By Willow (willowashmaple.sbs)
January 19, 2026
Several years ago, it felt like veganism had gone mainstream at last. Companies such as Impossible and Beyond Meat became household names, and their market capitalization rapidly increased. Even global fast-food chains were offering "plant-based" options. Many vegan restaurants opened, receiving a lot of press coverage and acclaim.
Then the fad ended, just as suddenly as it started. The vegan restaurants quietly began introducing omnivore menus. Fast-food joints began dropping their “plant-based” selections. It did not mean it was an end to vegan options, as plant-based items became mainstream. Major grocery chains still carry a wider variety of those than they did ten years ago. But culturally, it seemed like the wave of “plant-based” everything ended, only to be replaced with the keto diet and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s MAHA food pyramid.
I have been vegan for almost 31 years. I remember the days when small food co-op stores were the best (and often only) places I could find vegan options, although some Fred Meyer stores began opening a small and dedicated natural food section inside by the mid-1990s (the prices were not much better, however). Those were the times when organizations such as EarthSave regularly published a brochure with a list of vegan and vegetarian restaurants. Fortunately, Seattle was one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the world at the time. My high school cafeteria even had at least one vegan item every day, and I knew at least a few of my classmates who were vegan. That later became an influence, for sure.
For someone who has been a vegan for this long, most of these “plant-based” offerings do not appeal to me at all. At best, they function like a nicotine patch that might help meat eaters quit without feeling like they’re sacrificing too much; at worst, these heavily processed and expensive foods promote a false perception that it is expensive to be vegan and vegan food is just about factory-manufactured fake proteins.
I once had a Beyond Burger, about eight years ago. I got sick from indigestion and bloating, as I was not used to eating such a dense piece of protein since I was 19 years old.
Furthermore, I always felt that fake meat that looks, smells, and tastes like the “real one,” served at restaurants that are not explicitly 100 percent vegan, would be a terrible idea. What would stop lazy, inattentive, or overworked line cooks or waiters from mixing up orders, or worse, maliciously serving a piece of beef or chicken, thinking that customers wouldn’t be able to tell? Not to mention that there is always a possibility of contamination due to shared equipment.
One thing that becoming a vegan changed for me was that it really expanded my culinary horizon. Before that, I was not a very adventurous eater. I pretty much lived on McDonald’s and Chinese takeout (which led to the health problem that later turned me into a vegan). But becoming a vegan in Seattle in the 1990s meant I tried a lot of different cuisines, from Thai to Middle Eastern to the newly emerging fusion food. A kosher deli at the Pike Place Market had the best falafels, interestingly, served with hummus and salsa (!). I don’t think the shop is still there, and the owner, Michel Chriqui, seemed already of a certain age back then. And there were quite a few vegan options in the fusion food category, and there was even a dedicated vegan fusion food QSR at the waterfront called SunSpot Quick Green Cuisine. I also joined the Central Co-op and learned how to procure all sorts of unfamiliar ingredients and cook for myself in a tiny kitchen I had in a historic First Hill apartment. At the time, food co-ops had a sort of informal reciprocity agreement with other co-ops, so I could even go to other cities, such as Bellingham and Portland, and shop at their co-ops at the member prices, so it was a good deal, although the membership cost some money upfront.
Three decades later, a lot has changed, and vegans have become more mainstream. Food co-ops no longer have a lot of competitive advantages over major grocers, as what was once a niche market became absorbed into big corporations. But at the end of the day, it is a lot simpler — and there is more to being a vegan — than industrially mass-produced pieces of protein.
[Postscript: Something I did not understand back then as a facet of autistic life, but I recall how, as a small child, I detested eating meat, eggs, fish, and dairy. I could not tolerate their tastes and textures. Often, my mother had to lie to me, telling me that there wouldn’t be “real meat” in such a cheap packaged food, just to get me to eat. I remember when I went on a school field trip to an animal farm one day, only to feel even more disgusted and seriously wondered how and why anyone could eat anything that came from such a smelly and gross place. But as I turned, maybe 8 or 9 years old, I began mentally associating “being able to eat anything” with “being a grown-up,” due to social conditioning and through observing adults around me (who, often equated “picky eaters” with “immature and childish” people). Had I been left to my own devices, I would very likely have been a vegan from very early years of my life. Alas, by the time I was a teenager, I became a Big Mac-eating mall rat.]
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