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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think tuna is not vegetarian!

345 replies

TheTitOfTheIceberg · 23/05/2019 14:13

A member of my team has been involved in arranging a small event at work, which was taking place today. I'm on leave but dropped her a quick text to see how it was going, and also asked her to let me know particularly what she thought of the lunch provided/any delegate feedback about it as it was the first time we've used these particular caterers. Company policy is now to order vegetarian options only as standard.

She has just replied "lunch was fine - samosas, spring rolls, quiches (leek & cheese, broccoli), dips with raw veg crudites, sandwiches/wraps (salad, cheese, tuna mayo, egg & tomato) and lots of fruit".

Tuna?? On a vegetarian platter? AIBU to think the catering company has dropped a bollock here?

OP posts:
Youwanapizzame · 23/05/2019 16:27

Indeed. Many veggies would agree with that (DH included) - and many wouldn't. - and these people are stupid... they walk among us...

WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 23/05/2019 16:29

Vegetarianism is not a belief system with a laid down set of rules to abide by.

I am not disagreeing with the logic, btw, I am just saying that a vegetarian who eats parmesan is absolutely no skin off anyone else's nose. Labelling by supermarkets of stuff with by products in is a relatively new thing - what do people think vegetarians did before that? Never buy pesto?

YourSarcasmIsDripping · 23/05/2019 16:30

How can people not know that fish is meat? What do they think it's made out of? Bananas?

mummmy2017 · 23/05/2019 16:31

Some I knew told her child she was vegetarian... While eating fish and chips.

My children told her that a vegetarian does not eat something with a face.
Guess who went mad at being outed.

Graphista · 23/05/2019 16:31

What on earth does it matter to anyone else if a vegetarian actually eats a cheese with rennet in it? Does a unicorn die?

It matters to those of us who are committed veggies as it undermines our efforts and leads to situations like the premise of the thread which makes it harder for committed veggies to access truly vegetarian food and products

Re "misappropriating vegetarianism" I'll admit I was struggling for a succinct way to define the issue.

To the majority of veggies it IS important that food and products are clearly labelled and recognised as being veggie or not.

We've fought for a LONG time to get good labelling and decent options available in restaurants etc it didn't just happen!

I've been veggie 30 years I can well remember how bloody hard it was poring over ingredients lists, asking the right questions in restaurants (and not always getting the truth! Which once for me resulted in hospitalisation), dreading events involving eating out because few restaurants had so much as ONE veggie option on the menu - even if you'd called ahead and ASKED you'd then arrive to find the "veggie" option is bloody fish or chicken or meat stock has been used for a "veggie" soup or risotto etc

So yes, it IS important to us for a variety of reasons that vegetarianism is recognised and understood accurately.

NellieEllie · 23/05/2019 16:32

Aaaaaargh!
Tuna is NOT vegetarian!
How many times! Fish is NOT vegetarian. There are NO vegetarians who eat fish, because if they eat fish they are NOT vegetarian.
A vegetarian is someone who does not eat animal flesh. They do not eat animals. ANY animals. Fish, fowl, insect, reptile, amphibian, mammal, no not even (this is for you Grandma) a slice of ham.
Rant over.
Been vegetarian for about 36 years. Had to argue this one many, many times. Left vegetarian society stickers explaining this on a variety on restaurant tables.
Don’t get me started on Parmesan cheese.

LimeKiwi · 23/05/2019 16:33

Many years ago DH bought a quiche for vegetarian SIL. Quiche Lorraine. This, according to him, should have been fine because bacon isn’t meat

Eh? Whu?! On what planet is bacon not meat?! Where does he think it comes from, lol?! Confused Grin

lyralalala · 23/05/2019 16:33

That's a pretty shocking mistake for a catering company to make imo

Graphista · 23/05/2019 16:34

Meat eaters always nab the veggie stuff anyway Angry

Omg yes! So annoying!

The amount of bbqs I attended in my youth where the hosts had been kind enough to ensure there was SOMETHING I could eat only for some arsehole (usually of the type to push meat in your face or ask if being veggie meant you didn't give oral sex! EnvyAngry) to scoff it before I got near!!

Jenasaurus · 23/05/2019 16:34

Is egg a meat product as if fertilised it would be

SunshineCake · 23/05/2019 16:36

Come off it. You know you are not unreasonable to think tuna is not vegetarian as it is an animal. You AIBU should have been AIBU to think vegetarian lunch is not going to suit everyone. There's no other question. It's a fish!

NellieEllie · 23/05/2019 16:36

As for asking whether vegetarians didn’t buy pesto because of the Parmesan. No. Certainly a vegetarian who takes their belief seriously researches what is not vegetarian. So, no to Parmesan, jelly cubes, marshmallows, most hard cheese from outside the U.K.

