The unbelievable diversity of vegan foods in China is difficult to capture in words. A visit to Chinatown won’t cut it. These are the foods of the Chinese poor, those who aren’t able to leave.Yet these origins have led to a paradox: Even though there are oceans of common vegetarian foods in China, Chinese people find them less desirable. They taste like poverty.This is especially true for the king of it all — tofu.
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The ability of Chinese craftspeople and chefs to turn humble plant-based ingredients into dazzling culinary experiences is on par with the highest gastronomy in the West. But to the creators, these foods are rarely seen as “art.” They are subsistence. To consumers, these foods are not pride and treasure. They are relics of poverty, discardable afterthoughts en route to modernization.This trend might appear to affirm a doctrine of economic development: that rising income increases demand for meat. But I wonder if this is the wrong lesson to draw. Chinese people don’t reject common vegetarian foods because there is something fundamentally more valuable about meat. They do so because of perceived value — associations of plants with poverty and meat with prosperity.I think this fact is lost on many animal advocates in the West. Over the last few decades, investors have poured billions of dollars into companies attempting to replicate the experience of eating meat, dairy, and eggs. These products won’t succeed, however, on cost, taste, and convenience; they need to win on perceived value.
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- [note::Cost, taste, and convenience doesn't matter if the perceived value of a food is low in comparison to animal-based alternatives. What can be done to make plant-based cuisine more prestigious and alluring?]

The unbelievable diversity of vegan foods in China is difficult to capture in words. A visit to Chinatown won’t cut it. These are the foods of the Chinese poor, those who aren’t able to leave.Yet these origins have led to a paradox: Even though there are oceans of common vegetarian foods in China, Chinese people find them less desirable. They taste like poverty.This is especially true for the king of it all — tofu.
- No location available
-

The ability of Chinese craftspeople and chefs to turn humble plant-based ingredients into dazzling culinary experiences is on par with the highest gastronomy in the West. But to the creators, these foods are rarely seen as “art.” They are subsistence. To consumers, these foods are not pride and treasure. They are relics of poverty, discardable afterthoughts en route to modernization.This trend might appear to affirm a doctrine of economic development: that rising income increases demand for meat. But I wonder if this is the wrong lesson to draw. Chinese people don’t reject common vegetarian foods because there is something fundamentally more valuable about meat. They do so because of perceived value — associations of plants with poverty and meat with prosperity.I think this fact is lost on many animal advocates in the West. Over the last few decades, investors have poured billions of dollars into companies attempting to replicate the experience of eating meat, dairy, and eggs. These products won’t succeed, however, on cost, taste, and convenience; they need to win on perceived value.
- No location available
-
- [note::Cost, taste, and convenience doesn't matter if the perceived value of a food is low in comparison to animal-based alternatives. What can be done to make plant-based cuisine more prestigious and alluring?]