Vegans and the Replicator

[Vanyel]

I'm sure this has been asked before since Vulcans are Vegetarians, but could Vegetarians or Vegans eat replicated meat and not betray their beliefs.

I say they can't. Why? At some point a, say a 20 oz T-Bone steak, a real one butchered from a cow had to have been scanned and its file stored. So the replicated meat may not be coming from a freshly killed cow, but the pattern used did.

I can see that they could use a pattern that only looks like meat but is made of vegetables or some other type of food or organic matter and given the taste, texture and smell of actual meat.

I know Deanna did once complain that the replicator did not make a "real" Chocolate Ice Cream Sundae, but a replicate that had the taste and everything else, but was nutritious and good for her.

So can Vegans eat the meat of a Replicator?

 

[Admiral Shran]

I'm sure vegans would find some reason not to eat it. Probably for the exact reason you gave - it originally came from a real animal.

Me personally, I wouldn't care if it was replicated or not. I eat the real thing after all. It tastes good.

As for the replicator not making "real" food - I just don't get that at all. How is not a "real" chocolate sundae? DS9 did that a lot, with people always saying that manually prepared food tasted better. Why? What's so different? It's the exact same ingredients as the replicator uses - right down to the sub-atomic level. Is it because people have a more emotional connection to the food if they prepared it or someone else prepared it for them? If so, that means it's just all in their heads, i.e. they're crazy. It just bugs me.

 

[captcalhoun]

i actually wrote that into a fan-fic of mine. the male lead is eating a burger and his Vulcan girlfriend is disgusted by it, but he points out it's replicated and therefore not real meat because it's recycled pee, poop and dirty underwear. and carries on eating it.

 

[sojourner]

It really depends on why said person is a vegan.

 

[T'Girl]

manually prepared food tasted better. Why? What's so different? It's the exact same ingredients as the replicator uses

Maybe it just that simply, it is different, it does taste different. No matter how hard the replicator trys, it simply can not get the favor right.

Replicator food is intrinsically "off."

 

[Timo]

Well, all food is. Even your mother couldn't consistently make food "the way your mother made it", so it's a bit odd to complain about variations unless they are really severe - say, salt instead of sugar...

Many have argued that the damning fault of replicator food is that it isn't "off" - that it is absolutely perfect every time, which makes the eating experience repetitive and off-putting.

I guess the true fault is simply that it's replicator food. Some people will always pretend or believe they can taste a difference where none exists, simply because they dislike replicated food as a thing.

Also, this is Star Trek. Vegans there eat little children.

http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Vegan_Tyranny

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Cyke101]

manually prepared food tasted better. Why? What's so different? It's the exact same ingredients as the replicator uses

Maybe it just that simply, it is different, it does taste different. No matter how hard the replicator trys, it simply can not get the favor right.

Replicator food is intrinsically "off."

Well, all food is. Even your mother couldn't consistently make food "the way your mother made it", so it's a bit odd to complain about variations unless they are really severe - say, salt instead of sugar...

In my mind, a close analogy would be even modern-day meat substitutes, like seitan and veggie patties. I like "meat" and I like actual meat, though as an omnivore I can tell the difference between the two. For me that's not a problem, but for others that definitely is, since meat substitutes can vary in taste and texture amongst themselves, even if they're trying to mimic the same kind of meat.

 

[Takeru]

As for the replicator not making "real" food - I just don't get that at all. How is not a "real" chocolate sundae? DS9 did that a lot, with people always saying that manually prepared food tasted better. Why? What's so different? It's the exact same ingredients as the replicator uses - right down to the sub-atomic level. Is it because people have a more emotional connection to the food if they prepared it or someone else prepared it for them? If so, that means it's just all in their heads, i.e. they're crazy. It just bugs me.

I think the reason is that replicated food tastes exactly the same every single time. If you prepare food yourself or buy it at an restaurant, there will always be variations, the ingredients are of varying quality, the amount of certain spices used changes slightly, you cook it a few minutes longer which changes the texture of the food etc., nothing like that happens with replicated food and that's what makes it feel less real.

