That makes sense. Tofu has a ton of versatility and can be absolutely amazing, however that’s not most Americans’ experience with it. For me and many Americans our first experience with it was as a healthy meat replacement, and while it can fill that role, it’s one of the roles that takes a lot more skill to put it into.

And speaking of skill, tofu takes some learning to cook well, so while those who learn to cook it well can do amazing things with it, those who just give it a try as they’re curious or have a vegan/vegetarian coming over for dinner are likely to have it come out as “bland food block” and not want to try it again.

And its versatility comes at the cost of identity and clarity for those new to it. “Just put it in whatever you’re cooking as a protein source” isn’t helpful to people who don’t understand how to play to its strengths, but instead leads to it being served in dishes meant to showcase the strengths of other protein sources.

All that made it an easy target for meat culture warriors in a way that foods like falafel and black bean burgers were able to avoid. Hell even stuff like seitan and other direct meat substitutes have gotten off easier than tofu because less people have tried them and because they aren’t their own thing they’re able to reside in the realm of “pretty good substitute” whereas by tofu excelling where it excels in places most Americans won’t experience it it’s in a really tough position.