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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to chose the vegan option at work cantine?

171 replies

redchocolatebutton · 09/09/2019 14:35

a colleague says iabu. apparently it's reserved for vegan colleagues

I'm neither vegan nor vegetarian.
the vegan option is usually very impressive and tasty. the chef is really creative and the food is very very good.
I want to reduce animal based foods.

sooooo aibu to eat it?

OP posts:

P1nkHeartLovesCake · 09/09/2019 15:20

It’s no different than ordering in a restaurant, more than likely OP is paying for her meal but even if work is paying for her she can order what ever the hell she likes.

Why does a meat eater have to have meat or dairy in every meal?? Weird

EmilyStar · 09/09/2019 15:22

YANBU unless you’ve pre-ordered a different non-vegan meal.

I'm not vegetarian but have lost count of the number of times that choosing a normal meal that happens to be meat free leads to comments of the 'I didn't know you were vegetarian' variety

^^ yy. It’s amazing how many people find it difficult to wrap their heads around someone choosing a meat-free option if they’re not vegetarian/ vegan!

violetswordfish · 09/09/2019 15:23

As long as there is plenty to go round, Id say absolutely fine. If not, you are being v unreasonable as it means people will not have anything to eat.

But it's a canteen not an event. People don't have to eat there. People can choose to eat whatever they want. What if the meat option is pork and they don't like pork or just don't fancy it that way? Why should they have to pay for food they don't really want when there's a perfectly nice option that they do want? Just because somebody else might prefer it too? If you're vegan and your work canteen regularly runs out of vegan food, that's the canteens fault and you should tell them. Or get down faster for your lunch. Or take an alternative. It's definitely not the fault of people like the OP who can spend money on whatever food they feel like eating that day.

Over600Ecalypts · 09/09/2019 15:24

Go ahead and take it. Vegan food is for all. (Although, there can be some exceptions.)

A good chef will be keeping a close eye on the meals bought each day and will know which vegan dishes are more popular. They will also know roughly the minimum number of vegan meals they need to provide each day. Sounds like they would also be fine coping if a vegan turned up late and the main vegan option had already gone.

Original poster

redchocolatebutton · 09/09/2019 15:24

no
issues with supply.
at least not yet, but if the chef continues to out stage the other options...

OP posts:

moobar · 09/09/2019 15:24

@BeanBag7 I think we have the same dh

LightsInOtherPeoplesHouses · 09/09/2019 15:24

I’m a bit on the fence here. Is there any way you can find out whether there’s enough to go round?

If people are helping themselves it's always a risk that what you are able to eat will be gone. If there was a choice between the aforementioned vegan stuffed peppers, a ham sandwich or something with blue cheese, I'm going with the vegan option. I don't eat pork or beef (or any red meat), and I can't stand blue cheese. If I get the last pepper, that's tough on the vegan behind me, but if they're in front of me in the queue that's tough on me. Neither of us has an alternative we can choose.

BarbaraofSeville · 09/09/2019 15:28

I'm sure if a situation arose where a theoretical late coming vegan found no vegan food left, they'd be able to produce something for them, even if it was just beans on toast, soup with bread, or a falafel/hummus/salady plate.

Anyway, maybe the chef knows what she's doing - encouraging everyone to eat more meat free meals by making sure the vegan option looks appetising and provides appropriate numbers so that there's as little waste as possible for all the food on offer.

BertrandRussell · 09/09/2019 15:29

Hmm. Devil take the hindmost!

violetswordfish · 09/09/2019 15:30

Hmm. Devil take the hindmost!

You regularly order food that you don't particularly care for over food that looks delicious, just in case a stranger would like the delicious option too, do you?

dollydaydream114 · 09/09/2019 15:32

For everyone who thinks it’s ok to jump in bed with out showering all day there’s a friendly little bug that will render u sleepless nights and up to thousands of dollars when infested, and that cute little bug is BEDBUGS.

Bedbug infestations aren't caused by poor personal hygiene. You could shower 10 times a day and still get a bedbug infestation. They don't care if you're clean or dirty - a spotlessly clean human body is just as attractive to them as a dirty one and they live in your furniture, not on your skin, so showering daily won't get rid of them.

dollydaydream114 · 09/09/2019 15:33

Oops, wrong thread, sorry!

