Vegan rebranding of ordinary food we already had - "Plant based" when it was already plants to begin with

[Koby_Fish]

It's one thing for people to noob up recipes that are completely plant-based. It's something else entirely to take something that's existed for decades or even centuries/millenia, and call it something extra special buzz-wordy exceptional to make it appeal to the "meat is murder, you bloodmouths!" crowd as well as clueless health-conscious spergs and normies who jump on bandwagons because they're tricked into thinking it's "better" when it's the same old slop they always had.

Case in point: "Plant-based butter":

It's called fucking Margarine, you exceptional individuals, we've had the 100% "plant-based" version of this shit SINCE 1950.

Hell, they throw "plant based" onto things that were never meat-based to begin with. Case in point: "Plant-based rice" (Konjac root gratings).

Farmers of the New Zealand fluffy bird/Chinese gooseberry, what hast thou seen? What is the most ridiculously exceptional application of "Plant-based" that you have come across?

 

[Hongourable Madisha]

Glamorgan sausages branded as vegetarian sausages. They're cheese croquette things.

Not vegan, but "gluten-free corn" and "GMO-free table salt" are some of my favourites.

 

[need shoeonhead nudes]

Off-topic but margarine is really nasty. Ever since I moved out on my own I've never bought it, just real butter.

 

[Un Platano]

Chickpeas and lentils are what's trendy now. It's been decided that cereal grains are just as undesirable as meat is, so now you can buy pasta and rice made out of all kinds of vegetables mashed up into shapes. It's just like wheat pasta except it's tough and gummy no matter how long you cook it for and it costs three times as much. I wonder if some country has been subsidizing chickpea farming, because they're absolutely everywhere now.

 

[Hongourable Madisha]

I think with the "plant based butter" thing, what they mean specifically is "vegan butter flavoured margarine". They can't just call it margarine because that doesn't differentiate it from other margarines that aren't trying to taste like butter, and they can't call it something like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter because those have buttermilk in them and so they wouldn't be showing off that it's vegan. They could call it "butter flavoured" but that sounds like artificial flavouring and will put off the crunchy hippies. So you get "plant based butter".

 

[／Ｏｕｒ Ｌａｄｄｉｅ／]

This shit:

 

[Koby_Fish]

Yeah that's another one, calling something "Gluten-free" when it never had gluten in it to begin with, because anyone looking out for gluten because they HAVE to (celiac or severe allergy or whatever) would already fucking know that. It sorta overlaps a bit with the vegan thing.

Or calling something "GMO-free" when it wasn't even organic (that is, didn't come from a plant OR animal and thus has no DNA to be modified), such as salt, is just pointless, grifty, money-grubbing cynical virtue-signalling.

I can get wanting to have non-starchy "pasta" or whatever because beetus or something, that's legit, but I think they need to fine-tune this shit. Personally I think half the problem is because there's a "gluten-free" craze, people with starch issues but who aren't celiac or even wheat-sensitive are being ignored and thus companies aren't doing the obvious thing and adding Vital Wheat Gluten to these alternative flours to give it proper structure.

Depends on the margarine as far as taste is concerned IMO, but there are good tasting margarines, meh-tasting ones, and yeah, bad ones. Personally I like Becel (specifically olive oil, regular, or avocado oil flavor). Since it's never been hydrogenated, it doesn't turn hard in the fridge and tastes good enough IMO (not everyone's tastes are the same however).

 

[melty]

I forget what brand but one of the popular cracker brands started putting a "plant based" badge on their wheat crackers.

 

[Un Platano]

I forget what brand but one of the popular cracker brands started putting a "plant based" badge on their wheat crackers.

To play devil's advocate, that's because some crackers and similar products are made with animal fat like butter or lard. Who am I kidding though, they all switched to vegetable shortening a long time ago. They've been plant based for years and it's not for health or the environment, it's because it's cheap.

 

[Milkis]

I find it bizarre, because on the surface it's just a grift like Kosher certification, but where are the big bearded vegan grifters running the racket?

 

[XYZpdq]

Yeah that's another one, calling something "Gluten-free" when it never had gluten in it to begin with, because anyone looking out for gluten because they HAVE to (celiac or severe allergy or whatever) would already fucking know that. It sorta overlaps a bit with the vegan thing.

sometimes you'll have a food that theoretically shouldn't have wheat gluten, but it might be run on lines that also handle wheat products, or stuff like that

 

[Stoneheart]

Your Senator from the cow family had a plant based beer for the Oscars.
You only can make animal based Beer if you squeeeeeez the Water needed out of an animal.
Water, Hops and Barley all dont come from animals Mr Schumer.

 

[Koby_Fish]

Your Senator from the cow family had a plant based beer for the Oscars.
You only can make animal based Beer if you squeeeeeez the Water needed out of an animal.
Water, Hops and Barley all dont come from animals Mr Schumer.

well apparantly there's a thing where beer is clarified using gelatin (from animal bones etc) or isinglass (fish bladders). So then it's not "vegan" because animal products were used.