People have been left horrified after finding out exactly how vegan meat is made after a documentary aired showing the production process.
Veganism has increased in recent decades with many people opting to forgo meat, fish, and animal products in favor of eating only plant-based meals.
While there can be many health benefits to opting for a vegan diet - from weight loss and lowering the risk of diabetes and levels of blood sugar according to Healthline - transitioning from eating meat can be difficult for some.
Thankfully, there are now many meat alternatives on the market that can help fulfill the craving without actually eating any meat - but a look into how they're produced has had some people questioning whether they'd be able to stomach eating them again.
See the process below:
In a recent documentary shared by Channel 4 in the UK, viewers were shown how vegan meat alternatives were made, and it definitely turned some stomachs.
In the clip, the presenter can be heard asking: "Calcium chloride? I thought that's what they used to de-ice the roads."
However, the chemical is also used to change the consistency of seaweed gel to give it a texture similar to the skin of sausages despite containing no animal derivatives.
The gooey mush was seen being piped into sausage shapes before being coated with calcium chloride to form a 'skin' on the outside.
Yum...?
Another vegan product that has grown in popularity since first being introduced in the 1990s is 'Tofurky' - a plant-based turkey alternative.
Over 7.5 million Tofurky roasts have been sold over the years in the US, containing a "savory blend of wheat and tofu" filled with a "flavorful wild rice and bread crumb stuffing".
Around 6,000 of these roasts are made in every 10-hour shift at their factory in Oregon, but people have been left equally as horrified by how these are made on an industrial scale.
Firstly, four employees make a masa dough of tofu, which is mixed with water, canola oil, and savory seasonings while the wild rice stuffing which goes inside the Tofurky is made.
The two mixes are then funneled into basically a tube within a tube, which pushes the gloopy paste into the stuffed Tofurky shape.
The product is then cooked, refrigerated, and then X-rayed to make sure nothing untoward has ended up in the mix before they are boxed up to be sold in stores.
After seeing exactly how vegan alternatives are made, many people took to social media to share their thoughts, writing: "Ultra processed 'healthy' food. Hard pass."
Others added: "This is exactly why your should avoid ultra processed foods like the plague," and: "Most of this vegan 'food' is heavily processed c**p. They are MANUFACTURED. They don't hire chefs, they hire factory workers and engineers. Disgusting. If you want to be vegan grow a garden."
Some pointed out that meat alternatives are not much better, writing: "That is gross. What’s crazy it’s is not even close to as disgusting as how they make the ones made of real meat," and: "Wait till you hear about how meat is processed."
One added: "Looks like normal food processing. Did they think vegan foods are handcrafted by small farmers and shipped direct to store? Don't want processing, grow it yourself. It's the only way."
