"Chicken is a vegetable"

[JennaSprout]

Time and time again when diet/lifestyle comes into conversation and I put in my two cents with "I'm vegan" 90% of the time someone replies "but you eat chicken right?".:confused:

Before I was vegan (going on 3 months still just a sprout!) I was vegetarian for 5 years, and even then, someone always brings up eating chicken. Since when has the education of VEGetarianism obviously dropped off the earth so that people ACTUALLY THINK that CHICKEN is now a veggie or somehow an exception to the "rules"? That the consumption of chicken is unfathomable by most of the population.

Sometimes I find it harder to explain to people depending on the level of their disbelief from the first line "I don't eat meat".

Has anyone else experienced this?

[Peabrain]

Reminds me of a scene in the film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" where the main (Greek) character invites her new (non-Greek) boyfriend to dinner with her whole family, both thinking the fact that he's not Greek might be problematic, but it's actually when they find out he's vegetarian that incredulity ensues...

Greek aunt (and cook); "YOU DON'T EAT NO MEAT?"

The rest of the family turn around, with gasps of shock, and the room falls silent...

"That's okay," she says; I cook Lamb"... :p

[JennaSprout]

Hahaha my family and I always joke about that part too! Great movie. :bigsmile:

[Anaj]

Jenna, I hear the same thing all the time, and they expand on it:
But you haven't given up fish, right? [Still not a vegetable]
I made this vegetable lasagna just for you; cheese isn't meat. Cheese is ok, right? [yeah, cheese made out of milk weed]

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Jenna, I hear the same thing all the time, and they expand on it:
But you haven't given up fish, right? [Still not a vegetable]
I made this vegetable lasagna just for you; cheese isn't meat. Cheese is ok, right? [yeah, cheese made out of milk weed]

[Firestorm]

We have a TV series in the UK called the Royle Family, in one of the episodes they are catering for a vegetarian and Nana says "Could she have some wafer thin ham?"

[JennaSprout]

Hahahahah these are all so funny!
I was talking to a friend today about food and such and he said ".. well when you decide to eat meat again..." [never]
I didn't react because; whats the point really?
I really do think its true that when people stop eating meat, they no longer crave it. I have 5 WONDERFUL years without meat and have never looked back.

[harpy]

Some people now seem to equate "vegan" with "avoiding dairy products" - as I have mentioned before I have seen a prawn dish marked vegan on a menu and I'm fairly sure it wasn't fake prawns :/

If you have been vegan for five years though JennaSprout it's quite funny that your friend thinks it's just a phase :)

[JennaSprout]

Perhaps I should re-evaluate my friends then! haha

[harpy]

Nah, friends are meant to make you laugh - and sometimes cringe ;)

[Hedi]

I also love the expression 'but it's ORGANIC chicken!', as if that suddenly makes it OK :)
I find that most of the time people say something silly like that they're just not informed very well on the topic. I've also seen many 'vegetarian' dishes with fish, maybe not as bad as 'vegan', but still. Fish is meat, right?

[tickled onion]

i was confronted with a new word by someone a few weeks ago, someone who eats meat only now and again is apparently now called a flexitarian.... or an omnivore as i call them, it seems me not recognising flexitarian means i am intolerant....

[Hedi]

If being a flexitarian, like vegetarianism, could mean a step towards veganism I'm happy with it. If it means 'I'm a vegan/vegetarian as long as it is not inconvenient for me' I don't approve. Ethics are just not always convenient, but that's not an issue if you really believe in them.

[Andy_T]

A flexitarian, quite clearly, is a person who does not have to eat MEAT with EVERY dish ...

... take, for example the case, if the breakfast and high tea only consist of boiled eggs and buttered toast instead of sausages, steak and pork cutlets, that is already an incredible commitment to making the world a better place ;-)

Best regards,
Andy

[JennaSprout]

I'm not one to be preachy about my lifestyle. I like to talk about it if someone asks; I recently applied to be a wellness coach and when I was interviewing they got very slow and timid with me when Veganism came into the conversation. They tip-toed around me like I would explode if they informed me that some of the nutrition they supplied clients, had meat in it. I chuckled and I'd like to think my goal is to give vegans a better reputation. People are legitimately scared of us sometimes!! I find this hilarious and I poke fun at my friends by telling them I need to graze, instead of "have lunch" :)

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As far as the flexitarian thing, I'm beginning to wonder if people really are only focusing on having a TITLE. why isn't "I eat food" enough hahaha. What if I ate 2 eggs, 3 pieces of bread, 2 apples, 1 bell pepper and a 1/2 cup of rice everyday... what am I called then? Come on people, calm down with the name calling! ;)

[pat sommer]

Sometimes a label is needed to legitimize a lifestyle. Sometimes people baulk at labels; to each 'is own... Reminds me of an aerobics conference I catered that sent out a questionaire with the booking page: vegetarian, it asked. Few were. Most ended up stripping the buffet of vegetarian dishes (as I expected) because they preferred to eat veggie.

Oh, and I still get asked if chicken tacos is ok and cheese enchiladas from those who imagine they know what vegan means. Hilarious every time.

[harpy]

I agree with Hedi on the whole - I think the fact that people want to call themselves "flexitarians" and so on is probably a sign that they see reducing the use of animal products as a good thing, and so (even though it's annoying) it's to be encouraged - especially since as Hedi says it could be a first step towards cutting them out altogether. (Also it's better than them calling themselves vegetarians or vegans and then proceeding to eat chicken, don't you think? :mad:)

The only thing that bothers me about that particular label is the suggestion that vegetarians and vegans are inflexible (and therefore disobliging) but I suppose it's good to have that concept out in the open :/

[Clueless Git]

On the 'flexitarian' thing ...

