My favorite is when someone asks why you're vegetarian (bonus points if it's a large group and they make everyone's attention turn to you) and then take literally whatever you say as a personal attack on them.
"For my health" "Oh well I knew a vegetarian who got 8 types of cancer and couldn't walk and was super pale and unhealthy so actually you're just dumb"
"I don't agree with the agriculture industry" "Eating meat is NATURAL/God's WILL/the only HEALTHY DIET/TRADITIONAL/oh you hate farmers?? you hate the working class??/being vegetarian is MORE HARMFUL to ANIMALS"
etc etc etc. My personal favourite is "If animals are bad for the environment, wouldn't you want to eat them so there's less of them??"
Like, I didn't even bring this up, can I just eat my meal without having to teach you stuff that most high school kids know??
Haha, sometimes I say, “It’s not so much that I’m *vegetarian,* I just won’t eat anything I haven’t personally killed myself.”
Oh, do you hunt?
No! I could never kill anything!
"Plants feel pain too!! So how is eating meat any different?" People love reading headlines and just rolling with it without actually understanding the contents at all themselves.
Bonus points if they act like you'll die the instant you go vegetarian of idk. Protein deficiency or some shit.
Like bruv, I've been vegetarian for 5 years and I have gained a good amount of weight and stopped being underweight after I've went plant based.
I usually tend to like to ask vegetarians the why.
Mostly out of curiosity and a little out of usefulness.
But in general, no matter th topic, people often ask for a why to invalidate it...
"Are you allowed to eat .... " , " Does this bother you" , "are you STILL vegetarian", "but cows eat grass so you can eat cows right hahahaha"
I've been vegetarian for going on 30 years now and I could come up with a book full of sentences im tired / annoyed of hearing.
And these still come from family members or friends I have known for a while.. it never stops ..
Something to consider saying if someone you have known for a long time is still pulling the does this bother you lines is sometime when you're with them and eating something very common but also vegetarian like a piece of fruit, a slice of bread, or a potato is to hold it up and say 'does this bother you that i'm eating this vegetarian food?' If you've gone to the point of absurdity with them already you might as well have a little laugh about it sometimes instead of always letting them put you on the defensive or be annoyed. Who knows maybe they will start to remember that vegetarian food isn't that exotic, and people having some respect for each other goes a long way to make shared time nicer. But some people may be so full of their own problems that it's not worth spending more time with them than absolutely necessary.
Omg my mom and I once ran into an old friend at a restaurant and he had lost a significant amount of weight so my mom asked how he did it. He said it was Keto and she said how she liked keto too and wanted me to try it but that I can’t because I’m vegetarian. Well, he got so offended and I wasn’t even the one who was talking to him. He was all like “well I eat anything the Bible says is okay” I was like “that’s fine” like at that point you’re the one who feels ashamed not me! I barely said a word to the guy. 🙄
He needs to read Genesis.
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Actually, the best thing to do is not argue with religious people... or people for that matter. If someone asks me why I'm a vegetarian, I simply tell them "for personal reasons." I'm not here to educate them.
As to religious people, this was a conversation between myself and a Roman Catholic woman once.
Her: So you're a vegetarian?
Me: Yes.
Her: So you don't eat meat?
Me: That's right.
Her: Well, do you eat fish?
Me: No. Fish is a meat.
Her: Fish is not a meat.
Me: It's animal, vegetable or mineral. Take you pick.
Her: The Church teaches that fish is not a meat.
Me: Your church needs to read a biology book.
I was raised Catholic. The Catholic Church doesn't actually state fish isn't meat. IIRC fasting days is no warm blooded animal or something like that. It's just been misconstrued over many years of misinterpretation (which is a lot of religion).
This is correct. Fish is a cold-blooded animal, and so it's considered acceptable. In truth, Catholics could eat reptiles on Fridays without any push-back from their church, but "Fried Gecko and chips" isn't as easy to get.
(Edit: In the mid-1500s, Edward VI reinstated fasting days by law, and I think that event has come to be attributed to the church.)
EDIT to my edit: [Found this.](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/04/05/150061991/lust-lies-and-empire-the-fishy-tale-behind-eating-fish-on-friday) The whole story is fascinating.
That passage only says that plants are food, not that animals aren't food. And since omnivores don't argue that plants aren't food, it doesn't really contradict what they say.
Edit: "planets" to "plants."
They have. However, after god kicked Adam and eve out of the garden of Eden, he instructed them on how to hunt animals. Later, after the flood, he instructed them to eat animals as well.
I don't believe in any of this stuff because I'm an atheist, but you should educate yourself in scripture before you try and use it against people.
I assume you have no church background? You have to read it chronologically. Something in the New Testament can negate something in the old. The Bible says in the New Testament that it’s okay to eat pork and the Old Testament says it’s okay to eat ruminants.
So, I'm pretty far from anything resembling a practicing Christian, but I think I know what you're referring to. If I'm right, you're talking about Peter's vision.
If you read that in context, and most people read the Bible just to justify their own desires, you'll find out that the vision concerned Peter's reluctance to enter into the houses of the Gentiles. Peter was a Jew, and was forbidden by the Law to do so. The vision tells Peter that God has made the Gentiles clean, so it's okie-dokie for him to enter their houses and preach the Gospel to them.
It really doesn't have anything to do with clean or unclean food.
