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Vegetarianism = Pickiness?

3K views 40 replies 30 participants last post by  nat*star 
#1 ·
Have you ever had someone compare your vegetarianism to pickiness? I for one have been getting this a lot lately, and it has started to really, really aggravate and offend me.

For example, this morning I was out at breakfast with my mom and her boyfriend. He wanted potatoes and asked the waitress if the sauteed breakfast potatoes had any onions or peppers in them. She told him no, they were just potatoes and seasoning. We got our food and he started to eat his potatoes...and then (in a very angry voice, which made it even MORE aggravating) "There are ONIONS in this!!" My mom and I both had the saaaaaame exact potatoes so we asked him to show us the onions...and no joke, he started picking out pieces of "onion" that were no more than crumbs. They weren't onions. They were browned peices of skin and seasoning. But when I told him that he got all pissed off that I can't respect the way he chooses to eat, and if there had been bacon in my food and he said "Just eat it, it won't kill you" that I would be angry too. I was FUMING that he could dare compare the two things...

The man literally eats like a small child and he is over 50. He eats only mild cheddar cheese, only one brand of hot dogs, only white bread, only one brand of highly processed sugary peanut butter, only grape jelly with no seeds, NO fresh fruit (the only thing I've ever seen him eat are apples and canned peaches in heavy syrup), NO green vegetables whatsoever (Iceburg lettuce is the closest he gets), And honestly what I just listed is basically the extent of what he'll eat. He won't stray from it, he won't try anything different, and if an onion or a pepper or, god forbid, an herb, sneaks into his food, he complains for ages and he is honestly VERY rude about it. But to compare the fact that he won't go out of his comfort zone to the fact that I think it is MORALLY WRONG for an animal to die so I can eat it? That just blows me away and completely offends me.

Of course I would be upset if meat sneaked into my food, but for one thing it is because if I ate meat I know I'd be sick, and besides, I firmly believe that no animal should have to die for my eating "pleasure." Would you tell a jewish person to stop being so picky and just eat ham already? Would you tell a hindu person that eating a cow "won't kill them" and to stop being so annoying? Well most people wouldn't, because it's incredibly rude and demeaning. It's like saying that their beliefs mean nothing. Vegetarianism is like my religion, it is what I believe in so I don't understand why it is ok to make it seem like I'm just being annoying and picky. I tried to express this but he argued that the way he eats are his opinions and beliefs (WHAT) and that they're the exact same things. What am I supposed to say to that?? It's rude, offensive, and horrifying.

sorry for the superlong rant but this, as you can see, reallllly pissed me off and it's not the first time it happened. How many of you experience these things? Do you agree with me? Have good arguments? I wish people understood that my choice is something important. It's been four years for me already, and people just think it's no big deal.
 
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#28 ·
I am picky... picky about not eating animal products. I'm not picky about vegetarian foods, but whatever. Meat eaters act like if they eat something vegetarian they'll die of an iron deficiency, or soemthing along those lines. Someone said to me, "aren't you worried about your health, because you don't eat any meat?" And I said, "I'm so much healthier being a vegetarian that I could cover myself in gasoline, light myself on fire, and still be healthier than you". It pissed that person off...
 
#29 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Laura_I View Post

Meat eaters act like if they eat something vegetarian they'll die of an iron deficiency, or soemthing along those lines.
But Laura_I, didn't you know that if an omni goes more than 2 nano-seconds without meat, they'll immediately shrivel up and DIE of protein deficiency much like what the wicked witch of the west did when they threw water on her...

A meatless meal is the omni's kryptonite. It's proven fact.


<\\silly sarcasim @ the meated>
 
#30 ·
I haven't been regarded as "picky" by my partner or parents.. but more so by a select few friends, who look at me strangely and say to me "oh I could never do that" (i.e. they could never go without meat!), however they never try veggie food, just because it's "veggie" they assume that's it's disgusting?? Where do all of these omnis get this idea???

