Gen-X dude here. Both of my kids are vegetarian, which has made me more mindful of eating meat. I like meat alternatives now. No need to kill a pig or cow on my behalf! There's other tasty things I can eat.
this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2025
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We need more goddamned beans and lentils in people's diets. They are so much better in like every way. Normalize beams!
Vegan since 2016 🌳
Well, this is excellent news. This probably means that gen Z is doing more to fight climate change than any other generation.
There are a lot of great vegan products available today. Thanks to those who came before, like the Tofutti generation, who helped get us where we are today!
most of it is also pretty much indistinguishable from the animal-derived products
imo not super true, maybe I'm just very sensitive to it but the only thing I've found almost indistinguishable are some sausage patties, but I've always felt like most substitutes, especially the burger ones, end up tasting a bit mealy.
I often take meat-eaters to vegan restaurants in Melbourne, and for fowl (chicken and duck) they say they can't tell the difference between the gluten-based ones and the animal flesh ones. Some of them have said the best fried chicken they have ever had was at a 100% plant based restaurant.
Red meat is a bit harder to emulate though there are expensive ones like Impossible Burger and Beyond Beef that do well. Many other substitutes cope better in heavily cooked dishes like ragu or lasagna than burgers or sausages.
Tastes are different. Frankly, I've been vegan for around 5-6 years by now, so I might also not remember the "original" tastes of some products. Still, I'd imagine there's not much of a difference for many a product. Vegan cheeses can be a little hit or miss when it comes to taste - that's where I notice it the most.
Most meat substitutes, think patties or minced meat or some vegetarian butcher products, taste absolutely like they're animal-derived - no contest. But that's the case for Germany. Not sure what the situation is like in other parts of the world.
It seems that gen Z has a stricter moral code in general.
One thing I've heard said of gen z that makes a lot of sense is that we are very moral people, but differently moral. Our moral drive isn't towards tradition but towards something new
Can you elaborate on what that means?
Self flattering wankery
Gen Z has D&D, cunnilingus, and bisexuality. Nerds, freaks, and queers. Interracial couples, women in positions of power, and people talking openly on mental health and neurodiversity. Violent political action, vtubers, and rudeness.
They don't have a stricter moral code than previous generations, just a better one.
Half the western descent into fascism is older generations seeing western culture progress out of their moral overton window and losing their minds trying to resecure a cultural legacy they can be proud of.
Is D&D morally bad?
As a millennial who only gave up beef good for them, they have me beat. The second a lab grown option opens up I will be the first one finding out if over consumption causes any problems.
As someone who also gave up beef, I honestly can heartily recommend Impossible meat. I genuinely find it indistinguishable from the real thing, and even prefer impossible burgers (they cook beautifully in an air fryer) to the real thing. Their steak bites, chicken nuggets, and meatballs are also superb.
It goes on sale somewhat regularly, would highly recommend trying it out and stocking up to freeze on those sales if you end up liking it!
Thats what I usually order or a turkey burger at restaurants. It definitely scratches the itch and it's fun to see how chefs personalize it. Fun fact: this year was the first year I saw the impossible option cheaper than the real (in an airport so pricing is weird).
The problem with impossible burgers is the super high sodium.
Still is healthier than Beef.
I could see that being a problem for those who are sensitive to sodium. From what I recall though, higher sodium intakes are generally only negative or raise blood pressure if not combined with an adequate amount of potassium. The soy in impossible is naturally quite high in potassium already, which can also be combined with lite salt to further increase potassium intake.