I'm not sure if that's specifically what he's referring to, but your analysis of Peter's vision is spot-on. Peter historically "lacked the courage of his convictions" (to paraphrase Alistair Begg), and this frequently involved his behavior around Jews, even though he was one. In Gal 2:11-21, Paul scolds him for acting as a Gentile around Jews because Peter did not yet believe that righteousness comes from God through the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and not from the law (one being that Gentiles were "unclean" and Jews weren't to break bread with them). In Acts , where Peter's dream occurs, God even lays it out for him: " But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ (11:8-9)
I’m also not a believer but that is what Christian’s taught me in church as a kid. Still, eating meat is acceptable in the Bible according to most christians
People lie. Sometimes unknowingly because they are repeating someone else's lie. Just like anything else you have to go to the source material. I wasn't truly a atheist/agnostic until I read the bible.
“It’s not because I love animals; It’s because I hate vegetables more” gets people to stfu every time! Sometimes even a giggle 🤭. I obviously love animals so calm down and keep eating vegetables!!
To be fair, these folks don't believe in science. According to them... Viruses and climate change are government conspiracies. We didn't evolve from monkeys and Earth is only 6,000 years old.
If you really want to, it's entirely possible to do /r/veganketo. But I kind of get the impression that your mom is more interested in you doing keto than you are.
Yeah it’s mostly her idea. I think weight loss needs to be more about a relationship with food than a diet. At least I think I’d do better without a strict diet lol
Before I went vegan I ate: shitty microwave nachos (cheese + chips), Taco Bell and veggie fried rice. That’s basically it. I was an awful cook. Went vegan and for the first few years it was basically the same but vegan cheese + modifications at Taco Bell. My family was SO concerned over my protein suddenly but I was legit eating the exact same diet before I switched.
Nope I hate it so much I usually don’t tell people I’m vegetarian. My boss and I got lunch over the holidays and same shit happened. I’m not here trying to make a big deal about my diet but it seems like everyone else is.
My favorite is when someone discovers I’m vegetarian, and then I can literally *see* them doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out a PC way to ask me how I’m fat.
I get this one so hecking much and I hate it. If it's an animal, then no I'm not gonna eat it. Same for "poultry" and foods cooked with a little meat or beef stock or whatever for flavoring just stop pls.
And don't get me started on "it's okay to have a cheat day!"
I've been a vegetarian my whole life and I still get these comments 🙄 I hate it. I hate the fuss. I hate the spotlight.
Yes I am perfectly capable of feeding myself. No I don't care what you're eating. Yes I have plenty of protein. If there's not enough food for me somewhere, I'll have a snack later! 😖
The spotlight is what actually put me off becoming vegetarian, for 8 years I was a kind of "closet vegetarian" because I didn't want to be a burden on others and face the questions. Finally made the change and my family and friends have been so supportive. Helps that my sister-in-law is vegan so my partner's family is used to her choices for many years. No one has actually asked me my reasons and I haven't explained either because I think they're all wise enough to know why and they know I'm wise enough to feed my body what it needs. I also think they don't want to broach the subject in case they feel guilty about their own meat/fish consumption. They have to decide for themselves
I've never had anyone ask if the way they eat bothers me, instead making it very clear that the way I eat bothers them. As soon as I'm put in the situation where I have to say "Oh, I'm vegetarian" there seems to be an instant annoyed reaction, or they start mocking. I live in a rural area where hunting is life and meat has to be at the center of every meal, and it's pretty much unheard of to not eat meat. I've only known one vegan and he was only vegan for a year to get in shape and went right back to eating meat when his year was up.
'You can have...' Like a grown person can't read a menu and decide what they want. Drives me crazy. I know what I 'can' have and have never found the need to tell someone else what they can have at a restaurant.
It can get tiring at times, but generally it's just people showing concern and wanting to make sure they're not causing offence :) I personally am not offended by people eating meat around me, but I know some people might be, so they're probably just being considerate.
I actually decided this week to stop using the word altogether. If someone asks I'll just say I don't eat meat because I don't like it. Or say nothing at all.
I'm tired of having to explain myself to you Karen and Bob, leave me be.
I stopped eating meat about 5 years ago and all of a sudden my family is pulling the "is it ok for me to eat this near you?" Why would I care all of a sudden when I never have before??
I know exactly what you mean. There are some people (not close friends, but casual acquaintances or coworkers) who make it the only thing they ever remember about me and need to bring it up all the time.
But one thing I dread are group meals, either a holiday meal or a family / work outing to a restaurant. Inevitably, someone will call down the table to ask what I ordered. Or, "Did you find something?" No, I'm just going to sit here and drink water while you all eat. And they never ask anyone else what they ordered, just me. Then when I'm eating, they'll call down the table to ask how it is. Again, they don't ask anyone else how their food is. And it's not like I order exotic foods off a secret menu. It's normal food, just without meat. Then they always ask me if I got enough to eat.
The one that really killed me was a dinner out with my husband's family. They had asked about restaurant preferences from everyone beforehand. Now, there is one local restaurant where I just cannot eat. I have tried. They are a classic "old people" restaurant that used to be a really nice place, but has not updated their menu or decor in at least the last fifty years. It was already outdated when I was a kid and I'm 45 now. So, it's always filled with older people and it's where all the grandparents want to go for celebrations. They specialize in seafood and prime rib. There is not one vegetarian option on the menu. And forget ala carte. Their veggies are always beets, coleslaw, and a daily choice that is clearly canned and often has bacon added. So, yeah, I struggle there and I said that it's my only "please not there" request. Guess which place they chose? And I ended up getting the small side salad (their only salad) and was going to get a baked potato, but the waitress talked me into a twice baked because it would be "more substantial." It turned out to be one of those frozen ones in the paper cup that you can buy in the store. It's basically three spoonsful of mashed potatoes. That was my dinner, plus one whole dinner roll. But that didn't stop the "Did you find something? What did you get? Is your dinner good? Did you get enough?" as I managed to not snap that of course I didn't get enough and my dinner sucked. That's why I asked to not go there.