Another thing that annoyed me the other day was in my biology class at college they lecturer started going on about nutrition in humans and how we "SHOULD BE EATING MEAT".. due to protein needs.. blah blah blah.. now I was sitting in my seat going redder and redder with anger.. then she proclaimed to ask if anyone in my class was Veggie.. of course I stuck my hand up.. she then proceeded to ask me..... so what do you do about your protein deficiency????????... I replied.. "my what.. protein just isn't found in meat you know"... that reallly really wound me up!!!... another point.. in a class of 20 people I was the only veggie........ hmf..

no one in that place understands me!!!!
 
#31 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Laura_I View Post

"I'm so much healthier being a vegetarian that I could cover myself in gasoline, light myself on fire, and still be healthier than you".
lol, love it.

What I have liked so far about being veg*n is it is making me try new things. Meat was the main part of so many of my meals (honestly at home all we ever ate was butter chicken, mushroom chicken, chops/sausages and mash, and spag bol) so now I try new things all the time. Its actually a lot of fun.
 
#32 ·
While vacationing with an omni friend in a foreign capital, my friend told me to select the restaurant for dinner. "I can eat anywhere," she explained, which I thought was quite nice of her. Too often, my omni acquaintences don't consider how veg-unfriendly their choice of a steakhouse might be for me, and they are upset at the suggestion to go somewhere else.

I have another omni friend who cannot abide spicy food. It's not that she hasn't triedshe just can't enjoy a meal if it's spicier than... I don't even know where to rank her on the spiciness scale. So, when she and I go out, we avoid places where she doesn't think she can get an unspicy enough meal. Unfortunately, that precludes Indian and Thai, but I can deal.

I was playing the game True Colors with some new friends the other day. (Sorry, Michael, IamJen, kpickell and others at VeBoCon, I play the game with people other than y'all.) The question came up, "No matter how varied the menu or wide the choices, this person never finds anything to eat at restaurants. Who is this picky eater?"

After we voted and revealed our choices, someone asked, "Are any of us particularly picky?" Others chimed in "I don't like ___ or ____", so I shrugged and said, "I'm a vegetarian." That only makes me look picky in places like... Texas Roadhouse, McDonalds and Cracker Barrell. Which I avoid like the plague. (I'll never forget the sneer on the waiter's face at Bennigan's six years ago when I ordered chicken quesadillas without the chicken. It was that or the house salad, humph.)
 
#37 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4EverGrounded View Post

I was pickier as an omni than I ever will be as a veg*n.

The people that know me are pretty relieved that I don't eat meat anymore - I'm quite sure my meat rules drove everyone up a tree.
Same here. I usually couldn't finish most meat I ate. It had to be AT LEAST 90% lean and if I bit into anything like grissel or fat I was done and couldn't finish it. By the time I got done picking apart a piece of meat there wasn't much there to eat and I always ended up feeling guilty because I wasted so much.

I'm much less picky now and always finish my meals (unless there is seriously too much on the plate!).
 
#38 ·
I used to be picky--very picky. When I went vegetarian, it opened up a whole world of food to me that I would never have even considered eating before. So when people call me picky (especially family members who still remember how I was when I was a kid), it really gives me a chance to show them up.
 
#39 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by nat*star View Post

Its a mild indian dish, basically a tomato, butter and sour cream sauce served with chicken and rice.

Its tasty but you cant really replace the chicken with vegies, so i do other stuff now
You could probably replace the chicken with unseasoned seitan.
 
#40 ·
Even though I've been accused of being picky because of my diet, I have to disagree. I will at least try anything as long as it's vegan, and there are very very few things I don't like.

Compared to those who claim I'm picky and won't even try a perfectly good vegan meal
 
#41 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Irizary View Post

You could probably replace the chicken with unseasoned seitan.
Thanks for the tip, since I have only recently switched I have only just started trying the meat replacements, I tried vegi burgers last night and was very impressed they were great and they dont make you feel sleepy-full like omni burgers.

I will buy some seitan and give it a go next.

 
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