“But Meat Tastes Good”
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Stupid things omnivores say: “But meat tastes good.”
They will often declare that veggie meats are gross, even though they haven’t tried them all, and they’ll simply give up on the idea of veganism. They perceive themselves as powerless to change. Some may have tried before and failed. They think there’s nothing they can do to stop. The lure of dead animal flesh (or cheesy secretions) is just too strong and they “can’t help themselves.”
Most vegans were meat-eaters at one point. Somehow they managed to overcome the cravings. But vegans are not super-heroes who have will power as strong as steel. No, vegans simply figured out an effective way to change their bad habits.
- For some vegans that meant watching lots of horrifying videos of factory farming until animal products like meat and milk became inextricably linked to animal suffering, guilt, and disgust.
- For other vegans it meant reading books like The China Study and becoming educated about the disabling health consequences of eating animals and animal products.
- For some vegans it meant practicing. They just tried to go vegan over and over and over again until they finally did it for good and it stuck. It’s like learning to ride a bike, if you fall off the first time you have to just get back up on and try again. If you tried and failed, just try again!
- For many vegans it meant preparing. Going vegan is a major life change and all major life changes require adjustment. Just like moving, getting married, or having children the change can be made easier with some preparation and planning. These vegans might have done it gradually or quickly, but either way, they set a date and planned it.
- For other vegans it was mind over matter. They did have strong will power but they also used facts and knowledge to help bolster their will. For example, they learned about taste.
So… back to the “Meat Tastes Good” claim. Let’s take a closer look:
a) Tastes reflect personal beliefs and biases. Taste tests have shown that people prefer the taste of orange orange juice over pink orange juice. The flavor is the same but the mental perception is different. Same goes for meat. Anyone who claims that all veggie meats “taste bad” is simply declaring their bias for animal flesh. They aren’t giving veggie meats a fair shake. Read more on that here >>
b) Tastes change. When you eat a diet high in fat and sugar, you prefer foods high in fat and sugar. When you back off and eat less fat and sugar, foods high in fat and sugar taste too “rich” and it’s not good anymore. You then prefer subtler flavors. The same is true for any flavor. We get used to and often prefer the flavors that we eat most often. Change those flavors and you’ll wind up preferring those flavors.
c) Taste is fleeting. Taste is a momentary pleasure whereas good health and ethical choices are longer lasting.
d) Taste is a trivial thing. Sure, we all find ourselves doing things that appeal to “base” desires, but when we sit back and get some perspective, we can prioritize and realize that the consequences of our food choices on our health, on the planet, and to animals matter more than taste.Nothing tastes as good as doing the right thing feels.
Thus, we can see the holes in the excuse of “meat tastes good.” That excuse is EMPTY.
My response to this is usually: Yeah… but – meat is flavored with all sorts of “vegetable seasons”… and plant based spices and herbs. And I also ask them if they ever ate meat unseasoned… pretty awful huh? Well, there you go – it’s the veggie stuff you like the taste of anyway!
That usually gets people to think a bit… about what foods really do taste like…
~ Recent blog post: About Kids Who Kill & A Culture That Supports It ~
You made a few good points here !
I’d love my boyfriend read what you’d written, because it’s one of his common responses when we talk about veganism .
With “it’s natural” and “it’s too hard to give up meat” who often lead to “I admire you for what you do and how you manage to cope with the whole veganism thing”, him and other people seem to have so stereotypic responses that it becomes a little boring.
Bea, you’re right, almost nobody love the taste of unseasoned meat. And raw meat neither !
Meat is bland.
But when I was still omnivorous, the meat (I wasn’t really a meat-eater except for ham or too processed to recognize flesh) I could happily eat sausage meat on steack tartare, but both well seasoned. That was very weird for my mother !
Now, it is weird for me too to think about it.
Thankfully, taste changes, I’m a proof of that.
I began to cook a lot uncommon (for me at least) vegetables since I’ve become a vegan in training.
I love almost all of them, especially those of the cabbage family that french see as “poor man vegetables”.
I’m convinced you can win people hearts and minds with cooking good vegan food and that’s why I cook even more since I live with my bf ! Unfortunatly, there are really few veggies and fruits he likes and it’s so sad (for me, for his diet etc).
Hope his tastebubs will enjoy veggie-based vegan food more often.
