VEGGIEPHOBIA (n): 1) Irrational fear of vegetarians; 2) State of being a total arse when in the company of those decide not to eat meat. Manifests itself in the churning out of a series of clichéd jokes or passive aggression and usually culminates in an observation such as "Ah but you wear leather shoes!"; 3) Longstanding provocation defence in English common law. Reduces a murder charge to manslaughter when the vegetarian clobbers the meat-eater to death in complete exasperation (R v Vegetarian Society [1974 AC 217[1]).
What on earth am I talking about? I just knew that if I blogged about why I'm vegetarian, I would get a whole set of snide, defensive and frankly really quite unfunny responses. When I tweeted that observation it led to a flurry of exchanges. Most meat eaters seemed amazed and genuinely didn't have any idea this type of thing existed. A series of resigned tweets from vegetarians led me to think I was far from alone.
I think Matthijs puts it pretty well. He is 26. Early retirement indeed.
A Personal Choice
Being vegetarian is an intensely personal choice. People have a whole series of reasons for it and it covers a whole range of choices about what you eat. You can have "vegetarians" who eat fish (technically they're pescetarians) through to vegans who don't eat any animal products at all. Most people are like me: lacto-ovo-vegetarians. The way I explain it is "if it had a face, then no thanks". We eat eggs, cheese, drink milk but don't eat a dead creature's flesh.
Some people are part time vegetarians, frequently choosing the non-meat option when they eat out in restaurants. It doesn't have to be a black and white choice. Many people were vegetarian for at least some time in their lives and then for whatever reason go back to eating meat, or perhaps just fish and fowl.
Some Examples
So what is the fuss about? I can't imagine hostility and jokes about a decision not to eat ice-cream for example. Yet hostility there is, without question. I've been veggie since I was 25 (I'm now 40) and the range of negative reactions range from the patronising through to quite unpleasant outright taunting. Here are a few I've encountered:
- "If we weren't supposed to eat them, why are animals made out of meat?"
- "Carrots scream when they're pulled out of the ground you know"
- "It's not natural to be vegetarian" (yup, just like antibiotics and central heating. We should all in fact live in caves and die at 30)
- "If we didn't eat cows they'd be extinct" (erm yeah, just like giraffes, for example)
- "But bacon tastes soooooo good" (ideally accompanied by picking up a piece of it on your fork and dangling it in front of the vegetarian's nose)
- "Any vegetarian who eats eggs is SO hypocritical" (having pronounced this you can smugly go back to eating your lump of steak)
- "Wasn't Hitler vegetarian? Haha - but look at what he did to the Jews... " (no he wasn't: his favourite food was sausage. He suffered from stomach cramps and so ate heavily, but not exclusively vegetarian meals)
- "Oh I could never give up [insert: bacon, Big Mac etc.]" Fascinating. Ever thought I MIGHT NOT CARE WHAT YOU LIKE TO EAT? Are you interested to know I don't like grapefruit? And also is not giving up the odd bacon sandwich *really* your reason for you to continue eating lamb, beef, pork etc up to 3 times a day?
- "How ridiculous you eat meat substitutes - I just don't get that" (for many it's an ethical not a taste decision. The thought of Wienerschnitzel makes me whimper and salivate. If I can find a tasty meat substitute I will eat and enjoy it: mung beans and tofu are not everyone's idea of fun)
- And our absolute and utterly original favourite: "Ahhh, but you wear leather shoes/ belt" followed by raised eyebrows. This is where the provocation defence mentioned in the definition above kicks in.
My best friend was once told at a dinner party by a Tory MP "Suffolk may accept your homosexuality, but it will never accept your vegetarianism". Cue guffaws from all the guests. Hmm, hysterical.
An interesting observation is that most of the negativity (dressed up frequently as "humour") comes from men. Many women say "Oh I could quite easily be a vegetarian". A good few men seem to retreat to some weird caveman position that unless you're shoving bleeding bison down your gullet, you're a huge poof. It genuinely seems to threaten the masculinity of a few guys. I find this utterly bizarre.
