Vegan Field Roast Grain Meats

Maybe this has happened to you. You’re in one of your favorite stores, and you see a product completely new to you. It’s not like anything you know and looks intriguing. You stop to take a closer look, but decide, for whatever reason, that you’ll try it some other time. A few weeks later, you’re back in the same store, and that product catches your eye a second time. But once again, you decide that today is not the day to buy it. This goes on for months. Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, you’re presented with the opportunity to try the product, and it’s wonderful — far better than you had hoped. This is quite literally how I ended up trying products from the Field Roast Grain Meat Company, and I have to tell you how silly I feel for not trying their offerings earlier.

Field Roast Grain’s Classic Meat(less)loaf.

These are, simply put, vegan “meats”. You’ll notice that the labels of some of the products sport the term “vegetarian” as well as “vegan”; this is due to the fact that not everyone is aware of what veganism is, even now. But these products contain no animal ingredients, something you might not be able to guess if you were unaware of it. These products look like meat, and they have meat-like textures and flavors. Best of all, they’re truly satisfying. I confess that a lot of vegan food leaves me cold; much of it isn’t especially appetizing. But have a sausage or a serving of the Celebration Roast (love that Celebration Roast!), and you’ll know you’ve eaten, and eaten well.

The Celebration Roast, also known as “the Field Roast” and The “Celebrity Roast.”

The Vegetarian Sausage line: Italian, Mexican Chipotle & Smoked Apple Sage.

If you’re watching your cholesterol level, you’ll be pleased to know the products from Field Roast Grain Meat Company contain no cholesterol. In addition, all of the products contain some fiber and vegetables/legumes, and there’s no question that most Americans eat too much meat and not enough fiber, veggies, and legumes.

Vegetarian sausage shish kabobs, mmm.

Finally, there’s the global warning angle. In brief, according to the How Stuff Works website, agriculture is responsible for about 14% of the world’s greenhouses gases. A significant portion of these gases come from methane. While there’s disagreement about exactly how much methane a cow produces in just one day, the amount is at least comparable to that produced by an automobile. Multiply that by the world’s 1.5 billion (that’s “billion”, with a “b”) cows, together with innumerable other grazing animals eaten for food or kept for their dairy production, and you’re talking immense quantities. And that’s just methane; it’s been estimated that some two-thirds of all ammonia comes from cattle. It’s not practical to insist that everyone stop consuming meat and dairy products, but even a slightly smaller number of grazing livestock can make a meaningful difference in reducing greenhouse gases.

We love companies that let you peek into their factories, because it means they have nothing to hide!

Hand breaded Field Roast cutlets in the making.

Field Roast Grain Meat Company has separate lines for retail and food service. The retail line includes sausages (that Smoked Apple Sage sounds great!), Deli Slices, a Classic Meatloaf, my beloved Celebration Roast, and more. There’s no online ordering right now, but the products have surprisingly good distribution all across the U.S. Check the website for specifics.