I agree with everyone who said it's bollox and I agree with everyone who said it's not an entirely bad thing.

Using very loose math; If it is true that 70% of all meat has to be factory farmed (to meet demand) then if all omnis cut their meat intake to 30% then factory farming wouldn't be 'needed' anymore.

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Most ended up stripping the buffet of vegetarian dishes (as I expected) because they preferred to eat veggie.

Tell me about that Pat!

We (my family) learned long ago that asking for vegetarian dishes at buffets was not enough on its own.

We actualy had to ask that the vegetarian options were held back untill the omnis had had at least their first fill.

Fail to do that and before we could get to it all the veggie tid-bits were gone.

Quite amazingly I have absolutey zero evidence that any omni-centric caterer ever worked out that this meant veggie tid-bits were universaly popular though.

[tickled onion]

I am of the opinion that a lot of people like to eat veggie at buffets because they don't trust the meat to be of decent quality, and that there are concerns about it being cooked properly, how long it has been sat out and not refridgerated and hygiene generally, is just a fear of food poisoning, as an omnivore i never ate meat i hadn't cooked myself, certainly never touched a chicken drumstick from a buffet.

The flexitarian thing threw me, never heard it before, but why have a label for it, if you eat meat you eat meat, me never having heard it before doesnt make me intolerant, which was the part i objected to. Vegans are the most tolerant people i know, we'd be offended every second of every waking day in the presence of omnivores if we weren't exceedingly tolerant.

[harpy]

That's true, tickled onion, but I think vegetarian food often looks more appetising, too - and on a buffet people don't think about whether it's veggie or not, they just grab what they fancy and so their prejudices don't get in the way the way they do when they're looking at a menu.

I agree that vegans have to be quite tolerant although I do spend a lot of time feeling offended some days ;)

[Anaj]

Buffet choices - I was at a pizza buffet this week for my professional group. The vegan pizzas were eaten first, and I think I was the only vegan in the room. I thought the vegan pizzas looked great, and the meat and cheese pizzas looked very unappetizing, but I am prejudiced. So, it could have been that the veggies had more eye appeal, or that they were lower in calories, or they were unusual, so people wanted to try it.

[Hedi]

@Jenna Sprout: I don't like the labels very much either. To be honest, I never ask if anything is vegan, I just ask if it contains dairy or eggs. I know it's not doing anything for the vegan reputation, but I just don't want people to act like I'm nuts :P I love your story about the interview, I personally see a lot of the other side: people deliberately making a point out of eating meat just because I happen to be near. I mean, it's a kebab, I'm not going to make a scene. If you want to eat it, eat it, just keep it away from me.

@ harpy: you're right about people thinking of vegans as 'inflexible', but a 'flexitarian' is exactly a carnist's idea of a perfect vegan: to each their own, and not difficult when there happens to be only meat to eat. A lot of people think that being a vegan is over the top because the norm is still to eat meat. The funny thing is, I read about a research recently that found out that only 3-15% of all people would go out of there way to ask for meat if vegetarian happened to be 'the norm' somewhere. Imagine what the world would look like if every menu was completely plant-based, but everyone was still free to eat meat if they wanted to (to each their own, right? ;))

[harpy]

As well as the branding piece I already mentioned, the Guardian (newspaper) also has a jokey article about flexitarians today

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/jan/21/flexitarianism-vegetarianism-with-cheating?INTCMP=SRCH

For once the comments under this one didn't make me explode but I haven't read them all so no guarantees

[tickled onion]

it's been veg*n week on the guardian, at least one or two articles with comments every day lately, I've got hardly any work done and had very hot blood at the ignorance of some people... but the whole new nesting system infuriates me to the point i may have to try giving up reading it.... maybe...

[Andy_T]

Buffet choices - I was at a pizza buffet this week for my professional group. The vegan pizzas were eaten first, and I think I was the only vegan in the room. I thought the vegan pizzas looked great, and the meat and cheese pizzas looked very unappetizing, but I am prejudiced. So, it could have been that the veggies had more eye appeal, or that they were lower in calories, or they were unusual, so people wanted to try it.


I remember, when I was still vegetarian, it was always some kind of fight when there was a buffet at work with sandwiches.

People ordering sandwiches typically ordered 75% meat sandwiches and 25 % cheese sandwiches. However, every meat eater in the room would most of the time want one meat sandwich and one cheese sandwich.
That meant, that in order to get 2 cheese sandwiches, I always had to beat most of my co-workers to the buffet and get my sandwiches.

Nowadays, of course, I can lean back elegantly and take my apple and banana out of my bag, as that kind of buffet does not hold anything for me any longer :-)

Best regards,
Andy

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As well as the branding piece I already mentioned, the Guardian (newspaper) also has a jokey article about flexitarians today

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/jan/21/flexitarianism-vegetarianism-with-cheating?INTCMP=SRCH

For once the comments under this one didn't make me explode but I haven't read them all so no guarantees

I have to remind myself NOT to read articles in online newspapers about veganism, vegetarianism or something else where there is a comment function that will confront me with the asinine utterings of "normal people".

Best regards,
Andy

[Peabrain]

I have to remind myself NOT to read articles in online newspapers about veganism, vegetarianism or something else where there is a comment function that will confront me with the asinine utterings of "normal people".

The Andy - he is wise... ;)