What Has Your Experience Been Like with Vegans and Vegetarians?

[ChristineM]

We have 2 vegetarians in the family, my eldest daughter who is actually a pescatarian and my brother in law who is a full on vegetarian. Both are fine with meat eaters, no griping about eating animal flesh, both will (reluctantly) prepare meat dishes if they cook for meat eaters.

My daughter has had comments and disapproval from family, example, "you'll eat sausage won't you, sausage is hardly meat at all".

When we first moved to France vegetarianism was hardly recognised, now though, most supermarkets have a small section of frozen and chilled vegetarian foods.

When informing the server for our first meal at a local Michelin restaurant that Sam was pescatarian , he went to her, patted her on the head, looked at hubby and said "don't worry, she'll get over it"

On these hallowed pages I have had a vegetarian attempt to convert me from meat eating by quoting some of the horrors stories industrial/factory farmed animals have to endure. Yes, it happens though i do my best to avoid such meats and only buy AB certified meat.
AB (Agriculture Biologique) is French certification for organically grown/raised.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

Nor do you ever beef about it.

It's best not to stew over.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

Speaking as a vegetarian, I've never tried to impose my vegetarianism on other people. I've been a vegetarian for a little over a year. It was a personal choice for me because I felt it was better for my health, and it has been. I have four daughters who are also vegetarians, but my husband, our oldest daughter, and our two sons are meat eaters. We co-exist just fine. However, my daughters and my's vegetarianism has been criticized and ridiculed by my father-in-law and a couple other of his relatives. My husband confronted them and essentially told them off, and the criticism and ridicule have since evolved into silent grumbles and disgruntled sighs whenever we gather for a family dinner. One of these relatives even accused my daughters and me of "sinning against God" and being ungrateful to God because we won't eat meat. Some people at our former church also criticized, shamed, and ridiculed my daughters, but this stopped as soon as my husband informed the pastor. He tried to resolve the issue with these people on his own, but they refused to listen and continued to criticize my daughters whenever we went to a church picnic or potluck dinner. They also criticized my husband and me for letting our daughters be vegetarians. It got to the point where we didn't want to go anymore, so my husband decided we needed to involve the pastor. Aside from these incidents, no one else has criticized, shamed, or ridiculed my daughters or myself for our vegetarianism. Other people mind their own business.

 

[RestlessSoul]

Vegetarians are okay, but I couldn't eat a whole one.

 

[☆Dreamwind☆]

Most of the vegetarians I knew in person were fine. Most of the vegans I met online were rabid, holier-then-thou turds. Idc if people prefer to be omnivorous or herbivorous. You do you, it's none of my nevermind. But I'm not obligated to listen to the rude, preachy hypocrites either.

 

[Kathryn]

I think personally that everybody's body is different and responds to different foods differently as well. I believe that's why we see such a wide range of behaviors and beliefs in others.

The problem comes with enforcing or cajoling others based on what works for OUR bodies.

 

[McBell]

One of the stereotypes I have encountered a lot, mostly online, is that vegetarians and vegans are usually "preachy," "self-righteous," "ostentatious," etc., but my personal experience with vegans and vegetarians has been a far cry from those stereotypes and generalizations. Some people seem to associate the dietary decisions with things like online clips of fringe protesters trying to shut down or damage restaurants, even though the vast majority of vegans and vegetarians simply don't get in people's faces about it.

For one thing, the cuisine of the society I live in extensively includes meat, and animal products are so pervasive that being vegetarian, let alone vegan, is not only highly inconvenient but also socially challenging in many cases (e.g., when one goes to family gatherings, restaurants, etc.). Merely refusing to order or eat meat can result in intrusive questions, assumptions, and disapproval—one of the core ideas behind that being "if God allowed us to eat meat, why are you forbidding it for yourself?"

For another thing, I have rarely encountered any preaching, judgmentalism, or shaming from vegans and vegetarians, even while out with them and ordering meat at the same table. Instead, most of that tends to be hurled in their direction from meat eaters who keep bringing up the topic or taking digs at the vegans' and vegetarians' dietary choices. The most questioning I have gotten from a vegan was when he asked me a passing question about what I thought of the conditions in which poultry is typically kept in industrial farms. On the other hand, most vegans and vegetarians I know have experienced a lot of mocking and preaching from various people, sometimes including family and friends.

Whether you're a meat eater, vegan, vegetarian, or pescatarian, what has your experience been like with vegans and vegetarians? As a meat eater, I haven't had any more issues with them than with fellow meat eaters, so the stereotypes have certainly been inapplicable to my experience—the stereotypical roles have largely been reversed in many cases, if anything.

The only time I have ever run into the "preachy," "self-righteous," "ostentatious," etc. (stereotyped) vegans/vegetarians has been online.

In fact, the vast majority of vegans/vegetarians I know in real life I most likely do not even know they are vegan/vegetarian.
And the ones I do know are vegan/vegetarians, I found out simply because I happened to over hear them mention it.

 

[Vinayaka]

Sometimes people are, in my view, just too sensitive about it. I've had people get upset for me merely saying I'm a vegetarian. I liken it to when I say I'm a Hindu, and the (radical) Christian assumes I hate Christians. So people can jump to conclusions that aren't even there.

