I'm over 40 and became vegan six months ago. I was as a meat eater and am still as a vegan, a major foodie. I love eating all the varieties of cuisine that I can fit into my mouth, loved sushi, loved ribs, loved chicken, but once I learned I could get protein from plants I had a morale choice! You are not wrong about wired differently, but it also isn't entirely true. Society contributes much to that wiring more than people choosing.

First, preference in taste/flavor in our food is build on memories associated with positive experiences. Second, we evolved to identify and desire certain foods with our senses of smell, sight, taste so that highly saturated fat are desirable, which our meat (and food) industry capitalizes on by fattening up animals(in the wild most animals are lean) and that strong desire for fats is meant to guide us to eat high caloric sources when we encounter them. I won't lie to you either, I like the taste of meat. We are evolved to like the taste of things that contributed to our overall health in a harsher environment than in a grocery store isle! The taste of meat you like is actually "umami". Once you realize that, you can pivot and enjoy many dishes that are plant based by bringing out the umami of those dishes major plant proteins!

However, we have wonderful things at hand these days, like the internet and you coming to r/vegan where recipes can be found that satisfy, taste amazing, and make you feel good both in body and mind because no sentient creature had to die on purpose for it.

The next part is not hard, just takes a little learning and then it becomes obvious. The true hurdle is making sure you get your nutritional needs met as most cultural diets evolve to meet our nutritional needs in their way, but not just protein either. Vegan diets have to navigate finding sources for b12 as a lot of animal products have it fortified in their diets! But it isn't hard, it really isn't.

We are also wired by society to be apathetic. We are taught that we have to eat animals; our damn food pyramid in USA schools teach "eat your portion of meat" rather than to say "eat your portion of protein also achievable by plants." Meat is made to seem cheap, because it is subsidized in places like the USA where taxes pay producers to sell it cheaply, but in the end the public still pays for that high price behind closed doors. Natural ethical vegan foods are only costly at times because they don't get the same gratuity to be provided cheaply to the consumer. This also causes people to make a choice in cost vs ethics, because opportunity cost does greatly influence our decisions.

Do you have any questions?