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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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#2 ·
People like that make me want to gouge my eyes out. I'm sure I make a lot of people feel the same way, though.

An ex of mine will say PROUDLY "I only eat chicken fingers." Even though that's not all he eats, but he'll be like "I don't want to eat there, you know all I'll eat is chicken fingers" although he does eat a lot of chicken, it annoys the **** out of me.
 
#7 ·
Hi Porvida, I can really understand how you feel. I must admit, I used to have the same mentality as your mom's boyfriend about vegetarians. I am a new vegetarian. After making a very long decision (2-3 months) about taking meat out of my diet, I set today's date, Sunday October 22, 2006 as my first day. I have slowly removed meat from diet over the past 3 weeks, and today marks the day that I will never ever eat meat again.

I have 2 friends that are vegans and I used to hate going out to eat with them. I used to think they were just being picky and I thought their diet was a nothing but a huge inconvenience. But I now realize that I was the stupid one! Just killing myself eating burgers and fries. I workout daily but my diet was awful. I also have a new respect for all living things an can't believe some of the things that are done to animals just to be a meal on someone's plate. The PETA website was a huge eye-opener and wake-up call for me. Needless to say I have apologized to my friends and they have been very supportive helping me to adjust to my new way of life.
 
#10 ·
Once I was eating an MRE, and I offered a friend the M&Ms that came in it because I hate M&Ms. This was shortly after she had overheard me telling someone I was a vegetarian. She said, "No, you better eat them. If you're going to be a picky eater, you need all the nourishment you can get".

I thought that was really strange and it still doesn't make sense to me. It seemed like she thought I needed to eat everything that wasn't meat because I might not get enough nutrition otherwise. Strange.

I've gotten the "picky" thing in other situations before too. It's just like all the other stupid comments we get.
 
#11 ·
I'm extremly not picky... when it comes to vegan foods anyway.

I mean, most of us get like ONE item to choose from on menus when we go out to eat with omni's, and we're the picky ones? While they decide what they want to eat, we decide what we can eat.

Maybe if they weren't so picky they could put down the burger for two seconds and think about the blood shed for it.
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by veggiejanie View Post

For him to even attempt to compare your vegetarianism and his childish pickiness is absolutely ridiculous. I am so sorry you have to deal with that.
i agree and am sorry that you have to deal with that too...I have been with people when we are deciding where to grab dinner or a quick snack and some say You choose You are the picky one..we will eat around you.
 
#13 ·
I get offended to, because i have always seen myself as willing to try all foods and basically not picky at all, but when my frends mum asked if i ate TOMATO and i said yes she acted shellshocked and told me she was suprised that i would eat something as strange as that, me being so FUSSY and all..... i didn't even bother trying to explain my vegetarian-ness (a word? i doubt it) has nothing to do with tastes...
 
#14 ·
I know, I'm soooo not picky either. I love everything, as long as it's not meat. The only thing I can think of that is vegetarian and that I don't care for....mushrooms. I don't choose to buy them and cook them myself but if they're in something I'll eat them and I try them all the time to try to get myself to like them!
 
#15 ·
I would be totally offended if I was labelled as picky 'cos I am a veggie.

I think veggies are the least picky eaters ever! Like when we go to a restaurant (non-veggie obv.) and there are only one or two choices on the menu. I don't moan and complain I just go for it!
 
#16 ·
I have a veggie friend who is really picky. It's kind of funny because when she won't eat something for gelatin or whatever she never says that's why, probably so she won't start anything with the omnis. But then she'll have a really similar reaction to something that is veggie, and then I'll be afraid to eat it because I'm thinking "Okay, does that have gelatin, or is she being picky again?" It really makes me paranoid about my food, lol.

I am fairly picky compared to most of you guys, but when I was a kid I would only eat about three things. I got better as I grew up, but making the switch to vegetarian broke me of my pickiness forever. I eat things now that I would never have considered food in the past.
 
