I’ve been a vegetarian for years (okay, I am a pescatarian and not a real vegetarian, since I sometimes eat fish, but anyway…) and most people who know me are aware of this. So why don’t people understand that being a vegetarian means that I don’t eat meat?
During a recent illness, people constantly suggested that I have chicken soup with matzoh balls. I like matzoh balls, but I will only have them in a vegetable broth. When I reminded those caring friends and relatives that chicken soup was not quite what the doctor ordered for this vegetarian, I was repeatedly told, “But it doesn’t count as chicken soup if it’s just chicken broth, does it?” Or “What if I pick the pieces of chicken out for you?” No, sorry, that’s still chicken soup!
At other times, I’ve been offered ham, liver pâté, and beef, among other meats, even after I’ve politely turned down these items because I don’t eat them. I’ve been told, “Liver isn’t real meat, so you can eat it on a sandwich!” And I’ve been asked, “Don’t vegetarians eat ham?”
So, just to clear up any confusion, no, vegetarians do NOT eat meat. Anything that came from an animal counts as meat and while I am not a proselytizing vegetarian and therefore won’t bother those of you who succumb to meat’s charms, I make the choice not to eat meat and I would like to see more understanding and respect for this decision.
--Curly
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11 comments:
he he that reminnds me of when i used to be a veg. well i did not eat red meat but ate poultry. it also reminds of the fact that i have food alleriges that peole do get even family at a fmaily gathering the were walnuts in the sald so i did not eat it my aunt tried to give some saying its only a little bit even a little bit of nuts make me itchy and have a headache.
I plead guilty. I apologize for any time I've made an inappropriate culinary suggestion to you, Curly, or to anyone else!
--Pru
Don't worry, Prunella! I don't think you've made any such comments to me. And I know you have no bad intentions.
I was chatting with some people about this after I posted here, and I heard many more such stories. I was even told of people who have such disdain for vegetarians (or for Jews who keep kosther) that they feed them sausages and claim it is vegetarian meat, or that they use chicken broth in a vegetable soup. That is truly awful -- you may not agree with someone's dietary restrictions (whether they are for religious reasons, health reasons, moral reasons, or some other reasons), but you should respect them nevertheless. You can make people physically sick by lying to them and it just seems wrong in so many ways.
--Curly
the same thing happend to me when i wa sin 7th grade my parents sent me to a lady after school to wacth m.s he would feed me ground beef saying it was ground turkey or chicken. about 6 years later she ran it to my mom and told her the truth.
That is awful, Teefus. I guess such people are generally ignorant and don't see how it can matter, but sometimes they are cruel, too. It's just wrong!
--Curly
well, i totally understand, but i do know, and no offense, but saying you are vegetarian (which means not eating any animals or animal by-products) but being okay with fish, or seafood, or other animals (which strictly speaking is a semi-vegetarian), confuses the issue as well. I can't stand it when i go somewhere to get a sandwich, and i ask for vegetarian, and they point to the tuna. AAARGH Fish are animals! they are not plants! they are not even close to carrots in nature! I even have little cards that i leave at restaurants to explain. So using the right terms might help. My brother doesn't eat red meat. And he says just that. He is an omnivore who doesn't eat red meat.
er, just my little rant, since you have this nice space here for rants! Thanks!
--kimba
You are right, Kimba -- strictly speaking, I shouldn't use the term vegetarian. However, I feel closer to vegetarian than pescatarian and it is also easier for people to understand, so that is one reason why I use the word.
Not long ago, I was at meeting where food was served. Someone I knew there had told me the day before that he was a vegetarian. Then I noticed him piling his plate high with sausage, fish, slices of meat, chicken kebabs, and more. What kind of vegetarian is *that*?
--Curly
LOL! He probably thought it meant that he includes vegetables in his diet. When i first came here, I swear when once i asked for a veggie burger, i was served a meat burger with vegetables on it (or what they call here "salad"). Would you like some salad with that they ask? and out comes a limp tasteless piece of lettuce, something that looks like a single slice of tomato but tastes like soggy cardboard, and thick slice cucumber hard enough for you to cut your food with.
eyww
oops, sorry, didn't mean to hijack... but it is related, sort of ... :-)
--kimba
Wow, Kimba, that "veggie burger" sounds disgusting!
Incidentally, I don't know why people are always so convinced that you can't survive without meat (this is part of what leads them to not understand what a vegetarian is). I think many people eat way too much meat. I've been told that I look pale or weak and that it must be because I don't eat meat!
--Curly
As a vegetable myself, I can understand your frustration. Only a couple of days ago when my Dad was bringing me back to Uni he managed to offer me meat THREE TIMES, after which occasion I just looked at him and rolled my eyes until (and on one occasion had to go "Chick-en" and shake my head) he remembered and burst out into a fit of crazy laughter.
My sisters were also telling me about one of their friends whose parents told her she was allowed to be a vegetarian, as long as she ate meat. Errr, what?
My conclusion? Meat-eaters are insane.
-- Kirsty
Thanks for your comment, Kirsty!
I think some people just really can not get it through their heads that not everyone eats meat, and that's why they keep offering. It's annoying!
--Curly
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