Meat substitutes have come on leaps and bounds in recent years, with more options than ever before and plenty of brands that have found ways to get closer and closer to the real thing.
If you’ve never tried the Linda McCartney vegan duck pancakes, they’re a particularly incredible rendition of the genuine article.
Beyond Meat burgers also get a special mention for being near-indistinguishable from a real beef patty.
While their production certainly isn’t as gruesome as what you’d find in an abattoir, the processes behind a lot of vegan alternatives aren’t exactly appetising.
One video of a turkey substitute, Tofurky, being made has drawn some particularly alarmed comments online – as much as it might work on the plate, it doesn’t look like something you’d want to eat while it’s being made.
Again, if you’re alarmed by this video, you’d best not dare look at how real turkey mince is made.
The 2021 video from Here is Oregon on YouTube shows a deep dive into Tofurky’s production, with Turtle Foods Company found Seth Tibbott introducing the alternative to the Christmas Dinner staple.
Tofurky is primarily aimed at Thanksgiving, and over 7.5 million units of the stuff has been sold since it first hit stores in 1980.
The video shows a production line of four people producing the tofu and wheat dough – known as the masa – that forms the base of the turkey substitute. It’s mixed with canola oil, water, and some savoury seasoning to bring the texture and flavour closer to the real deal.
A worker then produces the stuffing that’s found in the centre of each roast, featuring wild rice, breadcrumbs, onion, celery, carrot, leek and more seasonings.
From there, the Tofurky’s dry seasoning mix is assembled from various ingredients, and then the mixtures are processed through a machine that fashions it all into a non-meaty tube. The tubes are baked, refrigerated, and then packaged up for sale.
It’s by no means the most disgusting process you can see on YouTube, but it’s drawn some horrified comments nonetheless.
“This is the saddest and most depressing thing I've seen in a while,” said one YouTube user.
“That doesn’t look fit for human consumption,” said another.
“This is how you never host Thanksgiving again,” said another.
“Looks good... can’t wait to try it... said no one ever,” another user said.
“I heard if you put a little bit of olive oil on the serving dish, it makes it easier to slide into the trash can!,” someone else quipped.
Vegan alternatives getting slated online is nothing new, of course, but the people who eat it tend to be pretty pleased with the results.
“I love Tofurky. Have been eating it for years. Wonderful texture and flavor. Love their slices, too,” said one appreciative comment.
“I can't find any vegans that are ‘put off’ by this. We are all pretty darn happy with our choices not to eat ground up dead animals!” said another.
Featured Image Credit: Tofurky
Rachael Davis