 

[Gul Re'jal]

It really depends on why said person is a vegan.

Exactly. I'm not a vegan, but a vegetarian, but I wouldn't eat replicated meat. One of reasons why I don't eat it is that I dislike the taste. Would I like the taste of replicated meat more? No. So why would I want to eat it?

 

[Count Zero]

It really depends on the reasons for the person's vegetarianism/veganism and also on how the replicator really works. If you're a vegetarian/vegan because of health concerns and replicator meat is just as unhealthy as say real red meat, then you'll probably avoid it.
I assume the OP was thinking more along the lines of people who become vegetarian or vegan due to ethical concerns. I'm a vegan for exactly those reasons, though not a very strict one. I wouldn't have an ethical problem with eating meat from the replicator because no animal got killed for it.
But, honestly, even though I really loved meat before I became a vegetarian, if replicator technology became available tomorrow I doubt I'd go back to eating meat because I now think of it differently.
Vegetarians and vegans are an individualistic bunch so I believe there are many different answers to that question.

 

[EmperorTiberius]

I'm sure vegans would find some reason not to eat it. Probably for the exact reason you gave - it originally came from a real animal.

Me personally, I wouldn't care if it was replicated or not. I eat the real thing after all. It tastes good.

As for the replicator not making "real" food - I just don't get that at all. How is not a "real" chocolate sundae? DS9 did that a lot, with people always saying that manually prepared food tasted better. Why? What's so different? It's the exact same ingredients as the replicator uses - right down to the sub-atomic level. Is it because people have a more emotional connection to the food if they prepared it or someone else prepared it for them? If so, that means it's just all in their heads, i.e. they're crazy. It just bugs me.

Well, my recepie might be different than the one used by the replicator, or some third person. Hence, replicated food tasted different, or it gets old and bland after a while

 

[Vanyel]

As for the replicator not making "real" food - I just don't get that at all. How is not a "real" chocolate sundae? DS9 did that a lot, with people always saying that manually prepared food tasted better. Why? What's so different? It's the exact same ingredients as the replicator uses - right down to the sub-atomic level. Is it because people have a more emotional connection to the food if they prepared it or someone else prepared it for them? If so, that means it's just all in their heads, i.e. they're crazy. It just bugs me.

From what I remember it was Deanna complaining that the Chocolate Sundae the replicator made her, while it tasted and smelled, and had the texture of a Chocolate Sundae we know today, it wouldn't have all the bad things in it; it always had the right amount of nutrients needed to keep her health. If she wanted to, she could eat replicated Chocolate Sundaes everyday for every meal, and get all the nutrients she needed to stay healthy.

I would imagine the only place she could get a real Chocolate Sundae is Ten Forward. Guinan seems to have a stash of real liquor, so why not ice cream and chocolate?

And I can see the reasoning behind replicated food being too perfect, however I think that's just a problem the lazy or overworked officer has. The replicator has asked for temperatures (water in The Defector) so I can guess a person can fiddle with the ingredients and change the food more to his liking.

As for ethical concerns go, the pattern for a T-Bone steak had to come from somewhere. When replicators first came into wide use, the pattern of a T-bone had to be created. The easiest way would be be to do a scan of a T-bone steak, from a butchered cow. So while 100 or so years later, the T-bone may not have come from a butchered cow, but the pattern used to create it did.

 

[Saspearia]

Hmm what a fascinating subject. I've always thought there was an element of snobbery behind people who say replicated food isn't like the real thing. But it could be as if you compare a frozen ready meal to a freshly made meal. I wish we could try replicated food and try for ourselves.

 

[Paradon]

You see this is why Buddhism broke away from HInduism (which force people to be vegetarians). Buddhism is based more on practicality than what the priests or monks think. If you like the taste of meat and it makes you feel good and be a better person, or you're starving, then go right ahead and eat it, but if you don't feel like eating it for some reason, because it was tramatic for you or you feel bad, then don't eat it. People should be allow to make their own choices and do whatever they want. Forcing your believes on others is bad. Sometimes people do things for a reason. Not everyone is the same.... You got to do what makes you happy.

Even the monks in Thailand eat meat!

 

[Navigator_NCC2120]

As for the replicator not making "real" food - I just don't get that at all. How is not a "real" chocolate sundae? DS9 did that a lot, with people always saying that manually prepared food tasted better. Why? What's so different? It's the exact same ingredients as the replicator uses - right down to the sub-atomic level. Is it because people have a more emotional connection to the food if they prepared it or someone else prepared it for them? If so, that means it's just all in their heads, i.e. they're crazy. It just bugs me.

From the website http://www.st-minutiae.com/academy/literature329/139.txt
An excerpt of TNG Season 2 episode "Time Squared" script

3    THE TABLE
 
 Riker sets up the "Bunsen-type burner," ignites it,
 heats the pan and pours in the beaten eggs, while Data
 watches.
 
  STAR TREK: "Time Squared" - REV. 2/7/89 - TEASER      2.
 
3    CONTINUED:
 
                     DATA
   This is not an efficient method
   for the preparation of sustenance.
 
                   RIKER
   You're right, Data. [B]The ship's[/B]
[B]  computer is much more efficient,[/B]
[B]  but it lacks the subtlety needed[/B]
[B]  for great cooking. It mixes the[/B]
[B]  ingredients to precise[/B]
[B]  measurements. There's no flair,[/B]
[B]  no individuality, and Data, as[/B]
[B]  we both know... inspiration and[/B]
[B]  flair are the difference between[/B]
[B]  artistry and mere competence[/B].

Navigator NCC-2120 USS Entente
/\

 

[T'Girl]

an element of snobbery behind people who say replicated food isn't like the real thing

So ... replicator food is like Spam? There not really anything wrong with it, and it taste okay, but there a sizeable group of people who say ...

"Wait, I'd never eat "SPAM."


(it's actual quite good with scrambled eggs)

 

[Cyke101]

Man, that's two posts in a row with eggs. Now I want eggs. Scrambled, but not Owon.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Paradon, I'm pretty sure that Hinduism only requires that one not eat beef, not that one be a vegetarian/vegan.

 

[Mage]

manually prepared food tasted better. Why? What's so different? It's the exact same ingredients as the replicator uses

Maybe it just that simply, it is different, it does taste different. No matter how hard the replicator trys, it simply can not get the favor right.

Replicator food is intrinsically "off."

I'm a foodie, and love to cook. Now, think about pre-cooked food we hav these days, that only has to be heated in the microwave. Some people will say it will taste exactly the same as real cooked food, since it has the same ingredients. But it'll taste different, it always will. Take for example a good curry. You can use ready-made currypaste and it'll taste fine. But take a little effort and make your own from fresh ingredients, and you'll taste things you've never tasted before. Because fresh ingredients will ALWAYS taste different from pre-packaged foodstuffs.

IMO, same thing can probably be said for a replicator. Even though it might be the same on a moleculair level, something will be missing, since the ingredients aren't fresh.

 

[Admiral Shran]

^ If that's the case, the only thing missing is your emotional connection with the food. You prepared it, so you think it tastes different. In order words, it actually doesn't taste any different; you just think it does. It's all in the mind.

Now, I have no problem with that. If that's what they said on the show, I would accept it. But it's not. They make it very clear that there is a very real difference in the food, not just a psychological one.

I also have no problem with Trek showing that people like Sisko and his father enjoy cooking. If that's how they want to spend their free time, that's their right. But the fact that the food is prepared by hand doesn't change the taste. If I were a gambling man, I'd bet hard money on someone in Trek not knowing the difference between "real" food and replicated food if they didn't already know which was which.