Back to the "jokes"... guess what - you're never going to come out with an original or amusing quip to a vegetarian - we've heard it all. Many, many, many times before. This is a large part of why we don't find it funny. When a joke is heard the 80th time, it's just not amusing. It's not to do with a lack of sense of humour. I also bet if you've made comments like this, you don't see it as being hostile, passive-aggressive or just plain boring at all. For the most part, we do, though.
Evangelical, dull, worthy vegetarians
I don't seek to impose my dietary choices on anyone. If you want to eat meat in front of me, you're welcome to. If we're out on a date and I'm paying, I'll pay for your meal whatever you order. What I won't do, personally, is cook meat for you in my house. I know plenty of veggies who would though. They just choose not to eat it themselves. I'm not evangelical and have a "live and let live attitude". I think most of us do: as I said, this is an intensely personal decision.
Ahhh you say - but what about all those evangelical, worthy vegetarians? Why do they have ram their views down our throat and get all superior? I'm sure these people exist. I literally can't say I've ever met one though. What I think is much more likely to be the case is that there is a big dollop of projection going on here from the meat-eater and it's linked to an inherent unease that some have about their diets.
Some might call this guilt. All I can speak about is myself; and before I became veggie it definitely was guilt for me. I could only eat meat if I didn't associate the cute brown eyed animal in the field with what was served up on my plate. I certainly didn't want to think about the process in the middle (or indeed the millions of animals that never see the light of day or a field at all).
Paul McCartney is right: I didn't inform myself and just wouldn't "go there" even in my own head. I therefore was naturally quite defensive in respect of anyone who had thought about this a bit more and made the decision to be veggie.
Now here's something interesting about evangelical, worthy veggies: Fiona Laird whose tweet appears above, is a friend of mine in real life. We've had dinner together in restaurants. I'd never even registered she was vegetarian until our discussion last night. She's not running around making a big fuss about it, forcing her views down people's throats. I didn't even know - and why should I, as I've never cooked for her? Many other people whom I follow tweeted me and are veggie, unbeknown to me.
So why are people veggie?
The range of reasons is huge. For me I looked down at a ham sandwich and a cheese sandwich on 20 August 1996. I simply realised I'd never made the decision to eat meat: I'd done it since a kid without thinking about it because my parents gave it to me. When I did think about it, it repulsed me. Not the taste of the stuff: but what it actually is. I know the intelligence and amazing range of emotions my dog has. I wouldn't eat @LassieOscar, so why eat any other animal? It just seemed unnecessary for me to choose the ham when I could have the cheese. I can nourish myself perfectly well without meat.
For other people it's about the environment. I can dish out the numbers: one tonne of beef production takes up 45 tonnes of crop production that could be used to feed the world. The millions of cows we breed to eat let out methane, which is 25 times more damaging to the ozone layer than carbon dioxide. Visit Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia and the desert for miles around under Aboriginal control is beautiful and full of flowers and wild life. Get back to cattle producing Australia and the land is red dust. One single cow guzzles over 70 gallons of water every week. A herd of 1000 is a disaster for the environment. When we ate meat once or twice a week it was better. Now as people demand meat up to three times a day, and countries with heavily vegetarian diets move to "Western" diets (e.g. China) it is massively and frighteningly unsustainable.
My best friend has been veggie for 25 years. He does not believe it is morally wrong to kill animals; he simply fundamentally objects to the industrialised factory nature of farming today. There are meat eaters like him of course: they eat little carefully sourced organic free range food (at least that's what they buy for eating at home; what's served up in restaurants is mainly out of their control). My position is that I believe killing is inherently wrong: again, this is a very personal viewpoint and you (and he) don't have to agree with it. A couple of total dimwits from the past have however taken a similar position...
What ABOUT wearing leather?!
