Vegetarian

[Paul Wagland]

And have tendencies to be delusional!?

I didn't say I agreed with them! Well, one of them maybe...

[willowstar]

If anyone is ever near Leicester there is a BRILLIANT veggie restaurant called the Halli on Granby Street. It serves south Indian food and is out of this world, nothing like the traditional anglicised (?sp) Indian food. Have taken quite a few meat eaters there who have thoroughly enjoyed it and gone there again.

I have had really good experiences of buffets in Leicester (I work in the NHS) and I reckon it must be because so much of the local population doesn't eat meat. often all veg. buffets and never mixed meat and veg. it can be done!

[jackie j]

A--A are making a goodwill gesture and sending a £25 voucher to spend in the store.

[Two_Sheds]

What I really really hate about being a veggie is being expected to defend my choice to meat-eaters: why don't you eat meat? meat's good for you, humans are carnivores (wrong, they're omnivores); do you wear leather shoes? (none of your business, frankly); do you think carrots feel pain? (!)

and on...

and on...

I lived in Brighton for 8 years, and Food For Friends (aka Slop for Students) was my 2nd home . I've still got a cloth shopping bag from Infinity; never could afford Terre a Terre though.

[piskieinboots]

What I really really hate about being a veggie is being expected to defend my choice to meat-eaters...

thankfully not all (us) meat eaters are the same - as all veggies are not the same.

I have been at some social occassions in the past where a veggie got on high-horse and tried to 'convert' us, giving us tons of reasons why it is wrong to eat meat ..... it swings both ways and we should respect each and every persons individual right to eat how he/she so chooses without having to 'push' our wears on to the other.

[Maf]

I've been a veggie for years (tho I am partial to the odd leather shoe )

My motivation for being so has changed from....

Little kid... feeling sad about the crying calves at the cattle market
to
Teenager with issues... united with Morrissey )
to
Well it goes on..................

I still get sad about little calves and hugely defensive over the times I spent with Morrissey but...

that's my life...I don't expect anyone to understand.. I except people for who they are...

[pigletwillie]

I do find it somewhat puzzling that the veggies who are veggies because they dont like animals to be slaughtered to provide them with meat, are quite happy for them to be slaughtered for shoe and milk production.

We have friends who are veggie for the cruelty aspect and others who are veggie because they just dont like meat, both veggie but coming from total opposote ends of the veggie spectrum.

Oh, and whilst we eat meat, we do cook a mean veggie dinner and with Leicester being so multicultural, a large proportion of restaurants will do veggie or vegan stuff in a big way.

[bluemoon]

We're not veggie, although we now rarely eat meat and tend to limit it to special (ie, expensive) products from the farmers' market. My best friend is completely veggie though and I have the deepest respect for her. Yes, going on holiday with her was a bit of a nightmare as the small village we were staying in seemed to never have heard of a veggie option and we ended up cooking every meal ourselves. I do however, have a serious allergy to tomatoes - awful as I grow them for everyone else and they look so lovely, but I can't even touch the plants without gloves and my OH does the 'dangerous' job of picking them - it is almost impossible to buy a meal that doesn't contain them, even sandwiches. And yes, I've sent meals back only for it to be returned with the tomato removed, but juice and seeds covering the rest of the food. I honestly don't think that anyone who works in these places has any idea about just how dangerous a true allergic reaction can be, they seem to think it means you'll just get a bit of a rash. If we can insist that people have a food hygiene certificate before they handle food, then surely a few hours training about allergies and labelling should be possible.

Perhaps I should add that whilst I'm more than happy to have a veggie option with my friend I refuse to eat rice because of the food miles, disenfranchised peasants, plastic packaging, associated with its production. A rice free, tomato free veggie dish has yet to be invented as far as the catering industry is concerned, so I suppose I do make things a little awkward.

[Paul Wagland]

I do find it somewhat puzzling that the veggies who are veggies because they dont like animals to be slaughtered to provide them with meat, are quite happy for them to be slaughtered for shoe and milk production.

It's a fair point. I think it's a question of degree. There are certainly people who boycott all products of animal industries - I'm not one of them but I sympathise much more with their 'world view' than I do with people who eat intensively-farmed meat on a twice-daily basis. Perhaps we all would? At least they've thought about it.