” Taste is a trivial thing … we can prioritize …”
I’m ok, but it’s very difficult to really think about what we are doing to animals. And setting (omnivore) food aside and make a change isn’t the number one priority for most people I know.
Thank for your contribution to my reflections.
a little almost vegan frenchie (and sorry for the grammatical or spelling mistakes)
When I was still eating meat, I rarely enjoyed it. I ate it because everyone around me was eating it. But, seeing raw meat or eating undercooked beef disgusted me. Part of the reason I decided vegetarianism was for me (19 years ago) was that I didn’t like meat all that much to begin with. Same with going vegan – a changing process which took over a year to complete – did I REALLY “like” the taste of milk or did I just like wet stuff on my cereal?
And like Bea said, it’s not the taste of “meat” people enjoy necessarily, but all the stuff that it gets dressed up with. So, if you like a particular sauce or garnish, why not try in top of a portabella mushroom or some tempeh instead? I grew up in Western NY, home of the hot wings. I love hot sauce. I make tempeh “wings” that everyone goes nuts for, proving that it’s not the “meat” itself people like, it’s the hot sauce!!!
~ Recent blog post: Food, Inc. ~
When I used to eat flesh & co, I used to make abstinence of animal products (that is to eat vegan) on Lent, Advent, Ember days, Wednesdays and Fridays. I always felt sorry when Lent or Advent began, because I saw that as a privation. While shopping during the Lent, I had always felt my bowels moving, while smelling the chicken or cheese. Every Easter Sunday I had digestion problems (as I was re-eating flesh and eggs), or even puked after dinner.
Now that I am vegan, I feel rather the opposite, while shopping. The smell of cooked flesh disturbs me. So I suppose it’s a matter of self-sugestion. In the past I starved for flesh on Lent, because I felt it like a bereavement of flesh, even if willingly.
After we decided we should become vegan, something happened. At my work, I saw a cooked chicken in a dish, and I know it was destinated to be thrown on the morrow. My first thought was this: «if they throw the chicken, it will polluate; if I eat it, il will poluate less», so I decided to eat it by “mercy”. But when I looked at it, I couldn’t. I was too disgusted to act. I felt it to unnatural. So I threw it by myself, then washed my hands.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the excuse “it’s too hard. I could never do that.” Really? I was 8 years old when I decided to go vegetarian, and 13 years old when I decided to go Vegan, even though everyone around me ate meat, even though I had to become resposible for my own meals at a young age, I did it. It wasn’t easy at first, but it’s so natural to me now.
The best advice I can give to someone trying to go Vegan:
The first few weeks are tough, because not only are your taste buds experiencing major changes but the rest of your body is too. It takes time to get accustomed. And that’s why many people think it is so hard, but after a week or so you start getting used to it, and ENJOYING your new foods. It is no longer work, it is just simple. I promise you that. Just stick to it for 2 weeks – a month and you’ll see how easy it is to be a vegan, and how happy (and healthy!) you feel.
I understand the sentiments…but no matter what or how good a cause is, I just think when trying to reach people its better to exclude words like “stupid” and making non-followers out to be pathetic, even if they’re excuses sound lame. They don’t understand or else they wouldn’t disagree. On subject, long ago, humans didn’t have as much options for food and many are still struggling with that, and animals eat each other in the wild. It’s a natural thing, and that’s an understandable reason for people eating meat, to me. However, the cruelty and disgusting things we do to poor animals these days for restaurant chains could turn anyone. People have come to abuse it…they eat for taste, not survival. I can see the world changing though. But to call out “murderer” or anything like that causes many people to think “Wow, I agreed for a second, but talk about overreacting.” because they don’t understand it like that at all-people see it as a traditional and cultural thing to eat meat.
*their
The Vegas Vegan made a good point. It’s the stuff they put on the meat that makes it taste good. Some say they never really liked the taste of meat to begin with, that makes it very different. Most people don’t like the vegetables to begin with. I think when people focus on the unecessarily cruel means to which meat is provided, that works the most.
Do you like to eat organs (offal) from a corpse off an autopsy table?
Do you like to eat limbs (meat) from a patient undergoing amputation in the surgery room.
Do you like to drink human breast milk (dairy) or churn it to make butter?
Do you like poach your sister’s or girlfriends periods (eggs) when you’re hungry?