Lack of Accommodations for Vegetarians

LouieW · 2011-09-01 16:13:45

Alright, so say you are invited to a banquet, barbeque, meeting, or other gathering of some sort where food is going to be served. It would be pretty annoying if the only dishes that were offered were things you really dislike, right? If so, then I think you can kind of understand how it can be rather annoying for a vegetarian when he or she is invited to such an event and everything has meat in it. Of course, it is often the case that there are side dishes that are vegetarian friendly, but I doubt most people would be satisfied just eating stuff like buns or chips at a barbeque, so I think that does not really cut it.

Offering a salad option seems alright to me, but I think it is a somewhat impolite to not have a designated meal option for vegetarians, since I think it can single them out a bit and make them seem like "the other" or whatever.

I understand that it might be asking a bit much to expect people to prepare for every single unusual diet that someone might have and I do not expect everyone to be prepared to feed vegans or those with much stricter diets. Still, I think it is fair to expect that vegetarians will be accommodated and I feel like it can be rather awkward to be the only vegetarian and have to specially request "special" food just for yourself. I mean, I can kind of understand the logistical reasons why one might not offer a vegetarian option, but it seems reasonable to me to offer more than just huge slabs of beef.

IanExMachina · 2011-09-01 16:18:20

Well it depends really.

Usually if I'm having a social gathering I know who is attending, so if they are veggie there are some fake meat things to be grilled or some kind of alternative dish.

Although:

Gelzo · 2011-09-01 17:48:27

I can sympathize with the awkwardness of it. I used to be and my brother still is a picky eater who doesn't like the taste of meat. Stuff like Thanksgiving dinner can be pretty disappointing if the bread and a few of the vegetables are the only things on the table that look good to you.

Although, in instances where the dish would go to waste anyway, I don't know of any good reason that eating it would be unethical.

Scrye2 · 2011-09-02 04:39:01

Why the fuck would anyone invite vegetarians to social occasions?

Nova · 2011-09-02 04:41:16

Because... vegetarians can be cool people, much like anybody else?

InsanityAddict · 2011-09-02 04:46:32

^^Because hot lady and volunteers to bring own food.

I just switch the whole meal to vegetarian if they eat at my pad. It's only fair given the constant ribbing I put them through.

Bob · 2011-09-02 04:48:51

poor vegitarians. :,<

IanExMachina · 2011-09-02 04:50:17

If the fake meat had the right texture I wouldn't bother doing two meals when cooking for a vegetarian, but whilst it tasted like chicken the texture was wrong

Nova · 2011-09-02 04:50:52

I just ask for salads >_>

Scrye2 · 2011-09-02 04:56:27

By the way, that video is fucking hilarious, Ian, and it strikes a chord with me. I hate the fact that vegetarians are expected to be accommodated for, but they don't generally think they have to accommodate the meat-eaters.

Nyarly · 2011-09-02 05:04:53

Some people have special... needs concerning food, vegetarians are hardly the most problematic ones. If you are incapable to accommodate for your guests, then you shouldn't hold a social gathering at all.

Well, actually I only write in this thread because I'm amused that this thread is under "meatspace".

InsanityAddict · 2011-09-02 05:07:36

People with a large list of allergies mostly bring their own food. Not that I wouldn't want to cook for them, they just don't trust me not to screw up.

Nova · 2011-09-02 05:08:50

That attitude does bug me a little bit. You could at least consider cooking sausages or something.

It's not quite so clear-cut though. While vegetarians can't eat meat (or won't, rather) meat-eaters can eat vegetables. I'm fairly sure it won't kill them to not have a sausage in their meal once, whereas it does go against a vegetarians morals (or whatever) to have a sausage.

I guess I can't really tell though. I'm not psychic and I can't tell if it would go against someone's morals to not have meat in every single one of their meals.

Scrye2 · 2011-09-02 05:12:17

It goes against my morals to discriminate against plants. They're living organisms, after all. If I only eat meat, I'm putting plant life on a higher value of life than animals. If I only eat vegetables, I'm putting animals on a higher value of life. Humans are omnivores for a reason. I like to use all my types of teeth when I eat.

Nova · 2011-09-02 05:15:44

Okay then. I will make sure to cook you a sausage in the incredibly unlikely event that I ever have to go to a social event with you and bring food along.

LouieW · 2011-09-02 14:22:00

IanExMachina,

I am kind of undecided on the issue of reciprocating and having vegetarians cook meat for people who eat meat. I think it is definitely nice for people to do that, but I would not necessarily require it because there are many dishes that are vegetarian and yet can appeal to most people like pasta with marinara sauce, cheese/vegetable pizza, soups, wraps, stir fry, vegetarian sandwiches, and whatever else. I feel like vegetarian food is sometimes unfairly described as being either huge quantities of salads or fake meat/tofu patties when in reality it is pretty diverse.

Scrye2,

I can understand why it might be inconvenient to invite vegetarians to social occasions, but I was mostly referencing times when everyone in a workplace, club, or school is invited to something. Basically, my main issue is when there is no real option for vegetarians when there is a good chance that vegetarians will attend.