Most of my shoes are synthetic (trainers or wellies), I have a leather jacket (passed down from my dad) and I eat cheese and occasionally cow's milk (organic, because it guarantees a decent standard of animal welfare). We have our own chickens, rescued from a battery farm.

It's not our society's 'use' of animals as a source of food/material/manure/labour that offends me, it's the practices we so widely implement to improve efficiency and cut costs. If someone wants to eat meat (or drink milk, wear leather etc) then that's fine, and it's their right. But if they impose cruel conditions on the animals (however indirectly) then that's not fine. And to my mind it is not their right either. This very last point is what we need to change in our society's perceptions.

[pigletwillie]

If someone wants to eat meat (or drink milk, wear leather etc) then that's fine, and it's their right. But if they impose cruel conditions on the animals (however indirectly) then that's not fine. And to my mind it is not their right either. This very last point is what we need to change in our society's perceptions.

I totally agree Paul, and whilst the UK has about the best animal welfare standards in the world, its still a long way from being any where near adequate. It is important to buy meat with a proven provenance of good animal husbandry and welfare.

My point was that whilst one of our friends doesnt eat meat because she doesnt really like it, another wont eat it because its unethical in her eyes to kill an animal to eat it. However she happily has a wardrobe full of leather handbags, boots and shoes and drinks a pint of milk a day.

As its not "meat" she seems to think that milk and leather production have no casualties and as milk production especially leaves thousands of calf culled as they have no commercial value at all, I find her attitude stinks of either ignorance or double standards.

I must say that we go "veggie" at least two days a week and do enjoy it.

[Two_Sheds]

We are all guilty of some hypocrisy in our lives. I don't eat meat, but I do drink milk in tea, and I eat cheese now and again. I do my best on the welfare front: I buy Organic as often as I can. I have tried soya and rice milk, but they are yuk.

Re: leather. I prefer leather shoes to plastic because they are biodegradable. I am on a tight budget, so I have to buy whatever costs under £20.

I am aware that a cow has to calve every year to keep producing milk, and that bull dairy calves are slaughtered as they are "useless". My compromise on the milk/leather issue is to limit/reduce my consumption.

[Paul Wagland]

Soya milk definitely takes some getting used to, but J loves it. This thread inspired me to buy a soya spread instead of the usual anchor stuff - it is really delicious! And no GM or dairy ingredients (lots of the sunflower spreads also contain whey powder etc).

[AlleyCat]

wowzers, I sympathise with all the terrible eating out experiences.

Both my partner and I work in hospitality (and consider ourselves to be true foodies) he is a head chef and I am a restaurant manager (in different restaurants) and we both endevour to cater for any food requests, be it veggie, allergies, dislikes etc and ANY eatery worth it's weight in saffron should do the same.
I was veggie for 4 years but now classify myself an ethical eater (if it's local, free range and organic I eat it). This is due to the misleading amount of animal by-products that are unlisted. Geletine being the most obviously but also wine, beer and cider (unless it particularly states it is suitable for veggies) have all been fined through by-products.

It's a minefield but if the waitresses dont know, they don't have the passion to ask and the chef doesnt care enough to ensure the food is what you want, walk out and find somewhere else!! I can recommend some restaurants in Cornwall!

[Two_Sheds]

Had an awful day today. Weather was awful, I was fed up, so Mr Sheds decided to treat us to lunch in a nice restaurant. We trawled round and round this posh town in Suffolk (London-on-Sea indeed) and it was fish, fish, more fish. After an hour, and nearing 'closing time' we just plumped for a place, sat down to a 2 page menu ... and the only veggie option was a salad. And they wanted £9 for this salad. I can grow an allotment-full for nine squid!

I was so miffed I sat there and just had a coffee while Mr Sheds tucked in to a big plate of lamb. The staff didn't even enquire why I wasn't eating, and I didn't want to make a fuss - it was awkward enough already.

[piskieinboots]

I must say that we go "veggie" at least two days a week and do enjoy it.

As do me'n'he and that is how lucky we are!

I was so miffed I sat there and just had a coffee while Mr Sheds tucked in to a big plate of lamb. The staff didn't even enquire why I wasn't eating, and I didn't want to make a fuss - it was awkward enough already.

That is so not nice - you shouldn't have to deal with that