One week's worth of groceries

[Calliope]

I don't understand vegetarians and vegans who eat fake meat. What's the point of eating fake meat if you don't want to eat meat? Tofu itself, I can understand, as tofu is yummy. But tofurky? Come on.

-Food and eating have social and celebratory components to their consumption, and faux meat products allow some level of inclusiveness. It's nice to sometimes go to an event such as a picnic, barbeque, or party, and be able to eat something visually similar to everyone else (a hot dog, for example), without being asked why you're not eating "normal" food, and having to explain the concept of veganism to someone for the umpteenth time when all you wanted to do was eat your lunch.

-Tofurky products are convenient. I can easily pick them up when grocery shopping or don't feel like cooking from scratch, but more importantly, my in-laws can easily identify and pick them up if they are organizing an event, which cannot be said for some of the many many other things I could also eat.

-I don't eat a lot of faux meat, because it's much more expensive than tofu, tempeh, beans and lentils (but still cheaper than quality meat), and I was not a particular fan of meat to begin with. Some faux products taste terrible - but some of them are delicious, with a taste and texture quite close to what it is supposed to emulate (Smart Bacon, Tofurky Kielbasa sausages, Daiya Mozzarella). For a hardcore animal-product fan who is looking to eliminate meat from their diet (whether for animal-rights, environmental, budget or health reasons - not all veg*ans hate meat), these products can be a godsend in adjusting their palate and weaning themselves off of the real thing. I imagine also that the occasional vego would try this stuff because they've forgotten what the real thing is like and wants to remember what the fuss was about.

PS - I don't like to eat very much at one time. A Tofurky sausage contains almost four servings worth of protein, so I'll sometimes eat half a sausage rather than try to eat a cupful of beans, for example.