Live and let live. For me that means respecting that if you want to eat meat and enjoy it, fine. But drop your silly comments, please, and leave me to eat what I wish to, without making me feel like a pariah when you invite me over to dinner. Please don't ask me to justify or explain myself. I don't ask you to justify why you eat meat.
If you do push and push me, and I end up pointing out that what you are putting in your mouth is the antibiotic laden corpse of a tortured animal, you're not going to take it too kindly, are you? No, even though you brought the subject up, I'll just be one of those evangelical, dull, worthy vegetarians...
As for (many) egg and (especially) dairy products, yes - you're quite right. Only a vegan can take the moral high ground in this area. Most vegans I know are quiet, thoughtful, gentle souls - they actually don't get all aggressive and moralistic, funny enough. I respect and admire them, and I know the huge problems they have in eating, other than in their own homes. The same point about the moral ground goes for wearing leather: I've tried plastic shoes: they don't work for me and it's a compromise I have made to wear leather shoes that clearly cannot be justified if I'm consistent.
There is however the rather obvious question of degree. If someone drives their car at 34 mph once a year in a 30mph speed limit, this is not great. I think most people would agree, though, that there's a qualitative difference between that and someone who speeds at 70mph every time they drive through the village. Yes, better that no one speeds: but don't pretend we are the same qualitatively. We are not. I've apparently saved the lives of around 1500 animals in the time I've been veggie. If I reach 80, then 5500 animals will not have died because of my dietary choices. Yes, my shoes are leather and an animal died to produce them. However, I'm undeniably doing my bit, however imperfect.
Ending Thoughts
If reading this has brought up issues that make you uncomfortable, sorry. If you're making a conscious informed choice to eat meat, enjoy it. If you're doing it blindly (as I was) though there is no inevitability about your continued choice. I'm not a black/white person: if you do feel uncomfortable, just cut down. Try some veggie substitutes. You can make a huge difference to animal suffering, the environment or your own health just by eating less meat rather than stopping it entirely.
There was genuine amazement last night when I tweeted about hostility to veggies. Some of it came from people who themselves had made comments such as "yummmm bacon!" to me in the past. I guess you're just not aware of it. We are and I'd ask you please have a bit of sensitivity about this. If someone has made a personal decision actively not to eat meat (which is not the default setting in this country) they've done it for a reason. Taunting them, no matter how amusing you find it, really isn't that big or clever.
Over and out: it's time for a quorn sausage!
UPDATE: Was sent this by commentator "Forty Shades of Grey" below - Priceless :-)
Nice post!
ReplyDeleteMirroring other aspects of my life, perhaps the only reason I am a vegetarian is because I haven't met the right butcher?
ReplyDeleteThanks. That's interesting & helpful.I was one of the people who replied, and I did mention having known an evangelical vegan. She was also a militant animal rights activist so was in no way representative of other vegetarians/vegans I have known. I couldnt actually tell you which of my friends are Veggie, I would always ask before making a meal & if in doubt make sure I provide something veggie. I'm a great fan of live & let live. Oh & if you invite me to dinner I dont eat onions.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I've been vegetarian for 11 years and recently went vegan as the guilt got too much. However, that's my personal choice - I try my damndest to not go 'preachy vegan' when around friends (I'm more likely to be found in the corner muttering "I will not eat the cheese. I will NOT eat the cheese" to myself - withdrawal is horrible.)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, last time I wrote about veganism I included this picture at the bottom of the post with the caveat that if a comment included anything featured on it, they wouldn't be getting a response. I thought you might like it: http://bit.ly/ygjvnU
As a meat eater, I've got no problems with vegetarians. I do have problems with other meat eaters though. Many, I suspect, don't know what the animal they are eating looks like, how it was killed, and would not want to kill it. I put this down to a disconnection with food.
ReplyDeleteThere should be a test for meat eaters - kill your food and eat it, or stay quiet and don't judge.
