Scary Movies and Vegan Food

We’re having some friends over tonight to watch some scary movies in the backyard in the spirit of Halloween. I don’t watch scary movies very often. It’s not really my speed. However, I do. appreciate that scary movies are often unapologetically true to their genre. They lean into the tropes, they play the archetypes of the characters and you get what you get. They’re not trying to dress up as a drama or convince you they’re actually something else. They’re just scary movies and they’re there to scare you. That’s cool with me. Be yourself.

Yesterday we went to Vegandale, a Vegan food festival in Downtown LA. I adhered to a vegetarian diet for about five or six years up until about 2022, so I’m not a stranger to vegan food, but I do occasionally eat meat these days. We had some really good Mac & cheese bites, I got a delicious açaí bowl, and we enjoyed some very impressive plant-based sushi. Here’s the one thing that bugs me about Vegan food though. They often try to replicate meat dishes, which I assume is in some kind of attempt to get people who are used to eating meat to feel more comfortable trying their fare. I think that’s a huge misstep, personally. People that eat vegan have specifically chosen not to eat meat. Why would they want to turn around and eat a meat substitute that’s meant to look, taste and feel like the meat they just gave up? Just be you!! Make some delicious shit out of plants and stop trying to sell me plants dressed up as meat!

My point is the the people who make scary movies and the people who make vegan food should have a sit down so the scary movie people can tell the vegan people to stop trying to pretend to be something they’re not. I think everyone would be better off for it.

-J.P.