Scoot on over to Anthropology News to check out my newest photo essay, featuring Polaroid photographs I took at Christmas markets in Germany in December, 2023. Each photo features a food from the market, but some of the photos are of vegan foods, and some of foods made with meat and other animal products. Can you tell which is which?

In my research on meat and meat alternatives in Germany, I’ve been struck by the sensory simulation of meaty classics in plant-based renditions. Vegan sausages, canned tuna, steaks, cheese spreads, and lattes look, smell, and increasingly taste like the originals. My photo project takes advantage of this copycat practice by inviting the viewer to take a guess at what is what.

Once you check out the photos, make your best guesses as to what’s vegan and what’s not. Maybe you got them all right! And maybe you got some guesses wrong. How does it feel to guess incorrectly? Do you feel like you’ve been tricked or made fun of? In my fieldwork, I’ve heard many stories of people getting ‘tricked’ into eating vegan when they though they were eating meat, or vice versa. They might respond with rage, panic, laughter, humiliation, or disgust – which all tell me that even though these foods might look or smell or taste alike, the presence or absence of meat matters.

While you’re on the Anthropology News website, you can check out the rest of the articles from the Deception issue!