Here’s Why Vegans Eat Food That Looks Like Meat | PETA (2024)

Published September 22, 2022 by PETA Staff. Last Updated April 2, 2024.

Vegan chicken, mock tuna, burgers that “bleed”—sometimes vegan food can come so close to the “real thing” that even flesh-eaters are fooled. But what’s the point of making plants look and taste like meat? And if vegans like meaty flavors, why don’t they just eat meat? Let us explain.

Vegans Stop Eating Meat to Spare Animals Suffering and Exploitation

Most people who go vegan were raised eating animal flesh and became used to how it tastes. However, once we realized that eating meat hurts animals, the planet, and our health, that taste wasn’t worth the cost. Whether it was watching a video of one of the many cows who escaped a truck bound for the slaughterhouse or looking into the eyes of our dog and noticing they’re the same color as a pig’s, that “lightbulb moment” led us to realize that we can’t in good conscience continue eating meat, eggs, or dairy.

It’s speciesist to eat another sentient being’s flesh. Our fellow animals aren’t here for humans to eat. It’s wrong to breed them, deprive them of a life worth living, and then kill them to satisfy our urges.

For a short and sweet answer to why vegans eat food that looks like meat, check out Thee Burger Dude’s video on the subject:

Meatless Meat Can Make Going Vegan Even Easier

After going vegan, people may still crave some of the animal-derived foods they’re familiar with, since our taste buds can take time to adjust. Vegan meats, nondairy milk, and other vegan products can help bridge the gap and make it easier to enjoy the same flavors without harming animals. When a Beyond Burger tastes the same as eating a burger made of cow flesh, we know there’s no reason to continue eating anything that an individual suffered and died for.

Food Brings Us Together

Food is more than just sustenance—it’s a connection. Sharing a meal can help create new bonds and bring us closer together. Think of Thanksgiving, summer barbecues, Sunday brunches, and even just family dinners—the social element is what makes them stand apart from other meals. With Beyond Burgers, Tofurky Roasts, and fakin’ bacon, vegans can enjoy a meal that more closely resembles what others might be eating at these events. Taking these foods to get-togethers can also spark a conversation, which could encourage nonvegans to rethink their reliance on meat and other animal-derived products.

To Put It Simply, It’s Fun and It Tastes Great!

Turning tomatoes into tuna, cashews into stretchy mozzarella, and banana peels into pulled “pork” is a creative culinary challenge that many vegans love to take on. We know how to completely transform veggies and fruits into something totally different. And if you’ve ever watched even a single PETA video exposé of a farm, you know why eating a burger made from beans is much more appealing than one made from the flesh of a sensitive cow.

Being vegan is about causing the least amount of harm possible to our fellow animals with whom we share the planet. Cows, pigs, chickens, and all other animals aren’t ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way. We can make personal choices daily that impact animals’ lives in a major, positive way, such as eating vegan meat instead of animal flesh. For help going vegan, order our free vegan starter kit today: