I am not a vegan

[661-Pete]

There are two things that should not be allowed to exist

"Meat free" Sausages
"Alcohol free" beer

Well - I'd counter that by saying: pork sausages (or indeed those made from any other sort of meat) ought never to have been invented! Loathsome things. Incidentally, is it true that most Italian salamis are made from horsemeat? Not that that makes them any worse....

You should try one of our faves - home-made Glamorgan sausages - completely meat-free (but not vegan). Admittedly, not true 'sausages', I'd call them more like croquettes - but tasty! The original recipe called for 'Glamorgan' cheese which I believe no longer exists: Caerphilly is a reasonable substitute, but expensive. We generally use crumbly Wensleydale or Lancashire - or, when in France, a crumbly white brebis cheese which seems to work very well with this recipe. If anyone is interested I can post the recipe.

Other kinds of meat-free sausages? Cauldron brand are OK in a sausage & beans casserole - a sort of meat-free Cassoulet if you like. We do this as a quick'n'easy meal when short of time. Not tried those 'sausages' grilled or fried, don't think it would work so well.

Alcohol-free beer? Not something I'd go out of my way for, when just drinking; but an excellent compromise when I'm driving, having a lunch stop, and don't want to drink anything sweet like fruit juice (sometimes pubs can serve a cup of tea with your meal, but not always). I agree the taste of 0% beer leaves something to be desired.

[661-Pete]

In the light of what's been posted on this thread .... a timely warning:
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/d ... perts-warn
Of course this bit of knowledge is nothing new.

[Ant...]

Why is it when I feed veggies or vegans at my house I'm expected to not feed them meat etc. But when they feed me they always expect me to eat their non meat stuff.

[661-Pete]

Why is it when I feed veggies or vegans at my house I'm expected to not feed them meat etc. But when they feed me they always expect me to eat their non meat stuff.

This is just the sort of condescending remark that I find the most irritating, and which betrays the depth of ignorance which pervades certain people's attitude towards vegetarians.

If you had stated that you were unable to eat a specific vegetable, or class of vegetables, for religious, ethical or medical reasons, I'm sure your vegetarian or vegan hosts would have accommodated your needs. After all there are plenty of people with allergies out there. This didn't use to be the case when I was a kid, but things have changed. Now we always ask before serving up to a new guest.

[661-Pete]

This, somehow, don't know why - reminds me of the celebrated "Protein Man", the late Mr Stanley Green who used to walk up and down London's Oxford Street with a sandwich board proclaiming his disdain for not only meat, eggs, and dairy, but also "peas, beans and nuts". Apparently this was to reduce "passion". I remember encountering him many times when on a trip to London. Clearly he lived well on his limited diet, surviving to the age of 78. I didn't, I'm afraid, feel tempted to follow his example ... I wonder how many did?

[Syd]

like in all areas where one can be different e.g

omnivore - vegan
gay - heterosexual
religious - atheist

There will always be some who announce which category they fall into and other who don't.

Wonder where these runners stand on announcing they are vegan or not?

[al_yrpal]

A possible reason that more of us arent vegetarians is lack of information. TV is full of cooking programmes but very few feature any vegetarian dishes. Perhaps if there was such a programme people would become better informed. I wonder if the BBC would be brave enough to put such a programme on?
A few days ago some Vegetarian friends came to dinner. I cooked a dish for us with two Portabello mushrooms per person fried both sides in oodles of butter with melted Roquefort and Crushed Walnuts on top. This was accompanied by rice with fried onions and peppers mixed in. An simple easily prepared delicious satisfying meal.

As for the daft offputting messages regarding bangers, if all the Veggies were to stop criticising us majority meat eaters and our tastes, and instead published their favourite recipes, perhaps their message would gain better traction? You dont persuade others with insults slurs and criticism, you just alienate them. Applies to several other noxious threads on here too.

Just a thought…

Al

[Ant...]

Please explain why it is condecending when i happily meet there needs but they will not return the gesture?

[pwa]

Please explain why it is condecending when i happily meet there needs but they will not return the gesture?

Would you ask a Muslim to feed you pork sausages if that is what you fancied?

If you can't or won't allow for vegan friends not giving you meat, and not eating meat at your place, don't have vegan friends. Case solved.

[661-Pete]

Please explain why it is condecending when i happily meet there needs but they will not return the gesture?

Would you ask a Muslim to feed you pork sausages if that is what you fancied?