I think people are free to have their own opinions on vegetarianism and I am not a big fan of people proselytizing vegetarianism or otherwise making people feel guilty for eating meat. I just think it is nice for people to try to make things convenient for their guests who may have different eating habits (within reason).

Nyarly,
Well, actually I only write in this thread because I'm amused that this thread is under "meatspace".

I would be lying if I said that was not part of the reason why I posted this thread.

IanExMachina · 2011-09-02 14:28:55

I was just reading NewScientist and they had a special article on 'synthetic meat' which is basically meat grown from stem cells in a lab, it is in development still mainly due to hard to achieve investment. (Although PETA is offering $1mil for the first commercially viable synthetic meat.)

Would any of the vegetarians who posted be ok being served this meat once it was commercially viable?

As it is ethically produced with no animals being slaughtered.

Gelzo · 2011-09-02 14:33:19

My brother probably wouldn't eat it because I'm pretty sure the main reason he doesn't eat it is that it's gross to him. Lab-grown flesh doesn't sound much more appetizing.

IanExMachina · 2011-09-02 14:44:09

Well yeah I'd guess the synthetic meat would only counter an ethical problem with meat, rather than a taste based one.

Eh I'm not fussed about eating lab meat, although it will be an obstacle to be overcome for the producers.

captainbrass · 2011-09-02 14:46:43

That story was mentioned on the radio this morning. The word "Franken-burgers" was mentioned...

IanExMachina · 2011-09-02 14:47:50

^

Yeah marketing will probably be hard when the media uses that or the DailyMails of the world run stories about how it causes kids to turn into gay muslim paedos or something.

Forzare · 2011-09-02 14:47:56

Frankenfood is the worst word.

Gelzo · 2011-09-02 14:53:58

You could make an argument that synthetic meat is less ethical than regular meat, since there's a lot more time and funding that needs to go into making a pound of lab meat than a pound of animal meat, and all those extra resources could have been put into something related to medical research.

Not that I necessarily think that. I just figured it was...

Food for thought.

Forzare · 2011-09-02 14:58:50

I think the ethics of eating animals has more to do with the suffering the animals go through and the morality of killing them than the amount of time and effort spent on raising them. Eating genetically modified meat would be more like eating plants, I think.

>>Food for thought.

....

Gelzo · 2011-09-02 15:21:13

I think there are a lot of questions here that are difficult to really figure out answers to. Like, if the suffering of the animal is a concern, would it be better for vegetarians to support more humane farms by buying their meat? Is it okay to kill an animal if you're responsible for it being born and raised in the first place?

I'll disagree with an assertion that conservation of resources shouldn't be a part of ethical concerns. There are a lot of places where time and money could solve some pretty important problems. That's what volunteering and charity is all about.

Oh, and I think I remember something about how farming plants actually takes up a lot less resources and is better for the environment than meat farming.

I figure it's okay for me to eat meat because:

*That shit happens in nature.

*Chances are the meat I don't buy is just going to get thrown out by the retailer.

*The health, social, and general quality of life benefits probably outweigh the death of an odd chicken or pig here and there. And being human, I think I have a bit of a right to impose on other species since I figure a healthier and happier human is more likely to change the world for the better than any other species.

Wicked223 · 2011-09-02 15:22:35

Meh, I don't see how the morality of vegetarianism affects whether or not they should receive any accommodations.

Gelzo · 2011-09-02 15:31:56

Well, if vegetarianism was, say, immoral, it probably shouldn't receive accommodations. But I don't think that's being seriously suggested.

I figure ideally there should be accommodations, but it depends on the situation. It might not be a good idea if the inclusion of a vegetarian dish means excluding one of two meat dishes, which could make a greater number of meat-eaters unhappy.

Forzare · 2011-09-02 15:36:21

>>I'll disagree with an assertion that conservation of resources shouldn't be a part of ethical concerns. There are a lot of places where time and money could solve some pretty important problems. That's what volunteering and charity is all about.

I agree with all of this, but at the same time, I've never seen someone who was a vegetarian because of how much it costs to raise a cow.

For the record, I eat meat.

Chagen · 2011-09-02 16:34:02

I figure that it's okay to eat meat because I'm a human.

We're above other animals....so we eat them. It's rather simple.

IanExMachina · 2011-09-02 16:36:32

I personally feel ok to eat meat as long as it is reared in a free range way and killed humanely.

Less suffering on the part of the animal.

Scrye2 · 2011-09-03 07:13:34

Anybody else kill their own meat here? Takes out all the "inhumane" issues.

Arrow to the face. Take that, white-tailed doe! It's humane!

Also, I will point out that a natural defense that some animals use in order to avoid predators is foul taste. Let's dwell on that for a second. Animals have evolved to taste terrible as a way to avoid getting eaten by other animals.

The cow, chicken, pig, deer, bison, mongoose, snake, panda, and lamb all taste fucking delicious. Clearly, nature intended for us not only to eat them, but feast on them.

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Lack of Accommodations for Vegetarians

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