I think that westerners are just so prion-poisoned that a majority believe that meat is an absolute must in every meal, and that this gave rise to the idea of tofu being a "meat replacement" because the idea of a meal not having anything taking the role of "meat" was completely unthinkable.
It's because westerners came from a culture where if you were a vegetarian you were a low-status peasant who ate porridge for every meal. As soon as they could afford it they started eating meat. Pretty soon if you didn't have meat with every meal, that meant you were a low-status peasant who ate porridge for every meal.
I think that westerners are just so prion-poisoned that a majority believe that meat is an absolute must in every meal, and that this gave rise to the idea of tofu being a "meat replacement" because the idea of a meal not having anything taking the role of "meat" was completely unthinkable.
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It's because westerners came from a culture where if you were a vegetarian you were a low-status peasant who ate porridge for every meal. As soon as they could afford it they started eating meat. Pretty soon if you didn't have meat with every meal, that meant you were a low-status peasant who ate porridge for every meal.