight Watchers. He&amp;#x27;ll still eat them on a regular basis, even though he looooves regular burgers, just because they&amp;#x27;re delicious.&lt;p&gt;In my mind, you don&amp;#x27;t have to try to pretend to be something else to be good, especially veg sandwich patties. Latkes are amazing. Refried beans bound together with eggs, breaded and deep fried sounds amazing. Don&amp;#x27;t put yourself next to something else and force a comparison. Just be tasty.</text></comment>
<story><title>A rise in vegetarian options leads customers to embrace meat-free meals</title><url>https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02934-5</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>_Microft</author><text>The dish mentioned sounds far better than what is usually served as vegetarian food at canteens and restaurants. Quite often they offer just a compilation of side-dishes to have &lt;i&gt;something&lt;/i&gt; vegetarian on their menu. (Dumblings with red cabbage and - wait for it - &lt;i&gt;gravy&lt;/i&gt; from roasting meat is a widespread menu offer for vegetarians in southern Germany. Not sure if it counts as &lt;i&gt;vegetarian option&lt;/i&gt; though).&lt;p&gt;Once people notice that vegetarian food does not &lt;i&gt;have to be&lt;/i&gt; heaps of vegetables or to taste bland, they&amp;#x27;re far more open to actually try it. I think it&amp;#x27;s rather a problem with chefs not being familiar with vegetarian recipes than people actually not liking it at all.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>VBprogrammer</author><text>I&amp;#x27;m a meat eater myself but have I have 4 vegan family members. It&amp;#x27;s amazing how the range of vegan &amp;#x2F; vegetarian food has exploded in the UK over the last few years, I think this has made it much easier to maintain a vegan diet because socially it&amp;#x27;s much easier to eat almost anywhere rather than having to pick somewhere specifically for the vegetarian options.</text></comment>