The term “vegetarian butcher” mightn’t seem to make a lot of sense; but I think it’s a really clever approach.
Spoon’s Vegetarian Butcher seems to look like any other small butchery and it’s complete with a fake cow head hanging on the wall.
There are items with very meaty names such as Sunday Sausage, Seitan, Vienna Style Schnitzel, BBQ Burger Patties, Polenta, Sundried Tomato & Basil Sausage and Tasty Traditional Sausage – but there’s no actual meat to be seen.
Here’s what some of the fare looks like:
I can’t believe it’s not chicken!
and this:
Looks like a fair dinkum Aussie snag (sausage)
I’ll leave it at that as the pics are making me really hungry. That’s a very positive sign given I’m not a vegetarian; although I do dabble with mock meat. If these products taste as good as they look (and were a little easier to access), I’d be a convert; permanently.
While any association with the concept of meat may upset some; I think the key to changing an ” undesirable” behaviour is making a desirable behavior somewhat similar. Similar rituals and visual cues are really important – I certainly found that to be the case when giving up smoking last year.
Yes, it’s probably not as good as eating fresh bean sprouts or whatever and yes; perhaps some mock meat products are heavily processed and have some undesirable ingredients and yes, soy isn’t without its issues; but mock meat is an incredibly important stepping stone for many; including me.
Mock meat has come a long way in recent years and with the help of people such as vegetarian chef Suzy Spoon; it will continue to evolve and become more widely accepted.
While Suzy’s site is somewhat bare bones, you can learn more about Spoon’s Vegetarian Butcher in this article.
By the way and on a related note, while switching to a vegetarian diet certainly has some bonuses for the environment, it can be a healthier lifestyle too *assuming* a proper diet. For example, recent research has found the risk of heart disease is 32% less for vegetarians.
Related:
Mock Meat Recommendations
Tips For Reducing Meat Consumption
Different Types of Vegetarians
The Vegetarian Myth