Spot on. :)
ReplyDeleteBasically, I just want to enjoy my meal without being interviewed, interrogated or asked to justify my choice or ethical framework.
ReplyDeleteI don't preach, but if asked, I will explain. If I turn down something because it has gelatine in it, for example, that's sometimes met with curious surprise, and I'll explain. Same goes for when I turn down a veggie side dish on someone's plate which also contains meat, or bring my own disposable barbecue to a bbq party so that my food is cooked separately. I don't intentionally draw attention to it, but it draws attention. Sometimes it's curiosity, sometimes passive aggressive jokes like the ones you mention, and sometimes something akin to a verbal assault. My worst argument was with a chef for a very upmarket restaurant group who, like many chefs in my experience, held vegetarians in scorn.
If my choices were for religious reasons, they'd probably be tolerated and accommodated without question. The fact that they're more complex, based on ethics, health and lifestyle, makes some people uncomfortable, and that discomfort is sometimes converted into defensiveness, which leads to veggiephobia.
Great post. I haven't been vegetarian for many years but when I was, many meat eaters would be really quite aggressive towards me. I guess it does make people feel uncomfortable to have their passive choices challenged, albeit tacitly. I choose meat free meals a lot these days & source the meat my family eats carefully, it's not perfect but it makes me feel a little better. I've never met a militant vegetarian or vegan but plenty of militant meat eaters!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I was one of the surprised meat-eaters last night, genuinely did not believe this kind of thing could happen (although, upon reflection, it doesn't exactly surprise me). I'm lactose intolerant, although I've never had a medical test to prove it, but I know my body and I know how icky I feel if I have dairy. I have to cope with people asking, "but you've never really HAD it tested, so how do you know for sure?" as well as questions like "what about eggs?" and "can you eat bread?", and have, on more than one occasion, worried about what I was eating because it had been cooked by someone sceptical about my intolerance. Would they use it to prove a point? Thankfully not!
ReplyDeleteI am, however, not veggie, because I struggle to nourish myself adequately without dairy. I know vegans can do it, but the other truth is that I like the taste of meat, and I am fully aware of where it comes from. So thank you for this post, highlighting something that I wasn't really aware of, and for making me really think again about why I eat meat.
A fascinating post about a subject which is clearly very important to you, and perhaps defines who you are. I am glad you chose to write about this topic as it has helped me understand more about vegetarianism and also what it means to you. I don't know any vegetarians. And I can understand how if someone did declare this it may well be met with surprise verging on scorn, that's not in anyway to imply that's acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI am also cringing at the thought I may have chided you in the past and really should have known better.
Great post, it won't change my food choices, but it certainly has informed me greatly about yours and the respect it deserves.
I've always been a bit conflicted about eating meat. My first job after college was in a meat company, mainly working in the office but with frequent visits to the killing floor. I didn't eat meat (with the exception of chicken - they didn't 'process' them there) for about 10 years after that, but gradually fell back into it. I still don't eat pork, just prefer not to, but will still have chicken and to a lesser degree, beef. I can totally understand why people would want to be vegetarian (I agree with Ust here, you should only be allowed eat meat that you have either killed yourself, or seen killed. That's nearly as hard).
ReplyDeleteI stayed 3 years in that job, hating every day of it. I stopped telling people where I worked, since it provoked a hostile reaction in a lot of people. I was glad to see the back of it.
Great post... I don't understand the reactions to vegetarians either, and I am not a vegetarian (although we hold vegetarian Tuesday and any other night I can sneak in meat free at our house...). Do what makes you happy, I say!
ReplyDeletePeter, I chatted, briefly with you, on twitter earlier, about people's very odd reactions to me not eating red meat, it makes me feel ill... people react similarly to how Sarahpysch has described "oh but you're not actually allergic" "No, but it makes me feel sick" "ohhhh, but you eat chicken" "yes, it doesn't make me feel sick" it seems to overly bother them. I don't eat oats either (because they make me feel sick lol) but this doesn't seem to bother people half as much!! The reason I came to add some other opinions Peter, is that I'd thought of other things!
