[hvna]

This is something I've noticed as well. Sometimes ingredient lists are a mile long. Less so here in Europe than what I've seen in America, but nevertheless it is shockingly less natural. I have always though that it makes more sense to just create vegan foods from what you have rather than recreating the things you are choosing not to eat.

Warning though, I am not a part of the vegan club, so it is all just opinion.

[InitialLastName]

To some extent, it's an attempt to partake in the wider food culture while still following stricter ethical guidelines than those food cultures developed in.

Most of the vegans I know can nutrition themselves capably using non-imitation food, but still want to be able to have a pizza on occasion.

As much as some in the hackerverse like to pretend it doesn't, eating is both an emotional and an expressive experience for some people. Expecting everyone to be a rational actor in the food world is approximately as reasonable as expecting them to be rational actors in the dating world.

[Accacin]

I'm vegan but I do agree. However, myself and other vegans I know do only use these alternatives on occasion. They're definitely not a part of our daily diet. I probably have vegan cheese once a month at most.

Being vegan is a big change, and I ate meat for 29 years, so sometimes my body wants something non-vegan and it's nice to know alternatives exist.

I never really went vegan to be 'more' healthy anyway, so I eat similar to how I did before.

[gameswithgo]

The ingredient list of an apple is also miles long if you are forced to write it out, you just aren't.

There are a million different things "processing" can mean. It can be as innocuous as just chopping something up, or complicated like pickling. Not all of it is bad.

[CarelessExpert]

Certainly true.

But, as an example, the Impossible Burger notably has more fat and significantly more salt than its meat-based brethren. Sure, it may be purchased due to a perceived variety of other benefits (sustainability, animal rights, etc) totally unrelated to the healthiness of the product, but it's objectively not a healthier option.

[La1n]

>objectively not a healthier option.

I am not saying you are wrong, but there is a whole lot more to "healthiness" than amount of fat and salt.

[andor]

The Impossible Burger has about 12% fat which is quite lean. As far as I understand, the meat in most burgers is around 20% fat. Adding things like breadcrumbs, eggs or onions to the patties will of course change the amount.

[CarelessExpert]

> The Impossible Burger has about 12% fat which is quite lean. As far as I understand, the meat in most burgers is around 20% fat.

Depends on the beef. I looked the numbers up before I commented, and a simple beef burger made with lean ground beef weighs in at 11% fat, slightly less than the Impossible version (though yup, I admit, basically equivalent, which is what I should've said).