To be annoyed that vegan options have replaced vegetarian?

This is a weird attitude.

What WOULDN'T a vegan be able to eat? An afternoon tea to my limited knowledge is usually some small sandwiches and cakes/scones.

Do you think vegans can't eat sandwiches or baked goods? Or drink tea?

YANBU! I'm not veggie but my husband is and he hates this. Vegan cheese is horrible!

I think it's mostly because restaurants want simple menus and don't want to be messing about with a million different options to suit different dietary needs. Many already are having to have separate fryers and the like for vegan options.
Doesn't make it right, of course. I have a good friend who's coeliac and she can really struggle to find anything suitable when eating out.

I was talking about vegetarians.

I have a genuine question for vegans , if you are being vegan for animal welfare concerns then what do you think about the palm oil used in a lot of fake meat products? As far is know palm oil production destroys many animal habitats so by eating more of them as veganism gains in popularity are you not then still killing animals but just in a different format by destroying their habitats? Sorry if this is a silly question but I’m really interested in what vegans think to this or if I’m totally wrong which I could be!!

The veganism push drives me made - I will happily eat vegan, vegetarian and meat foods but after decent quality products that aren't highly processed.
This is where I like places like wagamamas because they will have a basic meal (ie that is vegan). You can then choose your protein to go with it, thus keeping it vegan, making it veggie or meat of some description. The quality of the food is also excellent.
This means all groups are catered for easily and healthily.

I'm a vegetarian. I love fake meat (yes, I know it's highly processed and very unhealthy) but I can't eat vegan cheese. I'd rather not have cheese. As long as the vegan option doesn't come with fake cheese I don't mind.

Maybe slightly off topic but I just had a look at my dc's nursery menu for next month. The vegetarian alternative every single day contains fake meat (quorn or some soya concoction). It is not for the sake of vegans or dairy free kids as the vegetarian menu does contain dairy and eggs so I assume they don't want the vegetarian kids to feel left out but surely eating fake meat every single day can't be healthy?

Dc isn't vegetarian but if they were I wouldn't like them to have fame meat every day. I get an upset stomach if I have too much quorn so it's not even just long term that it's bad.

By the way I don't know any sanctimonious or judgmental vegans but being vegan must be so damn hard that I think they deserve to be a bit sanctimonious and judgmental. Being vegan is obviously the more ethical choice.

This is me! I've always cooked meat for my family despite not eating it myself. They don't eat a lot of meat and because I am pescatarian and they haven't grown up eating loads of meat, tend to go for fish options in restaurants if given a choice. But I think people have to make up their own minds about ethical decisions like becoming vegetarian/vegan.

I'm not remotely squeamish about meat as I grew up on a farm (we didn't farm it but were surrounded by it all). I got a lot of stick from the local farming community when I announced aged 13 that I was becoming vegetarian! I did start eating fish (I have anaemia and it helps) but have stuck with for my whole adult life.

I was just telling the OP that it was different in my case. I assume that she would have liked those options, as the restaurant that I was going to has better choices for vegetarians than vegans.

So, there are still restaurants out there that have vegetarian options instead of just replacing them with vegan options.

To be fair you can get your scones with clotted cream because that's just the "normal" (so to speak) version of the dish. Scones never contained meat.

But YANBU about the main meal dishes. It's annoying. But you can understand why restaurants do it.

I am a not vegetarian and also agree. Especially on set menus with just 4 or 5 options. Previously I would often order the veggie choice- a nice risotto or quiche etc. but now the not meat option if often vegan, which is usually just not as appealing. I would some indulgence- cream, cheese, eggs with my vegetables and no interest in the vegan versions of those.

Like lots of PPs, I eat meat but love a veggie meal. Really enjoy a good mushroom risotto, love bran burgers. I don't want a vegan risotto with cashew cheese topping as I have a nut allergy and don't eat fake meat as I am allergic to the protein in raw legumes and high amounts of pea protein can trigger my allergy.

Although, I have noticed when reading menus recently that bean burgers appear to be making a comeback.

This really annoys me. I’m not vegetarian but half the family is. Plus I will usually go for vegetarian options but rarely vegan.

Totally agree! I’m not totally vegetarian but I often select vegetarian meals by choice . I hate fake meat. And a lot of vegan food is heavily processed.

I want a nice egg pasta with a tomato sauce.

Or a pea risotto made with real Parmesan.

If I’m at Wagamama’s sure I’ll happily eat vegan because that’s the kind of cuisine it suits.

But vegetarian non-vegan food has had a big place in many cuisine long before veganism came along. I miss those dishes!

Restaurants find vegans the most contrary customers. Whereas vegetarians are very easy to please. I know one chef who's given up on them producing only a couple of dishes a day to satisfy the market. He's happy to offer excellent vegetarian food though. Happy to provide real cheese on dishes.

This really strikes a chord with me! I often eat vegetarian food because I'm trying to limit my meat intake, and if so I want 'real' vegetarian food, not fake meat imitations. A lot of vegan imitations seem to be very processed, whereas good vegetarian food is often minimally processed.
Agree with other posters that it's a cost-saving exercise but imho it's a crappy one.

I hate plates coming out with vegan stickers on them and then being looked at like an idiot when I ask for cheese!

I think you have to accept that people make food choices for different reasons. I was very surprised at a recent thread where vegetarians said that they quite happily bought, handled and cooked meat for their family.

100per cent agree, I am not vegetarian but love vegetarian food , ie vegetables! Whenever I go out now there’s no vegetarian option only vegan which is usually some kind of fake meat , fish or burger substitute full of chemicals and other nasties! I haven’t met many vegetarians who want fake bacon, ham, chicken or fish etc , I know all my vegetarian friends are totally fed up! I’m still struggling to work out what fake meat is actually made of, surely all that processed cheese / meat fish fakes are not good for you or the environment!!!

That's the first time I've ever heard that argument (genuinely) from a vegetarian - that being more inclusive to meat eaters and providing more choice for them is more likely to push you back to eating meat?! Usually ethics/morals would put a stop to someone wanting to do that.

YABU.
Vegan is much more inclusive than vegetarian.
It's suitable for people with milk and egg allergies who can't usually have anything on the menu (as an allergy sufferer vegan afternoon teas are a brilliant creation!)
No clotted cream or lashings of butter on sandwiches. You get cake too. ❤️
Vegetarians can eat vegan too.
If they don't want to, that's just their fussiness.
Take a block of grated cheese in your handbag and whap it on your burger.
Even meat eaters can eat vegan!
Much rather there were vegan options than vegetarian ones available.

Mind if I ask why you are a vegetarian?

Totally ageee re the upf, all this vegan is healthy lark I don’t think the upf is healthier than meat/dairy (the animal cruelty is obviously a whole separate issue)

I could not agree more. I WANT CHEESE! I don't want vegan food, some of it is lovely but I want vegetarian food offered too!

I was at my work Christmas do and there was so much meat and then the veggie AND vegan option was: a slice of fondant celeriac and a heaped tablespoon of spinach. That was IS. No cheese! No chips! No bread!