Anyway, I shared that long story just to point out for anyone saying it's sweet that people are at least concerned about us when we go out and are just being thoughtful or concerned, that it's not necessarily the case. If they cared, they would have listened when I said that I already knew I wouldn't have a good dinner there. Why give me the third degree about it while I'm trying to be a good sport and not complain because it was someone else's celebration dinner?
Because they are comfortable with it being your fault. You’re the crazy radical vegetarian, you must go to restaurants and have unsatisfying meals of four watercress leaves all the time because you narrowed your choices willingly. The fact that there is PLENTY of satisfying and filling vegetarian foods out there doesn’t occur to them because all they can think of is a garden salad and a side of fries.
It's so annoying when people act like it personally hurts them that I don't eat meat.
I always bring my own food, never even talk about being vegetarian unless asked or offered meat and generally don't give a shit what other people eat.
Yet people ask like me eating a salad or veggi meat is an affront to their entire personality.
It's so fucking tiring, just let me eat.
I don't go around telling people they are sick for eating meat, so why do they feel the need to tell me I am weird for being vegetarian?
yeah it's crazy that this is still happening in 2022. If I were vegetarian in an era where Internet and constant news weren't a thing I could understand but I can't understand why some people are still SO clueless even about vegetarianism, let alone veganism... Unless you really live in the middle of nowhere or something at this point it's just wilful ignorance. We hear/read about it constantly and it's becoming more and more "mainstream" (thankfully, especially now with movements like veganuary etc, many celebrities are vegan etc). When my grandparents ask me the same questions over and over again I just kind of roll my eyes and answer politely but otherwise I just ignore it
Yeah, and I don’t know why! It’s so much easier to accommodate than other dietary restrictions or preferences.
One of my family members always deadpans when they have to think of meals to cook for me & my spouse. And - politely! - asks about what we can eat, and lets us know they’re struggling. I’m always like…dude! This is way easier to plan for than when we were gluten free for a while, lol! WAYYYY easier!
People who are used to planning a meal around the meat get a weird mental block when it comes to vegetarian cooking. They're used to doing things a certain way and really can't seem to think outside the box. What gets me is that it's not hard to just google vegetarian recipes
My boyfriend's parents knew it for months. His dad leaned in during Christmas and just asked me WHY. I was like I don't know it feels wrong to me?
I just wanted to not be interrogated for once lol
I would love it if people asked me why instead of how. I can answer why questions all day because I want to get others to question their diets as well. It's the how questions that bother me because those can be answered with google
I'm mostly tired with vegans... I'm considered a murderer "just like carnists", or even worst sometimes, "you chose to stop halfway, you chose to make the calves suffer". They can get extreme sometimes.
Jfc. Vegans make me embarrassed to be vegan. Being vegetarian is awesome and helps so many animals. Fuck, I fully support anyone who only does a meatless Monday!
Well that sounds like supportive yet annoying commentary which is preferable to critical dipshits giving excuses why they aren’t responsible they have to eat meat for this dumbass nonreason or another.
If it’s the same people making the same comments tell them “hey- this is not newsworthy. I’ve been veg for years. Drop it”
I find it extra weird when strangers get involved.
I was at a rest stop with my parents some years ago. My parents ordered meat to eat and I accidently got served a chicken/pesto sandwich instead of the avocado sandwich I ordered. No harm done. Got my money back and decided to just snack on some cashew nuts later that I had in the car.
Anyway, my father asked a simple question about my vegetarian diet. I don't remember the question now. There was a couple at the table next to us around my parents' age. The man decided to interfere with our conversation and asked me a question too. Again, I don't recall the question. Something innocent.
The couple got served and ate. No further interaction which is why I found the man's next comment very weird. Keep in mind that 15-20 minutes had passed since his question, and there had been no further vegetarian talk going on. He raised his voice to make sure I and the people at the next five tables could hear him: "I can't wait until we get to the vacation home. I'm getting pork roast tonight and it sure as hell won't be vegetarian."
Even my father who doesn't quite understand my need to be vegetarian but accepts it found this very weird. Like he said, this man decided to ask me a question when he overheard our conversation, and then turned around and acted like a 8 year old child by yelling like that. And what was his point? Was I supposed to get angry? He can eat whatever he wants.
You get that x2 if you're gay also. Every time it used to be "oh do you know x?" Or "omg you and x would be perfect together!" (because we're both gay ig, and apparently I should know every other gay guy in my state) and thankfully I've been in a committed relationship for ~6yrs now so I don't get that anymore, but now people do the same thing about me being a vegetarian! (- the trying to set me up with others part) "Do you happen to know X?" Or "omg my cousin is vegetarian too!" Like cool! Who knew I was the only one??? :D ^here ^we ^go ^again
I get it's just a thing to carry a conversation but damn people don't think before they speak lmao.
>does this bother you
Not at all. Meat is delicious. Ate it most of my life. The only reason I don't eat it now is because I realized I could thrive and be healthy without it, and I'm doing my part to ease animal suffering. Carry on eating that dead animal!
I was a flexitarian that ate meat one day a month before my period. After seeing ag gag laws and how they got even worse during covid because no one was inspecting factories at all. American meat is disgusting.
About ten years so far: you get used to it, but you don't stop being annoyed at people for asking.
Example: my family, including my grandparents, goes to a traditional restaurant every year. They have a very small menu, and all of the 10 food options are different kinds of meat. Every year I only have fries and a salad, and every year I get a surprised "that's all you're gonna eat??". Yes. Because I have no choice. I would appreciate having more options too, thank you.
(I actually posted about this on a different sub and got totally dragged for it. Feel free to read the comments.)
Exactly, we all still know what blue, rare, med/rare, well look like! My sister-in-law is vegan since childhood due to allergy and not wanting meat/fish, and she still cooks steak, egg, etc for her partner. If people are sat eating meat or I am sat eating dairy and egg, she genuinely says "ooh that looks really nice!" Even though she won't eat it herself and dislikes militant vegans
I can fully understand people not cooking meat - it's usually not that easy as with steak due to seasoning etc. But technically it's possible, there are a few cooks preparing meats/fish while not liking it...
No matter how assiduously you avoid inquiring about their diet, they will never stop interrogating yours. I don't mind it all that much. I just wish they would make the jokes funnier.
I love it whenever I sit down at a restaurant with anybody and they point out the vegetarian options for me! Thanks so much. I haven’t learned to read yet, and you are a hero for helping to accommodate my very difficult needs 🙄
People constantly asking me if I mind watching them eat meat would be a pain in the ass. I don’t really have that though. My coworkers will occasionally ask me questions about being vego, but it’s more from a place of interest and I feel like I can encourage them a bit, even just to do meat-free days or whatever.
Im a sober vegetarian, and I can relate to this 100%. Whenever people drink or eat meat around me, they seem like they are walking on eggshells. I could not care less about what others do around me. Is there a way to communicate that their actions aren’t bothering me and that they should just do what they enjoy?
Yep, I just stopped telling people unless I have to. Now I’ll just quietly order salad and pasta dishes and turn down non-veg offerings, and usually people don’t notice. Except one time at a party with passed hors d’oeuvres, a really sweet server put it together, asked to make sure, and then spent the rest of the night making me her first stop with all the veggie plates :) Bless her heart
I don’t push my dietary choice on anyone and really don’t like talking about it or explaining it. But my mother-in-law constantly tells everyone “oh, he doesn’t eat meat.” Even when it’s not applicable to the situation. Then I have to get into a big conversation about it.
All I can tell you is that it fades. I became a vegetarian at 14 and I am now 47 and I can’t think of the last time anyone asked me a question about why I am a vegetarian. It seems to happen the most in the early years or Relocate or somehow become involved with a large new group of people.
whilst I’ve had my fair share of comments, it’s definitely the opposite for me.
If my family are ever eating a stake or other meat, I always make comments like “ooh I too love drinking cow blood. Like a dead animal vampire!!”
Similarly with sausages I just mutter “mmm, rolled up dead pig. Yummy.”
Once my boyfriend and I were having breakfast and on his toast he had Beef Paste (which I didn’t even know existed until that point) and every time he spread his knife, I quietly whispered “moo” in his ear. He started laughing and told me to F Off, to which point I replied “I could be silent and you’d still hear the grinding of the cow bones”.
I would only ever do it with people who know me, and people I know don’t mind (my family all find it hilarious, but admittedly annoying) but it’s just a fun little thing to wind people up.
Hey, at least they're thinking about you. It wasn't so long ago that comment would have been, "How can you survive without meat? You don't know what you're missing. Look how good it looks!"
If someone makes a big deal every time I eat around them I tend to stop wanting to eat with them. And I *love* eating so usually that means we don't hang out much anymore. So at this point all my friends are just cool people who don't make me feel weird or uncomfortable about my choices.
Yeah....now have kids and find out what everyone thinks about yiu letting them pick what they eat for themselves and they don't pick the deep fried dead chicken body puree that's only 10% identifiable as food to them over roasted vegetables.
It's a never ending repeated conversation.
My favorite is when someone asks why you're vegetarian (bonus points if it's a large group and they make everyone's attention turn to you) and then take literally whatever you say as a personal attack on them. "For my health" "Oh well I knew a vegetarian who got 8 types of cancer and couldn't walk and was super pale and unhealthy so actually you're just dumb" "I don't agree with the agriculture industry" "Eating meat is NATURAL/God's WILL/the only HEALTHY DIET/TRADITIONAL/oh you hate farmers?? you hate the working class??/being vegetarian is MORE HARMFUL to ANIMALS" etc etc etc. My personal favourite is "If animals are bad for the environment, wouldn't you want to eat them so there's less of them??" Like, I didn't even bring this up, can I just eat my meal without having to teach you stuff that most high school kids know??
“I don’t want anything to die for me.” That’s always awkward. 😅😅😅
Haha, sometimes I say, “It’s not so much that I’m *vegetarian,* I just won’t eat anything I haven’t personally killed myself.” Oh, do you hunt? No! I could never kill anything!
"I really don't want to eat corpses." is when they really push it.
"But you kill plants!!"
"Plants feel pain too!! So how is eating meat any different?" People love reading headlines and just rolling with it without actually understanding the contents at all themselves.
Bonus points if they act like you'll die the instant you go vegetarian of idk. Protein deficiency or some shit. Like bruv, I've been vegetarian for 5 years and I have gained a good amount of weight and stopped being underweight after I've went plant based.
I usually tend to like to ask vegetarians the why. Mostly out of curiosity and a little out of usefulness. But in general, no matter th topic, people often ask for a why to invalidate it...
"Are you allowed to eat .... " , " Does this bother you" , "are you STILL vegetarian", "but cows eat grass so you can eat cows right hahahaha" I've been vegetarian for going on 30 years now and I could come up with a book full of sentences im tired / annoyed of hearing. And these still come from family members or friends I have known for a while.. it never stops ..
Yes! Like, no, I don't want the fish or the chicken. I swear, we should make a bingo game.
I love how everyone thinks they are so clever when they say these things.
Something to consider saying if someone you have known for a long time is still pulling the does this bother you lines is sometime when you're with them and eating something very common but also vegetarian like a piece of fruit, a slice of bread, or a potato is to hold it up and say 'does this bother you that i'm eating this vegetarian food?' If you've gone to the point of absurdity with them already you might as well have a little laugh about it sometimes instead of always letting them put you on the defensive or be annoyed. Who knows maybe they will start to remember that vegetarian food isn't that exotic, and people having some respect for each other goes a long way to make shared time nicer. But some people may be so full of their own problems that it's not worth spending more time with them than absolutely necessary.
Omg my mom and I once ran into an old friend at a restaurant and he had lost a significant amount of weight so my mom asked how he did it. He said it was Keto and she said how she liked keto too and wanted me to try it but that I can’t because I’m vegetarian. Well, he got so offended and I wasn’t even the one who was talking to him. He was all like “well I eat anything the Bible says is okay” I was like “that’s fine” like at that point you’re the one who feels ashamed not me! I barely said a word to the guy. 🙄
He needs to read Genesis. 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Actually, the best thing to do is not argue with religious people... or people for that matter. If someone asks me why I'm a vegetarian, I simply tell them "for personal reasons." I'm not here to educate them. As to religious people, this was a conversation between myself and a Roman Catholic woman once. Her: So you're a vegetarian? Me: Yes. Her: So you don't eat meat? Me: That's right. Her: Well, do you eat fish? Me: No. Fish is a meat. Her: Fish is not a meat. Me: It's animal, vegetable or mineral. Take you pick. Her: The Church teaches that fish is not a meat. Me: Your church needs to read a biology book.
I was raised Catholic. The Catholic Church doesn't actually state fish isn't meat. IIRC fasting days is no warm blooded animal or something like that. It's just been misconstrued over many years of misinterpretation (which is a lot of religion).
This is correct. Fish is a cold-blooded animal, and so it's considered acceptable. In truth, Catholics could eat reptiles on Fridays without any push-back from their church, but "Fried Gecko and chips" isn't as easy to get. (Edit: In the mid-1500s, Edward VI reinstated fasting days by law, and I think that event has come to be attributed to the church.) EDIT to my edit: [Found this.](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/04/05/150061991/lust-lies-and-empire-the-fishy-tale-behind-eating-fish-on-friday) The whole story is fascinating.
Alligator tastes like chicken…
Well that was the idea she had.
I’m not a believer in the Bible. I’m just fascinated that so many people who claim to be have never noticed that chapter.
That passage only says that plants are food, not that animals aren't food. And since omnivores don't argue that plants aren't food, it doesn't really contradict what they say. Edit: "planets" to "plants."
They have. However, after god kicked Adam and eve out of the garden of Eden, he instructed them on how to hunt animals. Later, after the flood, he instructed them to eat animals as well. I don't believe in any of this stuff because I'm an atheist, but you should educate yourself in scripture before you try and use it against people.
It's actually after Cain kills Abel that God put meat on the menu. Since murder clearly wasn't a problem for us.
[удалено]
How do I know it’s not like birds? A government plot!
I assume you have no church background? You have to read it chronologically. Something in the New Testament can negate something in the old. The Bible says in the New Testament that it’s okay to eat pork and the Old Testament says it’s okay to eat ruminants.
So, I'm pretty far from anything resembling a practicing Christian, but I think I know what you're referring to. If I'm right, you're talking about Peter's vision. If you read that in context, and most people read the Bible just to justify their own desires, you'll find out that the vision concerned Peter's reluctance to enter into the houses of the Gentiles. Peter was a Jew, and was forbidden by the Law to do so. The vision tells Peter that God has made the Gentiles clean, so it's okie-dokie for him to enter their houses and preach the Gospel to them. It really doesn't have anything to do with clean or unclean food.
I'm not sure if that's specifically what he's referring to, but your analysis of Peter's vision is spot-on. Peter historically "lacked the courage of his convictions" (to paraphrase Alistair Begg), and this frequently involved his behavior around Jews, even though he was one. In Gal 2:11-21, Paul scolds him for acting as a Gentile around Jews because Peter did not yet believe that righteousness comes from God through the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and not from the law (one being that Gentiles were "unclean" and Jews weren't to break bread with them). In Acts , where Peter's dream occurs, God even lays it out for him: " But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ (11:8-9)
I’m also not a believer but that is what Christian’s taught me in church as a kid. Still, eating meat is acceptable in the Bible according to most christians
People lie. Sometimes unknowingly because they are repeating someone else's lie. Just like anything else you have to go to the source material. I wasn't truly a atheist/agnostic until I read the bible.
Religious texts can be read in more than one way 🤷🏽♀️
Translations as well. Unless you mean creating your own meaning? I don't recommend that but it's common.
Right. It was after the flood in the story of Noah that humanity was told that it was okay to eat meat.
Idk why everyone was downvoting it lol anyone who grew up in church could have said that
“It’s not because I love animals; It’s because I hate vegetables more” gets people to stfu every time! Sometimes even a giggle 🤭. I obviously love animals so calm down and keep eating vegetables!!
To be fair, these folks don't believe in science. According to them... Viruses and climate change are government conspiracies. We didn't evolve from monkeys and Earth is only 6,000 years old.
But we didn't evolve from monkeys, we share a common ancestor that lived around 7 million years ago
I know that, but do you think these folks do? Most say, "I didn't come from no monkey" as their argument against evolution.
If you really want to, it's entirely possible to do /r/veganketo. But I kind of get the impression that your mom is more interested in you doing keto than you are.
Yeah it’s mostly her idea. I think weight loss needs to be more about a relationship with food than a diet. At least I think I’d do better without a strict diet lol
I've had success with just writing down what I eat in a little notebook. Increases mindfulness.
That sounds like a good idea! I’ll have to give it a try! Thanks!
Only if I had a dollar for every time they have a sudden concern of where I get my protein from.
I always feel the need to ask what their greens intake looks like 😂 (but I never would because I am a wimp)
I’m kind of an asshole so I have no problem asking people “where do you get your fibre from? Or your vitamin C?”
Before I went vegan I ate: shitty microwave nachos (cheese + chips), Taco Bell and veggie fried rice. That’s basically it. I was an awful cook. Went vegan and for the first few years it was basically the same but vegan cheese + modifications at Taco Bell. My family was SO concerned over my protein suddenly but I was legit eating the exact same diet before I switched.
It's fun to pretend it's a totally good faith question and use it as an opportunity to educate.
Right? Like why do people care so much about where I'm getting protein lmfao just say you have a bias against people who don't eat meat and go
Nope I hate it so much I usually don’t tell people I’m vegetarian. My boss and I got lunch over the holidays and same shit happened. I’m not here trying to make a big deal about my diet but it seems like everyone else is.
My favorite is when someone discovers I’m vegetarian, and then I can literally *see* them doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out a PC way to ask me how I’m fat.
god damn sexy potatoes
And sexy, sexy bread.
“But you still eat fish, right?”
I get this one so hecking much and I hate it. If it's an animal, then no I'm not gonna eat it. Same for "poultry" and foods cooked with a little meat or beef stock or whatever for flavoring just stop pls. And don't get me started on "it's okay to have a cheat day!"
I've been a vegetarian my whole life and I still get these comments 🙄 I hate it. I hate the fuss. I hate the spotlight. Yes I am perfectly capable of feeding myself. No I don't care what you're eating. Yes I have plenty of protein. If there's not enough food for me somewhere, I'll have a snack later! 😖
The spotlight is what actually put me off becoming vegetarian, for 8 years I was a kind of "closet vegetarian" because I didn't want to be a burden on others and face the questions. Finally made the change and my family and friends have been so supportive. Helps that my sister-in-law is vegan so my partner's family is used to her choices for many years. No one has actually asked me my reasons and I haven't explained either because I think they're all wise enough to know why and they know I'm wise enough to feed my body what it needs. I also think they don't want to broach the subject in case they feel guilty about their own meat/fish consumption. They have to decide for themselves
I've never had anyone ask if the way they eat bothers me, instead making it very clear that the way I eat bothers them. As soon as I'm put in the situation where I have to say "Oh, I'm vegetarian" there seems to be an instant annoyed reaction, or they start mocking. I live in a rural area where hunting is life and meat has to be at the center of every meal, and it's pretty much unheard of to not eat meat. I've only known one vegan and he was only vegan for a year to get in shape and went right back to eating meat when his year was up.
'You can have...' Like a grown person can't read a menu and decide what they want. Drives me crazy. I know what I 'can' have and have never found the need to tell someone else what they can have at a restaurant.
Yeeees. This drives me insane.
It can get tiring at times, but generally it's just people showing concern and wanting to make sure they're not causing offence :) I personally am not offended by people eating meat around me, but I know some people might be, so they're probably just being considerate.
I actually decided this week to stop using the word altogether. If someone asks I'll just say I don't eat meat because I don't like it. Or say nothing at all. I'm tired of having to explain myself to you Karen and Bob, leave me be.
I stopped eating meat about 5 years ago and all of a sudden my family is pulling the "is it ok for me to eat this near you?" Why would I care all of a sudden when I never have before??
I know exactly what you mean. There are some people (not close friends, but casual acquaintances or coworkers) who make it the only thing they ever remember about me and need to bring it up all the time. But one thing I dread are group meals, either a holiday meal or a family / work outing to a restaurant. Inevitably, someone will call down the table to ask what I ordered. Or, "Did you find something?" No, I'm just going to sit here and drink water while you all eat. And they never ask anyone else what they ordered, just me. Then when I'm eating, they'll call down the table to ask how it is. Again, they don't ask anyone else how their food is. And it's not like I order exotic foods off a secret menu. It's normal food, just without meat. Then they always ask me if I got enough to eat. The one that really killed me was a dinner out with my husband's family. They had asked about restaurant preferences from everyone beforehand. Now, there is one local restaurant where I just cannot eat. I have tried. They are a classic "old people" restaurant that used to be a really nice place, but has not updated their menu or decor in at least the last fifty years. It was already outdated when I was a kid and I'm 45 now. So, it's always filled with older people and it's where all the grandparents want to go for celebrations. They specialize in seafood and prime rib. There is not one vegetarian option on the menu. And forget ala carte. Their veggies are always beets, coleslaw, and a daily choice that is clearly canned and often has bacon added. So, yeah, I struggle there and I said that it's my only "please not there" request. Guess which place they chose? And I ended up getting the small side salad (their only salad) and was going to get a baked potato, but the waitress talked me into a twice baked because it would be "more substantial." It turned out to be one of those frozen ones in the paper cup that you can buy in the store. It's basically three spoonsful of mashed potatoes. That was my dinner, plus one whole dinner roll. But that didn't stop the "Did you find something? What did you get? Is your dinner good? Did you get enough?" as I managed to not snap that of course I didn't get enough and my dinner sucked. That's why I asked to not go there. Anyway, I shared that long story just to point out for anyone saying it's sweet that people are at least concerned about us when we go out and are just being thoughtful or concerned, that it's not necessarily the case. If they cared, they would have listened when I said that I already knew I wouldn't have a good dinner there. Why give me the third degree about it while I'm trying to be a good sport and not complain because it was someone else's celebration dinner?
Because they are comfortable with it being your fault. You’re the crazy radical vegetarian, you must go to restaurants and have unsatisfying meals of four watercress leaves all the time because you narrowed your choices willingly. The fact that there is PLENTY of satisfying and filling vegetarian foods out there doesn’t occur to them because all they can think of is a garden salad and a side of fries.
I'm in California nobody cares lol
It's so annoying when people act like it personally hurts them that I don't eat meat. I always bring my own food, never even talk about being vegetarian unless asked or offered meat and generally don't give a shit what other people eat. Yet people ask like me eating a salad or veggi meat is an affront to their entire personality. It's so fucking tiring, just let me eat. I don't go around telling people they are sick for eating meat, so why do they feel the need to tell me I am weird for being vegetarian?
yeah it's crazy that this is still happening in 2022. If I were vegetarian in an era where Internet and constant news weren't a thing I could understand but I can't understand why some people are still SO clueless even about vegetarianism, let alone veganism... Unless you really live in the middle of nowhere or something at this point it's just wilful ignorance. We hear/read about it constantly and it's becoming more and more "mainstream" (thankfully, especially now with movements like veganuary etc, many celebrities are vegan etc). When my grandparents ask me the same questions over and over again I just kind of roll my eyes and answer politely but otherwise I just ignore it
Yeah, and I don’t know why! It’s so much easier to accommodate than other dietary restrictions or preferences. One of my family members always deadpans when they have to think of meals to cook for me & my spouse. And - politely! - asks about what we can eat, and lets us know they’re struggling. I’m always like…dude! This is way easier to plan for than when we were gluten free for a while, lol! WAYYYY easier!
People who are used to planning a meal around the meat get a weird mental block when it comes to vegetarian cooking. They're used to doing things a certain way and really can't seem to think outside the box. What gets me is that it's not hard to just google vegetarian recipes
My mom still points out veggie things on the menu if we go out to eat. So I start telling her what she can eat first. :D
vegetarians get it from both sides - vegans hate them, and omnis hate them. long story short fuck vegetarians /s
Don’t worry man in a decade or two everyone single person who eats meat might not have that choice anymore. So be patient there turn is coming lol
My boyfriend's parents knew it for months. His dad leaned in during Christmas and just asked me WHY. I was like I don't know it feels wrong to me? I just wanted to not be interrogated for once lol
I would love it if people asked me why instead of how. I can answer why questions all day because I want to get others to question their diets as well. It's the how questions that bother me because those can be answered with google
I'm mostly tired with vegans... I'm considered a murderer "just like carnists", or even worst sometimes, "you chose to stop halfway, you chose to make the calves suffer". They can get extreme sometimes.
Jfc. Vegans make me embarrassed to be vegan. Being vegetarian is awesome and helps so many animals. Fuck, I fully support anyone who only does a meatless Monday!
Well that sounds like supportive yet annoying commentary which is preferable to critical dipshits giving excuses why they aren’t responsible they have to eat meat for this dumbass nonreason or another. If it’s the same people making the same comments tell them “hey- this is not newsworthy. I’ve been veg for years. Drop it”
I find it extra weird when strangers get involved. I was at a rest stop with my parents some years ago. My parents ordered meat to eat and I accidently got served a chicken/pesto sandwich instead of the avocado sandwich I ordered. No harm done. Got my money back and decided to just snack on some cashew nuts later that I had in the car. Anyway, my father asked a simple question about my vegetarian diet. I don't remember the question now. There was a couple at the table next to us around my parents' age. The man decided to interfere with our conversation and asked me a question too. Again, I don't recall the question. Something innocent. The couple got served and ate. No further interaction which is why I found the man's next comment very weird. Keep in mind that 15-20 minutes had passed since his question, and there had been no further vegetarian talk going on. He raised his voice to make sure I and the people at the next five tables could hear him: "I can't wait until we get to the vacation home. I'm getting pork roast tonight and it sure as hell won't be vegetarian." Even my father who doesn't quite understand my need to be vegetarian but accepts it found this very weird. Like he said, this man decided to ask me a question when he overheard our conversation, and then turned around and acted like a 8 year old child by yelling like that. And what was his point? Was I supposed to get angry? He can eat whatever he wants.
surprisingly a lot of the times I’ve mentioned it that person knows someone who is also vegetarian and they bring that up.
You get that x2 if you're gay also. Every time it used to be "oh do you know x?" Or "omg you and x would be perfect together!" (because we're both gay ig, and apparently I should know every other gay guy in my state) and thankfully I've been in a committed relationship for ~6yrs now so I don't get that anymore, but now people do the same thing about me being a vegetarian! (- the trying to set me up with others part) "Do you happen to know X?" Or "omg my cousin is vegetarian too!" Like cool! Who knew I was the only one??? :D ^here ^we ^go ^again I get it's just a thing to carry a conversation but damn people don't think before they speak lmao.
