>But if you tell me it is beaf and it isn't, I WILL notice, and I won't be happy.
Seconding that. Also, I'm allergic to legumes but not real beef. So you could be putting me in danger by calling a legume patty a "burger" or "beaf".
Seconding that. Also, I'm allergic to legumes but not real beef. So you could be putting me in danger by calling a legume patty a "burger" or "beaf".
But a burger can be anything. Chicken burger, hamburger, pork burger, etc. So I wouldn't have a problem having a vegetarian burger. Since "burger" describes the delivery mechanism and not the contents.
But I do have a problem with things like "Chikin", "Beaf" and the like. Not because they are misleading, but because it is tacky. Just don't try to imitate real meat or at the very least make up a better description of the contents. "Legume burger" vs "Beaf burger". The deliberate misspellings of real food just make it "mystery meat". I've been looking at "veggie patties" on menus for years and still don't even know what the primary ingredient is. And that makes it harder for people to "trust".
People seem to blindly eat these patties and what not but it just seems really weird to me that you are eating unidentified goop of vegetables that they are trying to pass off as meat. I guess you could spend time looking it up, but eh.
We already have a problem where the majority of kids can't even connect that a chicken nugget comes out of a chicken. Calling it a "Legume burger" will seem kind of alien but in a few years it would help make the word "Legume" mainstream and familiar and everyone would be better off. I want to easily identify what is in my food if we switch off of meat.
You can tell if you're reading the name, but not verbally. If I was at dinner party and someone asked me if I had tried the "Beaf," there's no way to know. Same with "Chik'n" or whatever it's called.
Naming products that way seems fairly irresponsible.
Or in the context of giving an order you would know. No one is trying to pull a fast one on you. Granted non-english speakers would probably have a harder time figuring it out. Its a problem but not as big of one as you make out.
Rarely do you go into something completely blind and oblivious except for the punctuation of one word.
Now, granted, if you have such an allergy, it's important to make sure anyone preparing food for you is made aware--but in the context of this hypothetical dinner party, if someone is introducing a meat substitute, there's always the possibility that they're going to remain silent in order to gauge their guests' reactions. That's where the real danger is: Guest assumes meat is, in fact, meat; host wishes to see guest's reaction to meat substitute. In such circumstances, the guest isn't going to ask if it's made of a legume because he or she has already made the assumption that it's meat.
Alas, this illustrates that food sensitivities require those of us who suffer from them to remain vigilant.
"What corn?"
"Right there. It's like Chick'n."
"What's in it?"
"Mushrooms."
"Maybe I should try something else."
"They also have Beaf, Porque, Mutt'n, Baquen, Brisk't, and Humane Fleisch."
"What? No vegetarian entrees?"
Not maliciously, of course, but long-term vegetarians get used to saying "chicken," "beef," etc. for fake meats.
Celiacs watch out.
(Seitan is gluten. It's literally just gluten. It is pure gluten from wheat. Feeding it to someone with a gluten allergy or sensitivity would be a great way to cause them serious problems. OTOH, if the Gluten-Free person in your life eats it, you now know something about them as a human being.)