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Across the Ist-a-Verse
We all know one or two. We don't agree with them, but they're our friends anyway, even if Anthony Bourdain likens them to terrorists, some courts have called them murderers, and Roger Clemens doesn't know what they are. They're vegans—or at least really serious vegetarians—and their numbers are growing.
Are they obnoxious about it? Well yes, sometimes, like when Hugs for Puppies is out blocking the sidewalk and ruining people's meals. And while veganism can often have a purely political bent to it, some people are vegans... just because. Because they see it as the right thing to do for themselves or the environment. Because they grew up on a farm and didn't like losing their "friends" at Thanksgiving or Easter. Because they read Skinny Bitch and decided they wanted to be exactly that. There might be political implications behind their decisions, but these are not the people you'll see trying to ban foie gras in front of Le Bec Fin. They go to Whole Foods to get their tofu and seitan and soy milk, and they don't glare at the people standing in line at the meat counter. They respect the omnivorous majority (somewhere between 90–97% of Americans eat meat), and they deserve our respect in turn.
Okay, so it's not like we the meat eaters are protesting the falafel at Mama's Vegetarian. (Stop the chickpea cruelty!) But there are subtler, less intrusive though no less obnoxious ways that we might be disrespecting our animal-loving (except for when the animal's on a plate) friends and acquaintances. After the jump, a few ways to avoid making a faux-meat faux-pas.
- Review your restaurant choices. You love Fogo de Chão. Nothing sates you better than red meat on a stick. But while Fogo, and other places like it, has a great salad bar, its prix fixe pricing means that the vegetarian/vegan friends you invited out to dinner will have to pay for meat that they won't be eating. If it's meat on a stick you want, try going Thai: there are plenty of fresh veggies for your friends, and you can get the beef satay.
- Play safe at pot lucks. Even though you know that only a few of the attendees at your neighbor's housewarming potluck barbecue will be shying away from the burgers and dogs, don't just assume that the vegetarians are going to take care of themselves. Bring a dish that's vegetarian, like cole slaw, or vegan, like, well, cole slaw with soy mayo. Or bring a small, meatless version of whatever meaty dish you're making: baked beans sans bacon, all-bean chili, etc. You don't have to go out of your way to make steak-less cheesesteaks—but a little thoughtfulness is always appreciated.
- When in doubt, go disposable. So you're actually pretty good at making a vegetarian meal at home, but the more observant amongst your vegetarian and vegan friends might not want their meatless food served on—let alone cooked in—dishes that once held meat when you invite them over for dinner. Those of you who keep a kosher kitchen will find this easier to address than most: use your pareve or dairy dishes. But most of us don't keep kosher, and this serves a problem. You're not about to go buy a new stock pot so that you can make your vegan-friendly tomato soup for your friends—but you can buy disposable roasting pans to make vegan baked ziti with soy cheese (don't pre-boil the pasta in one of your meated pots; instead, use no-boil noodles or a sauce made for baking). And although it may seem a little tacky to you, serve your meal on high-quality recyclable or disposable plates, using plastic silverware. Or go to Ikea, buy yourself a few place settings for twenty dollars, and put them aside as your veg dishes. It's more environmentally responsible, if you have the space.
Photo Credit: Flickr user 摩根
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Kudos on this post. I (a vegetarian) will never forgive my friends for taking me out for Pho without telling me what it was, and then sitting there eating it while I quietly drank a glass of water.
"In fact, diners can order just the salad bar for $19.50, at lunch and dinner." http://www.fogodechao.com/reviews_detail.php?pubID=113&pageNum_Reviews=1&totalRows_Reviews=115
Veggies will not be paying for meat they are not eating. They just need to be able to still enjoy their salad while around others who are chowing through small herds of large animals.
Maybe I'm a jerk, but if I cooked pasta for a vegetarian and they refused to eat it because I boiled the noodles in a pot I once used to make chili, I think I'd let 'em go hungry. I mean, c'mon--I if scrubbed the pot in between and there wasn't any meat stuck to it to contaminate the noodles, who cares? Luckily, none of my veg friends are militant like that.
I've never had it happen to me at home, but I worked at the Kelly Writers House for four years, and for a while there, if we were cooking we had to be super vigilant about keeping the meat and veg pots separated.
It's one thing to keep pots separated within a single meal, but in the situation Stephanie has proposed, where the pot may have been used for meat a week, a month, a year beforehand, then it's absurd for your vegetarian friend to have a problem. Of course, if the person is that militant, then they're probably not associating with omnivores anyway, because, let's face it, every pot and pan belonging to an omnivore has had some meat product on it at some point.
It's not the pans/pots thats the huge problem.
The real problem lends to when you cook meat and vegetarian food at the same time and they grill it up in the same dish/pot. I've been to a bbq where they grill hamburgers and then right after the veggie patties. Regardless to say I wouldn't eat it.
I'm not a vegan but I have strict dietary needs, some of it's principle, most of it's for health reasons.
All I say is please respect people's dietary needs/preferences.
I hate being asked, "Are you sure you don't want to eat _____"
YES I AM MOTHER EFFING SURE!
Ha ha... actually, I feel the same way about vegetables. I know I should eat them but I hate them. And when I tell someone that, they invariably ask if I'd like some salad. Last time I checked, salad was made of vegetables. And I'm sure I don't want any.