Yeah, although ‘Sandwich Spread’ is its own thing here in the UK - it’s like a mix of finely chopped vegetables in a tangy salad cream* dressing.
*salad cream being like a sort of more acidic version of mayonnaise
Today, I read a picture book, Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party, by James Dean and Kimberly Dean. Pete and his animal friends put pepperoni, pretzels, and a bunch of other things on their pizza, which turns out great.
But not pineapple.
Piper’s Traditional Mincemeat™, made every Christmas, most certainly does have meat in it. One starts with a nice half-pound of extra lean ground beef, cooked thoroughly, and then goes on by adding the various fruits and molasses.
The Heinz product I see at my Target (so US) actually does call it “Heinz Vegan Dressing and Spread”.
That is a dumb standard. Where does that leave chocolate salami? 
But seriously - sausage is IMO characterized by having a casing - or at least, having a casing at some point in its production->consumption life, I’m aware of skinless hot dogs.
Casing being defined as either an intestinal part, or a synthetic imitation of same. Beef Wellington is not a sausage.
I would agree with you, but things like cevapcici and mitetei (Yugoslav and Romanian grilled mince meat dishes, respectively) get lopped into “sausages” here in the US (for the areas that have heard of these dishes.) They’re essentially a skinless sausage, made by hand, never seen a casing of any type. But they are sausage shaped, and they are made of minced beef (any of or a mix of lamb, beef, pork) and spiced in a manner similar to sausages.
Then here also have the concept of “bulk sausage” which is just the spiced sausage meat, not stuffed into a casing. So, forcemeat. I don’t think most would really call that “sausage” without a descriptor like “loose sausage” or “bulk sausage” or “uncared sausage.”
All that aside, I’ve never heard of anyone objecting seriously to the term “vegan sausage.” If it’s stuffed in a casing or even if it’s merely sausage-shaped, I’d think most consumers here would simply call it a sausage.
Of course not. It’s a sandwich. 
Did you not learn from the “cube rule”? It’s clearly a calzone.
Until it’s cut, when it’s 2 quiches.
This rule has really simplified my life
I’d call that a frikandel, but I’m aware that’s just regional usage, and the shape of that kind of meatball varies widely. Do note that the Wiki for frikandel does say “Due to the absence of a skin, one could argue that technically it is not a sausage.”
I’m aware of it, but I’d call that “sausage meat” or, yes, forcemeat. But then, I don’t call mince hamburger either.
But totally with you on there being nothing wrong with “vegan sausage”. Even without a skin, if it’s reasonably sausage-shaped, I’m good.
Sure, there’s been a resurgence of interest in mincemeat containing actual meat, but for a very long time, it’s been perfectly acceptable for shop-bought jars of mincemeat to omit it entirely - and nobody seems to have complained about that (the reason for the total lack of complaint: the meat wasn’t removed by vegans)
Yeah, I’m surprised anyone would complain about “vegan sausage”. Sausage is such a varied category. And heck, we’ve had turkey bacon and even vegan bacon for decades, now. Bacon is actually a thing, not a giant category like sausage.
The word “vegan” just sets some people off.
Of course, some vegans don’t help much. That “how do you tell if someone is a vegan? Oh, they’ll tell you.” joke is actually quite accurate. And it’s not always because they’re going to be sharing a meal with you.
Yeah, that’s probably it.
I can understand the “specific minimum proportion” requirement, so that people don’t buy what they think is meat-based sausage and get something that’s mostly filler (cornmeal, soy protein, sawdust, or whatever).
And I can at least sort of understand objections to the use of a word that has a specific meaning in contexts where it doesn’t have that meaning, like “milk” in “soy milk” or “almond milk.”
But nobody had a problem with coconut milk.
Also almond milk is a very old idea (like 7 centuries old). Nobody had a problem with these things being called milk until recently.
There’s also milk of magnesia.
Yeah, I’m fine distinguishing “milk” from “xyz milk”. Or even “dairy milk” if need be.
I believe here the issue was largely from the dairy industry. I’m running out the door, so can’t find cites, but somebody can correct me if I’m wrong. They really didn’t want anything non-dairy to be advertised as “milk.” I don’t think it was so much a clamor from consumers.
There are those among us who make hot dogs out of carrots. Best Carrot Hot Dogs - The Edgy Veg
No, but if you had asked them, “Is coconut milk actually milk?” I think they would have said, “No, not really. Just because it’s called that doesn’t mean it’s a kind of milk.” Nut meat isn’t a kind of meat. Root beer isn’t a kind of beer. A guinea pig isn’t a kind of pig.
Sure it is. It’s a term with more than one meaning, not just “flesh”.Here’s one dictionary defintion of “meat”: