Pasta con pesto/pomodoro/grilled veges/spinach/cheeses..
Aubergine Parmigiana
Pizza/Calzone..
Minestrone/Zuppa de../Ciammotta
I mean, that's without even looking at a cookbook.
I find Italy itself (particularly more southern) far more accommodating to my diet than Italian restaurants outside of Italy.
Pasta I agree but that’s primo
Aubergine Parmigiana is not very common, but indeed would fit
Pizza in a pizzeria yes, but not a restaurant
Soups indeed, but they would also be primo. And many will have chicken stock
I agree that southern Italy will be easier, more Mediterranean
The Amazon burns every year.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/24/world/america...
Also, a lot of farmland is used to grow feed for cattle and other livestock, and it's much less efficient than using the land to grow crops for people instead.
A non meat dish is still going to taste like a non-meat dish. Perhaps your colleagues were just being polite and avoiding treading into politically charged territory after you brought up the Amazon.
Personally I'm a picky eater and vegan/vegetarian dishes simply do not compare to meat. I'm sure others feel similarly. Though for one meal I suppose it isn't a huge deal - but acting like it's just as good simply isn't true for the majority of people - that's your personal taste.
Society wide change is always hard, and meat is way too cheap (considering its environmental impact) to provide the economic stimulus for reducing the amount of meat in ones diet. Learning to cook vegetarian dishes is also non-trivial (although not too hard of course, but a barrier nonetheless).
For people over fifty meat is also an indicator of welfare. Especially for people whose parents didn't have the luxury of eating meat on a daily basis.
Fortunately, the shift to less meat is unmistakably happening, and has been gaining speed in the last few years.
> vegans and vegetarians are substantially more likely to be thin and, well, less traditionally manly, both in appearance and in values
I can point you to many fat vegans, and I've heard this 'need meat' BS from guys who were literally 135 lbs, soaking wet, so.... exactly this kind of attitude that 'meat makes you manly'.
Who said that I disagreed with those values, that is a poor assumption on your part.
They ain't cheap (and if you buy one, they are daunting to cook - because you know if you screw it up, you've just wasted $100-200.00).
Ground beef, or chicken, or pork - those are all still very inexpensive; though pork can get pricier for certain cuts - mostly it's still very inexpensive.
But damn - if you've ever smoked a pork shoulder and made homemade pulled-pork sandwiches - you know there's no substitute for that.
None of it is as good as great vegetarian food. Sure the top top top shelf stuff is probably as good. But the average meat at a restaurant or someone’s home is no better than great veggie food.
That said average veggie food sucks. If you are eating in the average-or-below segment then yes meat is probably better. In the good-to-great segment it’s not.
Veg food does require more work, which is a big part of why a lot of people/chefs don’t bother. Meat is basically perfect as-is. You just have to not fuck it up. Veggies require you do some chef work.
What are you eating, and how are you comparing it? If you're trying to treat a salad as a meat replacement, well, it's not going to do all that well. But there's a lot of meals designed to be complete without meat that might work for you, as long as you're not expecting them to taste like beef.
Which is it? Vegetarian would hardly be worth complaining about, but I'm really struggling to come up with a vegan Italian menu that sounds appetizing.
-A mixed antipasto (olives, sun dried tomatoes, bruschetta, breaded garlic mushrooms, griller artichokes, dolmades etc.) to graze on before the meal.
-Panelle Palermitane to start, which are these crescent shaped fitters made with chickpea flour, parsley and pepper. They're a popular street food in northern Sicily. Highly recommend with a little drizzle of lemon juice.
-I can think of 10 odd pasta dishes that could be had for main but a favourite of mine would probably be a puttanesca; a pasta dish with olives, capers, eggplant and red pepper flakes. Proper rustic food and very filling.
-For desert you could have a Castagnaccio which is a chestnut cake with fruits. No milk or egg involved. Great with a shot of espresso!
-Sorbets throughout to cleanse the palate.
That's just 1 option for each part, but you could probably build a dish for each course for each day of the week if needed - all varied in ingredients and flavours.
Honestly, I'd say close to 30% of my diet is Italian - all of it vegan. There are plenty of options. Unfortunately most of the food people think of when they think Italy is something lathered with cheese and cured meats, but when I travelled through there most of the diet consisted of legume based stews, casseroles and soups, and plenty of bread and salads.