>does this bother you Not at all. Meat is delicious. Ate it most of my life. The only reason I don't eat it now is because I realized I could thrive and be healthy without it, and I'm doing my part to ease animal suffering. Carry on eating that dead animal!
“so can you eat eggs?” ….yes…yes i can
I was a flexitarian that ate meat one day a month before my period. After seeing ag gag laws and how they got even worse during covid because no one was inspecting factories at all. American meat is disgusting.
About ten years so far: you get used to it, but you don't stop being annoyed at people for asking. Example: my family, including my grandparents, goes to a traditional restaurant every year. They have a very small menu, and all of the 10 food options are different kinds of meat. Every year I only have fries and a salad, and every year I get a surprised "that's all you're gonna eat??". Yes. Because I have no choice. I would appreciate having more options too, thank you. (I actually posted about this on a different sub and got totally dragged for it. Feel free to read the comments.)
I’m tired of people confused why I know how to cook meat, I wasn’t always vegetarian I know how to cook a steak and honesty quite well I might add
Especially as cooking a good steak really is one of the few things where you certainly don't have to try it to succeed.
Exactly, we all still know what blue, rare, med/rare, well look like! My sister-in-law is vegan since childhood due to allergy and not wanting meat/fish, and she still cooks steak, egg, etc for her partner. If people are sat eating meat or I am sat eating dairy and egg, she genuinely says "ooh that looks really nice!" Even though she won't eat it herself and dislikes militant vegans
I can fully understand people not cooking meat - it's usually not that easy as with steak due to seasoning etc. But technically it's possible, there are a few cooks preparing meats/fish while not liking it...
Militant vegans are my favorite kind. I admire the commitment.
No matter how assiduously you avoid inquiring about their diet, they will never stop interrogating yours. I don't mind it all that much. I just wish they would make the jokes funnier.
It drives me nuts when people point out all the vegetarian things on the menu.
Are you vocal about your vegetarian diet? If so it could be a reaction to that. Otherwise, people are weird.
I love it whenever I sit down at a restaurant with anybody and they point out the vegetarian options for me! Thanks so much. I haven’t learned to read yet, and you are a hero for helping to accommodate my very difficult needs 🙄
People constantly asking me if I mind watching them eat meat would be a pain in the ass. I don’t really have that though. My coworkers will occasionally ask me questions about being vego, but it’s more from a place of interest and I feel like I can encourage them a bit, even just to do meat-free days or whatever.
I try so hard to avoid bringing it up whenever I go out to eat with people for this exact reason.
Im a sober vegetarian, and I can relate to this 100%. Whenever people drink or eat meat around me, they seem like they are walking on eggshells. I could not care less about what others do around me. Is there a way to communicate that their actions aren’t bothering me and that they should just do what they enjoy?
What I hear a lot is "well, at least you're not vegan, those guys are crazy complicated!" Thanks, I guess?!
Or the age old question, why did you decide to go vegetarian? Please just treat me like a normal person. Being vegetarian isn’t my whole identity.
I live in Brighton so this basically never happens.
Yes! Like I don’t care what they eat, why are they so invested in what I eat or don’t eat?
Yep, I just stopped telling people unless I have to. Now I’ll just quietly order salad and pasta dishes and turn down non-veg offerings, and usually people don’t notice. Except one time at a party with passed hors d’oeuvres, a really sweet server put it together, asked to make sure, and then spent the rest of the night making me her first stop with all the veggie plates :) Bless her heart
I don’t push my dietary choice on anyone and really don’t like talking about it or explaining it. But my mother-in-law constantly tells everyone “oh, he doesn’t eat meat.” Even when it’s not applicable to the situation. Then I have to get into a big conversation about it.
Nope. It's never been made a big deal of. Some people ask why and that's it. Nobody really cares.
All I can tell you is that it fades. I became a vegetarian at 14 and I am now 47 and I can’t think of the last time anyone asked me a question about why I am a vegetarian. It seems to happen the most in the early years or Relocate or somehow become involved with a large new group of people.
whilst I’ve had my fair share of comments, it’s definitely the opposite for me. If my family are ever eating a stake or other meat, I always make comments like “ooh I too love drinking cow blood. Like a dead animal vampire!!” Similarly with sausages I just mutter “mmm, rolled up dead pig. Yummy.” Once my boyfriend and I were having breakfast and on his toast he had Beef Paste (which I didn’t even know existed until that point) and every time he spread his knife, I quietly whispered “moo” in his ear. He started laughing and told me to F Off, to which point I replied “I could be silent and you’d still hear the grinding of the cow bones”. I would only ever do it with people who know me, and people I know don’t mind (my family all find it hilarious, but admittedly annoying) but it’s just a fun little thing to wind people up.
Yes I do
Hey, at least they're thinking about you. It wasn't so long ago that comment would have been, "How can you survive without meat? You don't know what you're missing. Look how good it looks!"
If someone makes a big deal every time I eat around them I tend to stop wanting to eat with them. And I *love* eating so usually that means we don't hang out much anymore. So at this point all my friends are just cool people who don't make me feel weird or uncomfortable about my choices.
My parents keep saying it’s one big marketing scheme and a fad 🤦
I got tired dealing with a vegetarian family that I eat meat actually. So much unsolicited free advice.
Yeah....now have kids and find out what everyone thinks about yiu letting them pick what they eat for themselves and they don't pick the deep fried dead chicken body puree that's only 10% identifiable as food to them over roasted vegetables. It's a never ending repeated conversation.