ReplyDelete1) I think food seems to be a subject that people seem to feel they can be very critical, opinionated and "snobby" about full stop... What you eat, how you cook it, why you eat it, why you don’t eat it etc etc etc etc.
2) everybody can talk about food, it's the one thing we ALL have in common, yes we might do it differently, but we all eat, so therefore it's something we all have in common. I often find at the dinner table at work, we talk about food for hours, I mostly think this is because a lot of us have absolutely nothing in common, other than work (dull to talk about at the dinner table) and food!
3) If you think people are critical about what you do/don't eat, it is nothing compared to how much people discuss what you do/don't feed your child! "Oh I would never feed my child meat/cheese/mcdonalds/sweets/fizzy/mash/cabbage/pizza with horrified faces thrown in for good measure.
I am not sure what I'm trying to point out with these thoughts, they're just random woolly thoughts in my head, but I had to share them!
I think the main point is that food is a MAJOR part of our society, so maybe having it in common is important (to them whoever them are), so when you're "different" about food it threatens their sense of pack? (or something) ha ha I do make TOTAL sense to myself :) :) :) Maybe that's why it seems to be men more that find it weird, because it threatens their inner hunter? :O
Not of course, condoning any of the above, but maybe it's a hidden ism, brought on by, being different, that throws people off kilter. I've always been a little different but mostly in ways that people would not feel socially acceptable to point out, they don't however feel they can't comment on my weird eating (including my lovely but sometimes difficult father!).
Anyway big hugs, get back to those veggie soosidges (as my Onion would call them) xx mwoooahh xx
Interesting post (as usual). I was going to say I eat everything, but actually I don't- due to nut allergies, intolerance to dairy and beef and wheat there are things I can't eat. I love my food and enjoy most flavours.My ex GF was vege and I am used to cooking and eating vege food and as such I just see vege food as just, food, really.
ReplyDeleteI am always amazed at people's attitude when I order a 'vege' dish when out:
'I didn't realise you were vegetarian'
'I'm not'
'but why are you not having meat?'
'er coz I fancy the other dish/I'm not in the mood for meat/what's it to you??'
I go through phases of eating more and then less meat. I tend to buy free range/organic meat where possible but sometimes my budget won't stretch that far. I enjoy some meat I just don't feel the need to eat it all the time. I'm aware of the problems with meat but my diet is limited enough at and eating out is enough of a nightmare at times, I'm not really prepared to cut out another thing.
I don't eat meat. I don't define myself as vegetarian because I eat fish (although I'm very picky about it- any fish that is too "meaty" in texture, such as monkfish, I don't) and I haven't eaten meat through choice since I was about 15. I'm now 43. According to my parents I never liked meat as a child either. I have no ethical problem with other people eating meat since I don't reject meat for any reason other than I don't like it. Other foods I don't like:
ReplyDelete* pickled beetroot
* lychees
* white chocolate
* mussels
Yet nobody has ever seen fit to harangue me at parties or say that I should have turned down an invitation to a barbecue due to my dislike of eating Milky Bars.
As usual a thought provoking and eloquently written and presented blog.
ReplyDeleteI, like you did, have always eaten meat because I was given it by my parents. I've never leaned toward a vegetarian diet but I have thought about my current diet many times.
I am in many ways a total wuss. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the meat that I eat. I know about slaughterhouses and processing to a very limited degree but I deliberately close my eyes to it. I know it what goes on but I don't want my nose rubbing in it! Pitiful isn't it?
I'm sure there are good slaughterhouses ( if there is such a thing ) and those that are dire. I have insufficient knowledge to separate them though.
In some regards I'm lucky. Our local butcher sources from local farms and all are identifiable. We know where the meat is coming from. We only have to drive a few miles to see the animals in the fields. That said I will still buy from the supermarket when I have to.