#17 ·
I think being 'picky' or 'fussy' is to do with not liking the taste/texture of a lot of foods and being reluctant to try anything new, rather than having moral objections to where certain foods come from and how they are produced. It would certainly wind me up if anyone called me picky. And anyway, how many omnivores just don't even consider eating meals which don't contain meat?
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by porvida View Post

mushrooms
ugh

horrible

shouldnt be allowed to eat them

the texture, the taste, everything...

i'll eat something happily until i spot it has a mushroom in it. feel like throwing up then never touch that again! (like subway veggie pattys was eating them for years haha) theres no logic in it i guess im kinda mushroom phobic!

anywayy. anything other than that i'll happily eat! (o and things that taste of egg) even if i dont absolutely love it i wont whine if theres nothing else.

i hate when my mother goes round telling people im a vegetarian because i dont like the taste of meat. it makes me sound spoilt and annoying! if i try arguing my whole family reacts like ' psh you dont really think its cruel youre just saying that'. yeah thats why i wont eat certain chocolate/drink some beer etc because i dont like the taste of meat [eyeroll]
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pirate Ferret View Post

i hate when my mother goes round telling people im a vegetarian because i dont like the taste of meat.
Next time she does that, ask if she likes the taste of sh!t. If she doesn't, ask why she eats beef


As a kid I was a very fussy eater. Hated fat, would pick apart bacon or pork chops before eating the lean. Wouldn't touch a number of things because the way my mother brutalized them, they were disgusting -- zucchini, bell peppers, onions, etc. Curiously enough when I was in college I saw vegetarians as fussbudget pains in the ass, and found it curious that the "Salads Plus" run by the food [dis]service peepz was the smokiest place on campus.

Now of course I see [ovo &| lacto] vegetarians as clueless or posers. The irony is notable.
 
#20 ·
It drives me nuts when people call me picky too. There are a few fruits and vegetables I won't eat (cherries and okra for example) but for the most part, I like almost anything.

When I ate meat, I was VERY picky about it. I'd only eat chicken when it was as un-chicken-like as possible (only white meat, no skin and no bones) and I wouldn't eat pork unless it was in sausage form (again, as un-pig-like as possible). Oddly, no one called me picky for that but now that I don't eat meat at all, I'm suddenly a picky eater.
 
#21 ·
I get called picky too, but when someone at work called me picky, I had a co worker stand up for me. She told the person calling me picky that I am not picky, I just don't want things with meat and dairy in them! Other then that I eat anything! I cracked up, the other person had no idea what to say and walked away.

If someone calls me picky, I usually say something like "darn straight" (except there is a swear word in there). I am proud to be supposedly picky and much healthier for it too!
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by codemonkey View Post

It drives me nuts when people call me picky too. There are a few fruits and vegetables I won't eat (cherries and okra for example) but for the most part, I like almost anything.

When I ate meat, I was VERY picky about it. I'd only eat chicken when it was as un-chicken-like as possible (only white meat, no skin and no bones) and I wouldn't eat pork unless it was in sausage form (again, as un-pig-like as possible). Oddly, no one called me picky for that but now that I don't eat meat at all, I'm suddenly a picky eater.
I hear you. As a meat eater I couldn't eat any meat that had any tinge of pink on it, I couldn't eat any of it that looked stringy or looked remotely gross.


I am less picky now then I have ever been. Going veg opened my tastes and horizons to many new things.
 
#24 ·
I ask people what's more picky: To insist that your food is free of meat because you have an ethical objection to eating it, or omnis who won't even try a vegetarian meal, insisting that your meal contains meat because that's what you are accustomed to.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
ugh

horrible

shouldnt be allowed to eat them

the texture, the taste, everything...

i'll eat something happily until i spot it has a mushroom in it. feel like throwing up then never touch that again! (like subway veggie pattys was eating them for years haha) theres no logic in it i guess im kinda mushroom phobic!
Are you kidding? I love mushrooms! Ahh, I had a toasted portabella mushroom cap yesterday for lunch. Delish!

Ehh, I guess I understand why people don't like them though. They ARE fungus.
 
#26 ·
Most people are way too picky. When someone offers burnt baby ears to me, I'll usually take it. When I was younger, people couldn't choose what they eat like these modern day privileged teens. "ooh, I can't eat this because it involves torture", "I can't eat this because it destroys the environment". SHUT UP already and join me at the human fetus barbecue next Friday.
 
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