[Serious] Why do Vegans try to recreate the meat they don't want to eat?

Well, not everyone is in it for animal rights, and those who are aren't necessarily against "meat" but rather against the fact that animals are often treated poorly and killed for it. They hate the means but not the product. Like faux fur. Fur is warm as shit, but the means to obtain it are cruel. So we can synthesize it to get the best of both worlds.

Many substitutes are also great for those in transition or doing it for health reasons. Quitting cold turkey is hard, and some people want to wean themselves off meat until they can finally drop it. Others might have cravings/temptations and need something that looks real enough to be satisfied. In term of food, veganism is just a diet (but it can expand to other things). In that sense, it's not so different from someone on a low carb diet using lettuce wraps instead of bread or someone cutting gluten using almond flour instead of wheat flour. And honestly, some people just don't like the taste of meat, but don't want to feel left out at the dinner table.

Most vegans/vegetarians who are pushing for animal rights aren't anything like the radical extremists often portrayed in media, so many don't care if their food looks realistic or not. They just want to eat. For example: You want to make a quick dinner tonight. You have spaghetti and pasta sauce in the cart, but the dish needs something else. Do you spend 45 minutes experimenting with cauliflower to make it work with the dish, or grab the vegan meatballs that bake in 10 minutes?

This is, at least, my take on the issue.

/r/AskReddit Thread