veggie bacon?

I am trying to explore ways to go "meatless" at least once a week, in order to somewhat reduce our carbon footprint in this world. Last week I made a tasty egg/broccoli/cheese tart (store bought crust) that was a HUGE hit with the kids. and I got the recipe out a parenting magazine-go figure! Anyway, while leafing through this month's "Everyday Food," I saw a recipe for veggie bacon quiche. The recipe sounded easy enough. And I must admit, I was intrigued by the notion of vegetarian bacon. What would it taste like? Would it be crispy? Would it have the delicious "mouth feel" of fat?

The kids didn't get a chance to eat the quiche for dinner tonight (it took too long to come out of the oven), but so far, other than being really salty, I think it's okay. That's really not what's bothering me.

It's the bacon that bothers me. It smelled a lot like bacon, which reminded me of the chapter in Fast Food Nation (or was it Omnivore's Dilemma?) where the author goes to a chemical factory where they make smells of food. That's what it smelled like. It smelled like bacon-ish flavor; smoky and slightly greasy. The bacon itself turned out fairly crispy and crumbly, but......what was in it? Egg whites? okay, that's good, but then the list goes on. It includes a plethora of things I can't pronounce. Doesn't Pollan counsel us to eat foods that our grandmothers would recognize? Would abuelita recognize disodium guanylate?

The spinach in the quiche was real, as were the eggs and potatoes. but the bacon, hmmmmm. Have I done more harm than good? Would it be better to have "real" bacon, just have less of it?? Or just forget about the bacon entirely?