to think that if you tell someone that your child is vegetarian...

[Tollund]

that they should respect this and not then try to feed them meat?!

At a birthday party with DS1 who is four and a parent there offered my DS a sausage. DS took one (as he didn't know is it was veggie or not) and I politely said to the man "thank you, but he's vegetarian."

He said "yes, I know, they told me that. But I thought I'd see if he wanted one, and he took one, so let him have it."

I ignored him and told DS not to eat it.

THe man then started on at me about how I should let him make his own choices and to let him eat it which I refused to be drawn into, politely telling him no and then walking away.

He then went up to the mother of the child whose party it was (about 10 feet away from me) and starts banging on about me not letting him eat meat!

I think this man was monumentally ignorant - why does he think he is in a position to make food choices for my four year old child? What if DS was Jewish? Or had allergies? I'm now loathe to let my DS anywhere near this man's child or to go to parties where this man might be - IABU? (I don't think I'm BU in terms of making dietary decisions for my son at this time in his life, but whether am BU in wanting to keep my DS very far away from that tool!)

maurice, I was sorely tempted and am a pacifist as well as a veggie.

Turds are poisonous, slugs carry lungworm apparently. Sausages are normal food for the majority of the population. Don't really understand your point. I hate celery but I wouldn't stop my child from eating it.

I hope all you vegetarians are comfortable with the fact that you are severely limiting your children's ability to travel and experience other cultures by instilling in them the idea that even one mouthful of meat is a huge disaster.

It's the principle TeenieLeek, something I guess you won't understand. You don't have to eat meat to travel or experience another culture. The way you talk, however, I guess you would be quite happy for my child to get the full cultural experience in China and eat a nice bit of dog. Or perhaps some tasty monkey in a Tokyo restaurant? Yes, that would be great for broadening the horizons...

Teenie, that's an intriguing assertion. Is it really so impossible to travel much if you're veggie? I'm not, by the way, I'm just interested. I can think of at least three veggie/vegan friends who between them have travelled and continue to travel in areas including eastern and western Europe, the Americas, Africa, India and southeast Asia. Without dying. Or having to eat meat/animal products.

Slight x-post maurice, sorry!

What utter bollocks. I've travelled all over the world quite happily and experienced a range of other cultures without having to gnaw on dead animals. It was actually a bonus whilst travelling in India.

I do hope that the hosts of this party are on mumsnet, recognise the OP and fully read all of the comments.

I think if they did so, they would probably do things very differently next time....and not invite the parents (who in this instance) seem to have caused far more problems than the children.

Don't think she would be too pleased either that another parent was labelled a paedophile on here....

Unbelievable!

YANBU. The man is clearly a wanker.

Suits me, and next time they might not enlist a friend to help at a party who is a total arsehole and hell bent on forcing his own small mindedness on other people's children.

(Am ignoring your paedo comment, it's ridiculous.)

(I've not said anything I wouldn't say to his face given half the chance.)

Yes, it would. I have eaten dog actually, in Korea, served by clients, because it was not poisonous, it would have been rude not to and I was curious.

I most certainly do have principles, they are just very different from the principles espoused by vegetarians. And having spent time travelling in Asia and South America with vegetarians I can tell you that anyone who is so strict that they avid meat stocks and a little bit of ham is severely restricted as to where they can eat and will on occasion cause offence.

ummmmm maurice you lost me there and i am all for veggies being able to decided what their kids eat, but yes if you go to china why shouldnt you eat dog as a meat eater is it any different to any other type of animal just because we have domesticated it here and find the idea unseemly. its a cultural thing you can choose to experience it or not but its odd to say that it wouldnt broaden some ones horizons when there are whole books on other cultures "odd" foods just because its not the done thing here doesnt make it necessarily wrong.

The best veggie comment on here was from contrarymary.

Managed to sum up what she wanted to say without swearing, being aggressive or name-calling.

As for the majority of the rest of you.............you may have done more to harm your cause than win anyone over!

I don't think any meat eaters have outrightly condemned vegetarians in the way that you've condemned others...

The lack of tolerance is absolutely incredible....more so...because you are parents of developing children. Very worrying....and I hope your children won't display the same lack of tolerance towards others with different views to themselves.

sausages -

Percy Pigs ARE vegetarian

My friend left some at my house recently and I double checked before I ate them. They have pectin in. I promise.

I am a devout meat eater, but I wouldn't dream of forcing my views on someone else's child. Not to mention that although I feed my kids meat, I wouldn't be happy about them eating the dreck that passage for sausage at kids parties. I quite often control what my kids are eating at parties.

I think the man was incredibly rude and would not want my child unsupervised by me anywhere near where he is. Will he next decide that your child should see violent or sex filled movies at 4 because they should make their own choices. Or perhaps he thinks they should stuff themselves with candy and sit in front of the tv all day. Anyway, I'm sorry others have felt the need to insult you and the other vegetarians on this thread. There is enough space in this world for all of us and I really don't understand why people feel the need to try to force others to do things their way.

Um, where have I been agressive or condemned others (for eating meat I assume?).

I don't have a "cause" either, I just want to raise my dc as veggies in peace :)

The only sweary/agressive comments I've noticed are towards the guy in the OP, and that is because he was very rude to Tollund, not because he eats meat.

I've travelled too, on that other rather erm odd viewpoint that being veggie stops you from travelling. I've not really had trouble, Cuba was a bit tricky when we went off the beaten track in a hire car, but we managed fine, and discovered the most amazing black bean soup that I've never been able to re-create.

Plus if they did want to sample cultural dishes containing meat I wouldn't be able to stop them.

teenieleek, there is a huge difference between not knowing and not caring. Just because a person is unaware that they have been given meat doesn't mean that they don't care when they discover it! What's so hard to understand?

And if I limit my child's horizons on the travel front (which is bullshit btw, but just to humour you) then so be it, I couldn't give a shit because I will NEVER condone eating an animal just for the sake of visiting another land.

sausage, funnily enough it is the subject of the OP, the man who tried to force meat upon a stranger's child, who is intolerant. Along with those others who don't feel that others have the right to raise their children according to their own moral philospohy.

Oh. That'd be you, wouldn't it?

The only intolerant veggie or vegan here that I can see is me. I am confident in my beliefs and proud of them and feel that meat eating is totally unacceptable. As for those who have eaten dog, to be polite... come and visit me. I'll feed you dog shit.... I hope you'll be just as polite as you were to those who offered you the body parts of man's best friend.

I really want a veggie sausage emoticon!

Here here SofiaAmes!

I think at 4 yrs you should be deciding-by 8 yrs he is old enough to decide for himself. He is the DC of a vegetarian, no one knows if he will follow. YANBU.

I think he has a point but he was being unreasonable in saying it/offering sausages. He should just have thought it, not tried to convert you to his way of thinking.

I brought DD up as vegetarian as a baby. I'm not vegi but DH is and he wanted her to be. So she was totally vegi until the age of about 14 months when she started getting more interested in food and grabbing stuff, etc. I then let her have what she wanted.

If she chooses to be vegi when she's older thats fine.

Well said DogsBestFriend

sausage is just shit stirring. (I refer you back to the start of the thread and comments re cooking steak and all us veggies need some protein.)

Lovely to see so many sensible people on here who get it.

So me, the lovely lady I met at the meet up, two mums on the childcare board, one poster who recognised me a while ago and now TWO more from the Stow! We is taking over Mumsnet!

(I dont live anywhere near the 'village' though).

How exciting!