^this^. I work with a coworker who is vegan. We've had this discussion several times and, really, she can't answer it (to my satisfaction). She says that because people like the taste and texture of meat, then that is why it's done.
If you're vegan, why is the food industry trying to make it like meat? Even down to the naming of the "ahem" food eg. Tofurkey, Beyond Meat. Why not make up its own name? Tofu is tofu, or soya bean or lentils etc. Recipes have their own names. Why the food industry's silly attempt to make something that is not meat appear and taste like meat?
If it's good and cooked properly, people will eat it. I'm not even vegetarian (though at the cost of meat, may eventually become one). I don't need the marketing to influence me to eat it. And I think it is exactly that. That the marketing gurus think people will be fooled and influenced to eat it.
My irritation with "vegan" food is that it is often as expensive or more expensive than the meat.