 

[Vinayaka]

I think personally that everybody's body is different and responds to different foods differently as well. I believe that's why we see such a wide range of behaviors and beliefs in others.

Diversity is the strength of humanity.

 

[Kathryn]

Diversity is the strength of humanity.

I totally agree!

 

[Rival]

I think personally that everybody's body is different and responds to different foods differently as well. I believe that's why we see such a wide range of behaviors and beliefs in others.

Not really true, though. All bodies need nutrients etc. Stomach acid levels are determined biologically and so on.

 

[Kathryn]

Not really true, though. All bodies need nutrients etc.

But I am talking about specific foods.

A few years ago, a friend of mine and I took literally every type of potentially harmful food out of our diets (which left us with very little in the way of nutrients but I digress). Then we began to slowly add things back in. I personally had zero issues with eggs, but she could not eat eggs for anything. I did not do well on any gluten but she did fine. I often think about that experience and am very glad I found out about it all.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Speaking as a vegetarian, I've never tried to impose my vegetarianism on other people. I've been a vegetarian for a little over a year. It was a personal choice for me because I felt it was better for my health, and it has been. I have four daughters who are also vegetarians, but my husband, our oldest daughter, and our two sons are meat eaters. We co-exist just fine. However, my daughters and my's vegetarianism has been criticized and ridiculed by my father-in-law and a couple other of his relatives. My husband confronted them and essentially told them off, and the criticism and ridicule have since evolved into silent grumbles and disgruntled sighs whenever we gather for a family dinner. One of these relatives even accused my daughters and me of "sinning against God" and being ungrateful to God because we won't eat meat. Some people at our former church also criticized, shamed, and ridiculed my daughters, but this stopped as soon as my husband informed the pastor. He tried to resolve the issue with these people on his own, but they refused to listen and continued to criticize my daughters whenever we went to a church picnic or potluck dinner. They also criticized my husband and me for letting our daughters be vegetarians. It got to the point where we didn't want to go anymore, so my husband decided we needed to involve the pastor. Aside from these incidents, no one else has criticized, shamed, or ridiculed my daughters or myself for our vegetarianism. Other people mind their own business.

My brother and his family are Seventh Day Adventists and mostly vegetarian. They will occasionally have some meat, but I do not think that they ever cook it. My mother was a fantastic baker and changed her pie crust recipes from lard (which is a big no no for SDA's they follow the same dietary rules that more traditional Jewish people do) and had no problem with that. I cook the turkey for the Thanksgiving and Christmas for them. And one day listening to a foodie radio show where they were talking about cornbread they mentioned one that stuck in my head, Jiffy brand, because it was much lower in cost but still had good flavor. The host replied "That would be the lard" and I knew right then and there that I had to change the stuffing recipe that my Mom used to use.

The point is that let people eat what they want to eat, and don't try to force anything on them. If I am cooking other food for them I will keep an eye out for other things that they cannot eat. For example the best prepared Thai curry pastes have shrimp as an ingredient. Luckily the others are almost as good.

 

[Rival]

But I am talking about specific foods.

A few years ago, a friend of mine and I took literally every type of potentially harmful food out of our diets (which left us with very little in the way of nutrients but I digress). Then we began to slowly add things back in. I personally had zero issues with eggs, but she could not eat eggs for anything. I did not do well on any gluten but she did fine. I often think about that experience and am very glad I found out about it all.

This seems mostly due to human interference and environment. Many Europeans cannot take corn, for example, while many non-Euros sturggle with dairy.

The problem with the veggie argument is that our stomach acid is calibrated towards meat eating, but that doesn't seem to be their basis of argument.

 

[Secret Chief]

It's best not to stew over.

Don't trust him though. He tells porkies.

 

[Secret Chief]

The problem with the veggie argument is that our stomach acid is calibrated towards meat eating, but that doesn't seem to be their basis of argument.

Possibly because meat is not essential for a balanced healthy diet.

 

[Rival]

Possibly because meat is not essential for a balanced healthy diet.

Of course, because you have 'supplements' instead of using the Occam's approach and just going direct to source.

Morality trumping biology approach.

 

[Secret Chief]

Of course, because you have 'supplements' instead of using the Occam's approach and just going direct to source.

Morality trumping biology approach.

Damn, I thought you had me on ignore. It's impressive you know what my diet is. I take one supplement all year (glucosamine) because I'm a runner. I take Vitamin D in the winter, as northern Europeans are recommended to do.

 

[JustGeorge]

I used to go to a vegetarian potluck once a month. Most were vegetarian for strictly health reasons, a few environmental. We were the only 'ethical' ones. We used 'naughty' ingredients in our food...

Our food was well loved.

I have opinions about such things, but I keep them to myself. How other people conduct their lives isn't my business.

 

[Secret Chief]

Even on this forum, whenever I make a food related topic, certain vegans and others come in and turn it into a thread about how meat-eating is bad.

Even on this forum, whenever someone makes a food related topic, certain meat-eaters and others come in and turn it into a thread about how meat-eating is good.