Why is there still no vegan fish in the supermarket?
Chicken-style pieces, fake mince and realistic vegan burgers: when it comes to meat substitutes, the choice is truly endless. But why is there still hardly any vegetarian fish? ‘People don’t feel sorry when a fish is killed,’ says Maiko van der Meer, a producer of vegetarian fish substitutes.
Poor animals, meat is unhealthy and bad for the environment: plenty of reasons to become a vegetarian . But most vegetarians are actually pescatarians, because they still eat fish. Why is that? ‘There are also issues in the fishing industry that aren’t going well. Think overfishing, bycatch and the use of antibiotics,’ says Maiko van der Meer. Through his company Novish, he makes vegetarian fish substitutes.
Fish fingers
According to Maiko, the fish finger can easily be replaced by an animal-free version. Sushi is more difficult to imitate, he says. ‘Although, as far as we’re concerned, they don’t have to be a 100 percent copy in terms of taste, as long as they’re delicious. We hope to bring products like these to market next year.’
Whole fish
In any case, very little whole fish is eaten in the Netherlands. We don’t like little bones, a whole fish in your pan is confronting and people have the idea that frying fish is difficult. A shame, because fish is incredibly healthy thanks to its omega-3. Novish also adds this to its fish substitutes, with the healthy compounds extracted from algae.
Not cute
According to Maiko, the fact that there are still hardly any fish substitutes on supermarket shelves is mainly because fish are less cuddly than cows and pigs. ‘More and more people feel sorry that pigs and cows are slaughtered. (…) Those are reasons to choose a plant-based meat substitute. People don’t feel sorry when a fish is killed.’
Read also:
- Good news for vegans: first vegan supermarket opens in Amsterdam
- Why you’ll never want to eat squid again after watching the fantastic film My Octopus Teacher
- Real men sometimes don’t eat meat, fish or dairy either – and I have something to say about that
Source: Nu.nl, image: Vegan Junk Food Bar