If you can't or won't allow for vegan friends not giving you meat, and not eating meat at your place, don't have vegan friends. Case solved.

It's a well-worn old trope: suggesting that demanding meat at a veggie household is the exact equivalent of demanding non-meat at a carnivorous household. I've seen it used often enough as a format for disparaging vegetarians and vegans.

I recall an incident many years ago, when I was having a curry at a (Muslim-owned) curry house in Bradford - a place I often frequented (they did good curries). A bunch of very unpleasant looking types breezed in, full Hells Angels regalia, nazi emblems on their studded leather jackets, the whole ugly works. They shambled up to the counter and demanded "pork curry please!". The proprietor was most polite: he said "Here is the menu, as you can see we serve a wide variety of different dishes, but not pork, I'm sorry". The yobbos reiterated "Pork curry please!" I was midway through my meal at the time, I could see what was shaping up and I was getting scared - as were several other diners there I guess. No-one wants to be caught up in a punch-up! Luckily the proprietor - a braver man than I, I guess - held his ground: he remained courteous, he did not threaten these guys, he didn't threaten to call the police: he just asked them pleasantly if they wouldn't mind trying somewhere else. And they went...

I'm sure no-one on this forum would countenance playing the part of those idiots from a bygone age...

[pwa]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bw9k2g
For anyone who is intereted.

[mnichols]

Why is it when I feed veggies or vegans at my house I'm expected to not feed them meat etc. But when they feed me they always expect me to eat their non meat stuff.

Presumably you don't only eat meat? You have non meat items? Potatoes, vegetables, fruit, bread, porridge, crisps, chips, chocolate, etc, etc, etc

I'm sure you eat meals that have no meat? Porridge, beans on toast, chips, rice and curry, etc, etc

As a veggie, people used to ask "what do you eat?" , my reply was "the things that you eat that aren't meat"

If i go around someone's house I don't expect them to make ANY special effort. I just eat what they eat minus the meat

The same logic applies in reverse, if we have people around we will cook veggie. Surely one meal without meat wouldn't kill you.

[mnichols]

Why is it when I feed veggies or vegans at my house I'm expected to not feed them meat etc. But when they feed me they always expect me to eat their non meat stuff.

Why would you want to force 'friends ' to do something that they don't feel comfortable with

Do you expect tea total friends to drink alcohol, or non smoking friends to have a cigarette?

Unless you have a deep belief that you must have meat with every meal, and if you are prepared to have a meal without meat at home then your analogie is not valid, as you are asking them to go against a deeply held belief and do something that they would never do

[Vorpal]

Please explain why it is condecending when i happily meet there needs but they will not return the gesture?

Condescending? I'm not sure that it is, but there certainly is a difference between the two.

I am (mostly) vegetarian, but I have cooked meat for friends who are not. It's not something I do very often. For one thing, I am not very experienced at cooking meat, and the result will not generally be as good as if I am cooking a vegetarian meal. There are some things that I can cook well enough to get compliments, but as I won't taste it, it's rather difficult to determine quality.

Secondly, I do not want meat in some of my pans and cooking implements. My iron skillets for example, are well seasoned, but meat would likely leave some lingering flavour. If someone were to cook meat in one of them, I'd scrub it and start the seasoning process over again (not lightly done, I assure you, if you are not familiar with the seasoning of iron skillets)

Thirdly, to those who do not eat it or cook, meat does not smell nice. No offense to any ominvores here, but most vegetarians do not like the smell, and some find it offensive. And the smell lingers in a kitchen where it has been cooked.

Lastly, people are vegetarian for all sorts of reasons. But most people who have been vegetarian for any length of time can no longer easily digest meat, and some will actually become ill upon eating it. So, there is a difference between, 'please don't feed me something that may make me sick' or 'please don't feed me something I object to on religious grounds' and 'please feed me something I enjoy'. If someone has moral or religious objections to the slaughter of animals, it is, at best, unkind to ask them to cook meat for you.


Although for many, perhaps most vegetarians, not eating meat is a choice, it is simpler to think of it more like an allergy, than something done for personal enjoyment, such as ordering and consuming a fillet mignon.

[661-Pete]

Well said, but I still maintain that Ant's post is a wind-up (and I'm not even a veggie, so I don't feel personally targeted). I have seen similar comments from many who pervade the Comments columns in the Guardian. God only knows what goes on in the Daily Fail, since I tend to avoid going there...