If you transpose this to slavery or racism. Then sticking my head in the sand and pretending it doesn't happen is intensely hypocritical.
There is a huge video on YouTube called ... Home Project?? It's about 90 mins long. Will try and find link later.
This has stunning photography and some very interesting facts. I won't go down the evolution debate! There is a section where it depicts trucks in a massive cattle ranch in the states. Is this what we are coming to? The conditions are appalling. With the global population soaring this can only get worse.
I have this rose tinted spectacles idea that we can all live in our own communities and feed ourselves locally with seasonal produce/livestock. Whilst this may work in the area where I live i don't see it happening in London!
Whilst I'm still firmly in the meat camp I see that long after my time there are going to be fundamental changes in our global diets and huge population migrations as we move to areas where we can be more self sustainable.
At least I hope so otherwise we're all doomed!
A fabulous post, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI've always interpreted the hostility as being insecurity in their own diet. Perhaps they see my comfort in my own diet as implicit criticism of their own. It's really not; I'm not vegetarian to make a point. I just don't think of meat as food.
The hostility comes from discomfort. Eating meat in front of a vegetarian makes one a little bit uncomfortable just as eating pork in front of a muslim or drinking in the company of an alcoholic. People resent being made to feel uncomfortable and it leads them to agressicvely defend their own choices. The second problem is that vegetarian is such an abused term, the majority of vegetarians in my experience just don't like either the thought or taste of meat which is why they are fine with eating fish or even chicken. What they are is fussy eaters, I can empathise with that, I can't stand mashed potato. However noone has ever mistaken my dislike of mashed potato for an ethical position.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, but I think you'll find that calling vegetarians "fussy eaters" the majority of whom eat "fish or even chicken" is wrong and exactly reinforcing the type of ignorance this blog is intended to highlight.
DeleteVeggies don’t eat meat or fish. Anyone who calls themselves veggie and does, is wrong and does no service to real veggies. My whole family, my partner and my friends are all meat eaters and I have never made them feel uncomfortable in my life. As one poster said if all veggies were veggies for their religion, I doubt there would be any prejudice (and there are a lot who are veggie for religious reasons). As a rule I refrain from making my opinions heard on the very large range of subjects I know absolutely nothing about (sport, physics, the economy), I think some people should do the same, seriously, why does what one person does with their own diet affect you at all?
Delete"People resent being made to feel uncomfortable and it leads them to agressicvely defend their own choices"
DeleteYour own comment perhaps being the finest example of this.
"What they are is fussy eaters, I can empathise with that, I can't stand mashed potato. However noone has ever mistaken my dislike of mashed potato for an ethical position."
This is insulting & I reject entirely the premise of your argument; You cannot compare vegetarianism to a dislike of mashed potatoes. For a start I personally consider fowl & fish both meat, as both come from the bodies of slaughtered animals, and that mass slaughter to feed an unnecessary human dietary choice is what I object to morally. But that's just me personally, If someone wants to become vegetarian because they don't like the taste of meat does that make them less of a vegetarian? Absolutely not.
What vegetarianism isn't is a choice to be a 'fussy eater' & your suggestion it is is demeaning & as Peter highlights, ignorant.
