Isobel Lewis’s article on vegan restaurants suggests two reasons that they may be closing: general problems in the hospitality industry and a shift in cultural values (The plant-based problem: why vegan restaurants are closing – or adding meat to the menu, 2 September). Surely, it’s missing the real reason? I am vegetarian, but I rarely eat in vegetarian or vegan restaurants because I rarely dine out alone.
People usually want to dine with their partner, or their friends. Quite a few people are vegan, but far fewer couples are likely to both be vegan. Even fewer friend groups are all vegan. To me, requesting that my non-vegetarian friends dine out at a vegan restaurant would be as selfish as it would be for them to request I eat at a steak house. We might occasionally agree on one or the other just to see how it goes, but most of the time we’ll go to a restaurant that caters to all our diets. This is why vegan-only restaurants find the going tough.
Adam Williamson
Vancouver, Canada
• I have not eaten meat for over 40 years and have gradually moved towards a more plant-based diet. I prefer my vegetables to look and taste like vegetables, not 3D-printed “vegan steak” (made of plant protein, with the fibrous feel of the real thing) and disarmingly realistic “tofish” (tofu fish). Maybe the demise of many vegan restaurants means that I am not alone.
Fr Colin Patey
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire
• Rendel Harris says that “if you really want to be kind to other species, go vegan” (Letters, 31 August). This is unfair. I really want to be kind to other species and as a result I have not knowingly eaten the flesh of mammals, birds or fish for the last 40 years. Yes, I could do more, but that is a reasonable start.
I also use plant-based “milk”, margarine etc, and thus limit my use of dairy products. It does not have to be all or nothing.
Joe Cocker
Leominster, Herefordshire
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