HugsAreMyDrugs · 09/09/2019 15:34

But if the vegan option keeps getting sold out then surely the chefs would just make more. Supply and demand and all that...

Valanice1989 · 09/09/2019 15:35

YANBU. Vegans don't "own" vegan food, omnivores have a right to eat it as well. As far as I'm aware, the whole point of veganism is to encourage people to eat fewer animal products, so it would be counter-productive for them to stop you from eating it.

deydododatdodontdeydo · 09/09/2019 15:35

It's a canteen, so a free for all.
Sure, any vegans might be irritated if they run out, but as people said supply and demand.
I've been to a few conferences where you stipulate dietary requirements in advance. I that situation you would BU to eat a vegan option of you hadn't ordered one, but that wasn't the case here.

BertrandRussell · 09/09/2019 15:37

“You regularly order food that you don't particularly care for over food that looks delicious, just in case a stranger would like the delicious option too, do you?”

No. But if I had a choice of several dishes, but another person had a choice of one or go hungry, I would make sure there was enough of that to go round the people with a limited choice before I took it. Isn’t that just basic manners?

milliefiori · 09/09/2019 15:38

Just check. I reached for the vegan option the other day and the chef asked if I was vegan as he'd only made as many as the number of people listed as vegan, so I put it back.

KatherineJaneway · 09/09/2019 15:41

I’m a bit on the fence here. Is there any way you can find out whether there’s enough to go round?

It's not helpful to look at it that way though surely as any popular / tasty dishes will sell out quickly. In our canteen, if you are not there reasonably early and they have lasagne on the menu, its likely there will be none left as it is really popular.

Sashkin · 09/09/2019 15:42

IF tv was a catered meal where you had to state your preferences in advance, YWBU. But in a canteen, eat what you like.

Does your colleague police the meal deal shelves in M&S as well, in case a carnivore picks up a sneaky cheese and celery sandwich?

berlinbabylon · 09/09/2019 15:44

As a Coeliac I've had problems in the past with gluten eaters eating/buying the gluten free option in the canteen or in cafes meaning there was literally nothing left for me and other people with the disease or a genuine intolerance. That used to massively piss me off

You'll be glad to know that once I bought a sandwich in Starbucks that was gluten-free. It was horrible, the bread had the weirdest texture. I'll never buy a gluten free option again so I got my comeuppance, and it did make me wonder why people who aren't coeliac have gluten free food.

But in a self-service canteen you can choose what you like. I do eat chicken and fish but quite often you find that the cheese is with ham or the chicken with pancetta, so I have to look for a red-meat-free option.

Bubblysqueak · 09/09/2019 15:45

I have a dairy allergy so always choose vegan if available, it makes life so much easier.

Howdidido · 09/09/2019 15:48

Yep YANBU. In fact more people should have the vegan option. Vegans generally appreciate others eating less meat
Also- it's just a meal with no meat or dairy... not a magical fairy meal... surely everyone occasionally eats vegan without really thinking about it?
I overheard a ridiculous man the other day saying he was refusing all the vegan options on principle... it's just vegetables.

BertrandRussell · 09/09/2019 15:49

I love the fact that we have multiple threads where people go on about how vile vegan food is, and how they wouldn’t go to a dinner party if it was vegan food - but now we’ve got “But the vegan food is delicious! I will eat it and sod the vegans!”

BarbaraofSeville · 09/09/2019 15:51

Surely the problem here is the caterers not providing enough vegan or gluten free food? Not helped by people with no dietary restrictions refusing to choose these options in case a vegan or a coeliac comes along to find no suitable food left.

If they provided options that were just normal food that would appeal to everyone but also happened to be vegan, gluten free etc, it would also help vegans and coeliacs because they'd get a wider variety of food to choose from and not have to take the only vegan or gluten free option, whether they actually liked that particular meal or not?

Original poster

redchocolatebutton · 09/09/2019 15:53

the problem for my colleague is (I suspect) that the vegan option is no longer 'special'

OP posts:

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