Counterfeit Carnivores

From the hipster heartland of Hackney to the post-industrial north, health-minded foodies across the UK are ditching meat for synthetic vegan alternatives. But, ethics aside, are fake meats any better for you?

- Tom Ward

Veganism, you may have noticed, is having something of a moment. The meat-free market, now valued at £572m, is expected to be worth £658m by 2021 – that’s a lot of soya burgers. And it’s not just vegans buying them. According to a recent poll, half of UK adults have attempted to curb their meat intake in the past six months.

The likes of Linda McCartney aren’t the only ones leading the charge. Tesco and Asda have launched popular vegan ranges. Whole Foods is shifting bucket loads of vegan ice cream. Vegan wines are now a thing (fish bladders are routinely used as fining agents, since you ask). Even that bastion of cheat-day indulgence, the pizza parlour, has caved: Pizza Express now offers vegan cheese.

Despite the growing legions of green eaters, however, it doesn’t look like we’re ready to give meat the chop just yet – at least, not in all forms. As the movement grows, it’s also evolving. Where once vegans may have been content with a lunch of lentils, the new wave of converts are creating their own kind of “meat culture”. In Sheffield, Make No Bones café boasts of vegan kebabs. Sgaia in Glasgow sells vegan pastrami. In east London, too-cool-for-school hangouts such as CookDaily and Temple of Seitan are gaining hipster credentials by serving up everything from meat-free pad thai to spicy “chickn” patties with burger sauce.