Really interesting and comprehensive post, and so interesting to read all the views on the issue. On the whole I feel relatively optimistic about the way in which attitudes towards vegetarianism (or 'fussy eating' ha ha) have changed during my lifetime (one of the lovely advantages of middle age is being able to rejoice in huge shifts in attitudes). In my youth in the 70s there was one 'weird, hippy' place in my home town that catered to vegetarians, whereas now all my young friends and relatives, if not vegetarian themselves, see it as absolutely the norm. Also, living in central Europe for the past twenty years in a hugely, even orgiastically, meat-eating country, in the early years I was amused/confounded by the often sole vegetarian option of fried cheese with a thin slice of ham in it (sliced ham not really meat, a la the classic Royle Family line, (if you know it) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdXayLlOs10) and in fact lived almost solely on a diet of bread and cheese for too long. Now in the city I'm in there are not only many vegetarian eating places but also a vegan chain - the Loving Hut (which I think sounds a bit too louche so call it the Happy Cow instead) run by an 'interesting' Vietnamese spiritual leader, Ching Hai, who has an online 'celestial shop'. Anyhow, all the three Happy Cow venues are always packed with people, vegetarian, vegan, meat-eaters, just because the food is good, tasty and cheap and it all helps to change attitudes. I look forward to a time when we really can untangle ourselves from the long tradition of thinking it's fine to eat our fellow creatures. I am a flawed and weak vegetarian at times and haven't had yet the ability to become vegan as I seem to be too addicted to cheese, but hope that the next generation can build on our present, sometimes partial, efforts and imagine, then make real, something as unimaginable as the current situation was to me in the 70s.
ReplyDeleteVegetarians certainly aren't "fussy eaters". Everyone has likes and dislikes but a choice of a vegetarian diet is, for most, far more complex than just disliking chicken. Indeed, many vegetarians, myself included, like meat substitutes such as Quorn. Not all do, of course. Because as Peter says, there's a whole range of reasons and tastes that lead to a particular diet - it's a personal choice.
ReplyDeleteOne of my personal pet peeves is people who eat fish - or even chicken - but describe themselves as vegetarian. It leads to (and perhaps is caused by) misunderstanding of what vegetarianism acutally is. It makes life difficult for vegetarians. It's what leads to me being offered fish as the "vegetarian option". I've also found a lot of ignorance amongst restaurants and caterers about what's vegetarian. I won't eat anything I know contains any slaughter by-product, including rennet and gelatine. And a fish most definitely has to be killed in order to be eaten.
Having said that, though, living in the SE of England I find my choices are wider and more understood than they are in other parts of the world, including other European countries and the US.
P.S. I posted a link to this on Facebook and immediately got a sarcastic comment about leather shoes. Whether he didn't read the post or was merely baiting me, I don't know, but either way he perfectly demonstrated what you posted about, Peter!
I feel the need to quickly add that I don't call myself a vegetarian, at all, ever. I am just someone with a poorly tummy... this isn't me being a fussy eater, or anything else, it's simply someone with a very delicate stomach, who thought she'd give another point of view, explaining how it happens to those of us who aren't vegetarian also! My main point being that people seem far more excited about the fact I don't eat red meat, than they do the multitude of other things I don't eat. #justsayin (don't want the issue to become diluted or confused by me!)
ReplyDeletelove "delicate" muppet ;)
I imagine a lot of it comes from insecurity, people worry about being judged and hit out pre-emptively, though I'll allow that some people are just not very nice. However, I can't see anything wrong with a "oh I could never give up " comment; seems nice enough, and an opening to a friendly conversation, who knows, you may even convert them ;)
ReplyDeletei have suffered alot of this today after posting an animal cruelty video and encouraging people to educate themselves.
ReplyDeletei retaliated with
VEGGIEPHOBIA (n): 1) Irrational fear of vegetarians; 2) State of being a total arse when in the company of those decide not to eat meat. Manifests itself in the churning out of a series of clichéd jokes or passive aggression
feeling happy that im not the only one to experience these taunts!
brilliant post
Brilliant post. I've been a veggie for about the same length of time and have probably had a similar number of pointless and tedious conversations about it. My favourite moments are when someone points out, triumphantly, that I wear leather shoes. I just smile and point out that no, no I don't. I haven't in years.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of leather shoes, I totally understand that you are making a compromise (just as I compromise over some things) and that plastic shoes aren't much of an option. However, vegetarian-shoes.co.uk make what I think are very viable alternatives. I have no real idea what my shoes are made of but they aren't leather and no one has ever noticed that they aren't.