This article makes a fair point that meat substitutes are not automatically healthier than actual meat, but it also seems to presuppose a fairly unimaginative version of vegetarian eating.

Personally I eat very little in the way of meat substitutes. Sure I enjoy the occasional veggie burger or Quorn pattie, but I would say that 90% of my meals don’t involve any “fake meat” products, including tofu.

I think vegetarian eating will get boring (and therefore harder to sustain) if you think of it as essentially the same as the “classic” American meal (slab o’ meat, potatoes, anemic overcooked vegetable of some sort) with the meat simply swapped out for some kind of substitute. I think you’re much better off, in terms of variety and tastiness of food, if you try to get away from that model, or at least don’t make it the staple of your diet.

For instance, one of our favorite cookbooks is both completely vegan and none of the recipes make us of meat-substitues. They’re all based on traditional Mediterranean recipes. Indian and Thai food are also very veggie-friendly cuisines that don’t involve making a lot of substitutions. Relying too much on meat substitutes ironically reinforces the idea that meat is central to good eating.

I’m not saying that vegetarians should avoid meat substitues, as I’ve heard some suggest. The point is to reduce cruelty to animals, not cleanse oneself of the “taint” of liking the taste of meat. Often in a pinch a veggie burger is the best alternative for me (the ones sold by Burger King are actually pretty good). But I think that giving up meat can actually open new horizons of good food that one might not have considered otherwise, since it can require you to be a little more creative about what you eat.