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I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you probably haven't even looked for any viable alternatives, because if you had, you would have found they are plentiful already. They're just expensive because of the government subsidizing animal farming, not because they're expensive to produce.
They're not even expensive. If you cook at home, a vegetable-based diet is a fraction of the cost of a meat-based one.
I was vegan by choice for over a year, then went back to vegetarianism; and then nearly vegan for many more years because I was too broke to afford animal products (though also too broke to refuse them if they were free).
Now I'm well-off, and I still keep my grocery budget low by avoiding animal products, especially meat.
Highly dependent on where you live. In some places, vegetables are more expensive than meat.
Where? Alaska? I grew up in South Dakota –dairy and ranching country– and veggie, legumes, grains were way less expensive than meat, even in winter.
Food deserts. Some places I grew up in, it was difficult to find fresh veggies at all, much less affordable ones. Even canned and frozen was about the same as meat.
if it was viable it's all you would hear about from militant internet vegans ... and I wouldn't even be mad.
First of all, it's perfectly viable to just not eat meat. Tons of people don't eat meat and are perfectly healthy.
If you need meat replacements, (which is for taste, let's be clear) there are a TON of good substitutes, for example Beyond.
Also to your previous point, food waste is a big problem, but thermodynamically, meat IS food waste. Only a fraction of the energy of animal feed is present in the meat, which is super resource intensive and environmentally terrible (not to mention all the methane produced)
Meat substitutes are horrible replacements in terms of taste. Let's just clarify that. Question anyone who likes them enough and you'll eventually find out that they always disliked real meat, or they haven't eaten real meat in decades.
But correct. Meat is not needed at all.
I'm afraid I'm gonna be the counterexample to your theory. I liked most forms of meat; my favorites were chicken, ground beef, and fish fingers. However, once I discovered plant-based (mostly soy-based) substitutes, I genuinely prefer them. I'm still not fully vegan but I'm no longer buying meat because this stuff is so much better. I also prefer oat milk over cow milk and am kind of annoyed I didn't try it sooner because it's so much better (esp. in hot chocolate).
I would've been a vegan 100% if I could at all eat soy and legumes. I've had a godly meal once at a vegan friend's house, it was so delicious, but I can't eat that regularly sadly. I stick to chicken and fish though, no other animal proteins in my diet. Can't wait for lab-grown meat to push out all the rest honestly.
In a large enough population base, there will be individuals who deviate significantly from the norm, and they are statistically not relevant.