Here's PG on vegetarianism in America and non-meat in meat's likeness. I understand where she's coming from - I too am a purist at heart, and if I were vegetarian, I wouldn't be one of those who replaces everything with faux-meat products.
At the same time, is it really fair to expect Americans to eat like Jains? I don't want to sound like a hopeless post-colonialist, but doesn't the food we eat have a lot to say about our cultural identity? Maybe meat isn't central to American identity, but there's no question that not eating meat or meat substitutes really limits a vegetarian's ability to participate in culinary culture. Add to this the fact that New American cuisine is all about mixing - finding ways to incorporate dsparate elements in a coherent way - and the idea of tofu in egg salad makes a little more sense. Eating vegetable protein that only vaguely approximates meat because you miss the taste of bratwurst might be questionable. But finding an elegant way to use tofu or a vegetable where one expects meat might even be a culinary coup.
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