Tracy is an omnivore who reviews vegan and vegetarian fake meat products on her blog Adventures in Fake Meat. She graduated from culinary school last May and works as a baker in Minneapolis, where she lives with two cats, her partner and a Japanese exchange student. After writing Adventures in Fake Meat for a year and a half, she believes that she has eaten more varieties of fake meat than most actual vegetarians do in their entire lives. So what does she think… is vegan “meat” the yummiest of all?

Most omnivores are content with real meat. What made you give fake meat a try? 

I kept finding myself with vegetarian friends, so I knew my delicious meat-filled cooking wasn’t going to wow them. I wanted to see what the whole fake meat thing was all about, but I couldn’t find any reviews that told me what I wanted to know - specifically, does this taste and feel like real meat? Too many fake meat reviews are written by people who haven’t had meat in years and have forgotten what the experience is like.

Why do you think most meat eaters don’t try fake meat?

I think a lot of meat eaters are weirded out by the idea of imitation meat. Meat is such a basic food group that it seems odd to attempt to duplicate it. It’s like making fake vegetables out of rice or something. Plus, many people enjoy the taste of meat so much that they can’t imagine a meat alternative tasting any better. Usually they’re right.

A lot of omnivores say they would rather eat vegetables than a meat-like substance made from vegetables. Do you feel the same way?

I’m not sure I’d say most fake meat is made “from vegetables”. There may be plant material involved, but in my mind, once it’s processed enough, it no longer counts as a vegetable. That said, I personally tend to prefer vegetables to most fake meats.

What are your favorite fake meats?

I like the Morningstar Riblets and Crumbles a lot, and a couple of the Boca burgers - their Cheeseburger and their All-American Flame Grilled Burger. Those are the things I’ve actually purchased again and eaten just for fun, not just for the blog.

What are your least favorite fake meats?

Trader Joe’s Chicken-less and Beef-less strips are nightmarish. Same goes for Lightlife’s Smart Dogs. Just dreadful. I actually have a “the worst” tag for people who want to enjoy some schadenfreude with their fake meat reviews.

Are there some fake meats that taste better than the real thing?

Just one so far, although my partner would add a second. I think the Morningstar Riblets, which I feel are startlingly similar to the McRib sandwich, are better than the actual sandwich. My partner likes Lightlife’s Smart Deli Pepperoni better than real-meat pepperoni. I think it’s an acceptable substitute, but I kind of miss the greasiness of real pepperoni, as gross as that sounds.

Judging by the quality of fake meats, do vegans have low culinary standards?

Anyone who thinks that all fake meat is delicious definitely has lower culinary standards, regardless of their dietary choices. Regarding vegan food in general, I’ve had some pretty atrocious non-fake-meat vegan food, and I’ve had some tasty vegan food, so I can’t say that all vegans have lower culinary standards. I do think that some vegans, having cut out large swaths of food options, manage to convince themselves that what they’re eating is inherently more delicious because it is more ethical or more healthy or whatever their reasons, which leads to pretty bad vegan food getting out, unfortunately.

Do you feel healthier when you eat fake meat rather than real meat?

It depends on the fake meat. If it has less fat and fewer calories than its real-meat counterpart, sometimes I feel good about that, but for the most part, not eating meat doesn’t make me feel healthier. Drinking water, exercising, eating vegetables, and eating reasonably-sized portions of any kind of food are the things that do make me feel healthier.

Do you eat any other specialty vegan foods besides fake meat?

If you mean things like fake dairy products, not yet. If you mean frozen meals or the like marketed toward vegans that don’t contain fake meat, then not really. I admit that I do enjoy a Tofutti Cutie from time to time, and I’m certainly not averse to using soy milk or other alternative products. I don’t have any bias against foods that are vegan-friendly: if it’s tasty, I’ll include it in my diet. If not, I won’t.

Some vegans believe that the way to convert people over to their compassionate lifestyle is to get them to eat delicious vegan food. Have you found yourself more open to becoming vegan since you’ve been eating food marketed to vegans?

If I hadn’t eaten any vegan food except the processed foods especially marketed to vegans, there’s no way I’d ever consider becoming vegan. That said, I think getting people to convert to veganism by feeding them tasty vegan food would be a good strategy, and I wish more vegan food was tasty. At this point, I really don’t think I’ll ever convert to veganism or even vegetarianism. I just enjoy meat and dairy way too much to give them up.