IHaveBrilloHair · 23/05/2019 16:39

I'm all over the halloumi at a barbecue, I'm not vegetarian.
My name is Brillo and I'm a cheeseaholic Grin

AlexaAmbidextra · 23/05/2019 16:40

what do people think vegetarians did before that? Never buy pesto?

How very Marie Antoinette. 😄

MitziK · 23/05/2019 16:45

Catering firms obviously need to be reminded of what vegetarianism is.

Lacto-ovo vegetarian = yes to dairy and eggs, no to pieces of dead animal whether land, sea or air based or ingredients that an animal has to be dead to produce (such as fish roe, rennet or gelatine).

Lacto vegetarian = yes to dairy, no to pieces of dead animal whether land, sea or air based (including shellfish) or ingredients that an animal has to be dead to produce (such as fish roe, rennet or gelatine), no to eggs.

Strict vegetarian (common phrase with Indian veggies)/vegan = no dead animals, no ingredients that came from animals, no parts, secretions or excretions from animals, whether milk, eggs, or honey. Squid are killed to provide ink, so black pasta is also not vegetarian.

As most places seem incapable of providing any food without copious amounts of dairy in it (which I can't eat), I have to request vegan food. I'm not vegan - I'm not even vegetarian. It's the only way to be sure/safe when somebody else is catering.

I'd politely point out to them that they failed to provide a vegetarian meal in accordance with their order.

Including dead fish means that they didn't adhere to your own company's requirements for sustainability - especially as Tuna is critically endangered - so you might have to keep a record of this discussion in case somebody picks up on it in audit.

Original poster
TheTitOfTheIceberg · 23/05/2019 16:46

You AIBU should have been AIBU to think vegetarian lunch is not going to suit everyone.

No doubt it wouldn't, but we make people aware when we ask for their allergy/intolerance information that we serve vegetarian food only as policy so they have a choice as to whether to attend or not if eating meat at every meal is more important to them than the content or relevance of the event. Which is another reason for me to speak to the company about this, as on this occasion our 'disclaimer' (for want of a better word) was factually incorrect and the catering company's error reflects poorly on us.

OP posts:
Original poster
TheTitOfTheIceberg · 23/05/2019 16:48

Including dead fish means that they didn't adhere to your own company's requirements for sustainability - especially as Tuna is critically endangered - so you might have to keep a record of this discussion in case somebody picks up on it in audit.

Thank you MitziK, I hadn't considered that point.

OP posts:
alligatorsmile · 23/05/2019 16:48

No, I did not buy pesto until I could get vegetarian versions.

I don't eat sweets with gelatine in. (OMG those Percy Pigs from M&S with actual dead pig in them!)

I don't eat cheese with animal rennet.

That's what being vegetarian is. It's not a version of it.

There are some people who eat these things and call themselves vegetarian, but ime it's because they just don't want to eat actual meat and it's easier to just say 'vegetarian'

alligatorsmile · 23/05/2019 16:49

Anyone who wants to eat less meat and dairy and is taking steps towards it can call themselves whatever they like in my book, as long as they keep trying

Graphista · 23/05/2019 16:51

Including dead fish means that they didn't adhere to your own company's requirements for sustainability - especially as Tuna is critically endangered - so you might have to keep a record of this discussion in case somebody picks up on it in audit.

From that perspective (in addition to the plain ignorance) I'd be seriously considering not using them in the future anyway.

On this occasion there were no allergies/cross contamination issues but the company weren't to know that.

Fish is a common allergen and there's been lots in the media recently regarding this issue. What if someone allergic to fish had been present? Had thought it was something else?

They'd have a lot more to worry about than purely ethical issues they could well have been facing a lawsuit even criminal charges.

FoxSquadKitten · 23/05/2019 16:51

some people do consider fish to be a part of a vegetarian diet some people do not

some people are stupid, some people are not

soulrider · 23/05/2019 16:52

The company i work for has the sane stupid policy of only allowing vegetarian lunches for 'sustainability reasons'

Conveniently ignores the fact that it's an industry that uses vast quantities of concrete. Lunches are a drop in the ocean (and half of it gets thrown away anyway)

Original poster
TheTitOfTheIceberg · 23/05/2019 16:53

Agreed Graphista. I'm all for allowing people another chance to learn from mistakes but in this case I think there are simply too many risks involved to use this company again.

OP posts:
AnAC12UCOinanOCG · 23/05/2019 16:54

Is there a reasonable, comparable, and more sustainable option than concrete?

pelirocco123 · 23/05/2019 16:55

Me in a restaurant ; ' I don't eat meat '

We have fish

I think I have also been offered chicken