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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To trick someone into eating vegan?

205 replies

Idonthatevegans · 09/11/2021 15:24

Please read my question before getting into a debate about veganism. That isn't really what it is about. It has no impact on my life if someone is a vegan or not, do what you wish.

I got into a discussion with someone recently, and found out that people are often surprised when they find out that there was no meat in the beef pie/ spag bol etc she served. And she gets a kick of that fact they couldn't tell the difference. Honestly I couldn't really, not in something like a spag bol.

I have however, tried quorn a few times in my life, with AWFUL results. I am in the bathroom within 1 hour and very sick for a day after. A 100% vegan meal without meat substitutes ya I'm 100% ok with. But if someone says I made beef pie, I would take them at their word. If I knew the person was vegan I would probably enquire if it was real meat only because I know how awfully I react to it. But if I didn't know that person was a vegan I would take it at face value. Yes it happens every so often I get offered tea around a friends aunt who we popped into or something like that.

To me, a vegan passing of something as meat to people who don't know and can therefore make up their own mind is as bad as me putting chicken stock into veg soup and telling someone it is vegan friendly. Ya the vast majority in both cases won't know the difference in taste or after affect. But both people have been denied the option of having their own choice. One has been tricked into thinking they are eating meat, one has been tricked into thinking they are not. I know there are hugely different moral implications there but both have been tricked when they should not have been.

I really don't want to this to break into a vegan/ non vegan debate. That is all that I got back on my last chat. The person wouldn't actually answer my question about tricking someone, just kept on a barrage of info about how vegan is amazing and that anyone who eat meat was the devil incarnate.

BTW - it's not something I would often say I am allergic to as I usually take how food is called at their face value.

I simply want to know:

AIBU - she can call her pie beef pie, even if it is not beef pie.

YANBU - you should know what you are eating. If it's called beef pie well of course you would expect it to be beef pie

OP posts:
Choosea · 09/11/2021 16:50

I know this isn't what you asked but Quorn mince isn't vegan as it contains egg!

NotMyselfWithoutCoffee · 09/11/2021 16:52

@whatatimetobealive

Also lentils, my dh has a deathly allergy to lentils and they are used in a lot of vegan dishes.
He had a severe reaction as a child and has to carry an epipen around with him since.

godmum56 · 09/11/2021 16:52

@MurielSpriggs

It's not really the same as putting chicken stock in soup which you're claiming is vegan. I don't know anyone who has an ethical objection to eating vegan food. In fact I don't think it would be possible to construct one. It's more like serving up cheap cava as champagne and only owning up after everyone has said how nice it is.
no but I have an ethical objection to being lied to about what I am eating. I cannot digest many things which are standard in vegan diets, and others make me live in the loo.
Chloemol · 09/11/2021 16:52

YANBU. I react to quorn

I would expect my vegan friends to tell me what they have used in the same way I would tell them

CalamariGames · 09/11/2021 16:55

I agree from an allergy point of view that you should not trick people. I also don't think people will be converted to veganism just because a meat substitute tastes as good as meat. A lot of people who eat meat think its healthier than meat substitute products.

Badabingbadabum · 09/11/2021 16:56

I have cut back on my meat and diary however I am allergic to soya products (like milk or alpro desserts) and to things with a large amount of pea protein. Your smug, virtue signaling friend could put me into anaphylactic shock!

user367778853 · 09/11/2021 16:56

Why are you expecting a vegan to cook meat for you? Also she shouldn’t call it beef pie I suppose but I wouldn’t mind, if I want to eat particular food I cook it myself and always let others know that I need a vegetarian option so don’t see an issue with letting someone who is obviously ✨vegan✨ know that I am allergic to Quorn.

Graphista · 09/11/2021 16:57

YANBU

I have a similar reaction it i DO eat red meat as you have with quorn

Veggie over 30 years and when I first went veggie labelling wasn't as accurate and consistent then and barely existed at all in restaurants which led to me coming a cropper on a few occasions

It's not why I went veggie but something I noticed after I did (lifelong stomach problems much improved, on the few occasions I accidentally ate red meat - horrific!)

It's also a moral issue NOBODY should be tricked into eating anything

People have various allergies and intolerances and shouldn't have to explain them for every meal or snack

I'm thinking it's also a factor for other medical conditions eg diabetes, certain meds people are taking as different products have different effects on blood sugars etc

Contrary to statements on this thread Quorn have had a vegan range for a few years now,

As a veggie I'm fine with their veggie range but oddly the vegan stuff does upset my stomach and I've no idea why and even Quorn have been unable to help identify the reason

I think it is worse, is anyone allergic to chicken stock?

People can be, you can be allergic to literally anything even water and sunlight in extreme/rare cases, food allergies of all sorts are very common

www.quorn.co.uk/products/vegan-food/2

Dixiechickonhols · 09/11/2021 16:58

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4861862/amp/Quorn-s-main-ingredient-MOLD.html

11 year old dying from Quorn as his mum didn’t realise it was derived from mold.

godmum56 · 09/11/2021 17:00

@user367778853

Why are you expecting a vegan to cook meat for you? Also she shouldn’t call it beef pie I suppose but I wouldn’t mind, if I want to eat particular food I cook it myself and always let others know that I need a vegetarian option so don’t see an issue with letting someone who is obviously ✨vegan✨ know that I am allergic to Quorn.
I don't think the op is expecting the friend to cook meat for her, just not to lie about what they have cooked.
SquirrelCrimbleCrumble · 09/11/2021 17:00

She's playing russian roulette!!

PugInTheHouse · 09/11/2021 17:01

Soy is a really common allergy, my DH is really ill eating soy products, before he knew he had it twice and was ill for 4 days both times and unable to work. I would be furious if someone told us it was a beef pie but had a product that contained soy in.

Kljnmw3459 · 09/11/2021 17:02

I might wonder why it tastes odd but wouldn't comment on it if it was otherwise a tasty pie. I don't know how I'd feel if someone purposely tried to lie about food.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 09/11/2021 17:02

@Alltheprettyseahorses

It's not tricking someone not to feed them a dead animal! As a guest you are responsible for informing your host of any allergies, it's not like going to a sandwich shop.
Which is why I would always politely turn down an invitation to a vegan meal. I can't eat mushrooms, lentils, beans or Quorn so it wouldn't leave much for me to eat and I would worry they thought I was making excuses.
NellieEllie · 09/11/2021 17:05

I think a lot of meat subs are a prob for some people. Quorn can cause v bad bloating and stomach pain. People can be allergic to soya, and lentils can have a dramatic effect as well. I don’t think I would ever cook anything for someone without checking intolerances, nor would I deceive as to ingredients.

PrincessPaws · 09/11/2021 17:06

Another one here who gets terrible stomach cramps, diarrhoea and wind that could wake the dead if I go anywhere near quorn. It's well out of order, and I bet she would be very upset if someone said something was vegan when it wasn't

Mamamia344 · 09/11/2021 17:11

I make sausage rolls using Cauldron sausages (meat free) and serve them at most family gatherings and sometimes to friends. If they ask where the sausages are from, I tell them. Otherwise, I don't bother. I assume people know I don't eat meat so unlikely I'd be offering it.

londonrach · 09/11/2021 17:14

Yanbu. Vvvvv dangerous.

LittleMysSister · 09/11/2021 17:14

To me, a vegan passing of something as meat to people who don't know and can therefore make up their own mind is as bad as me putting chicken stock into veg soup and telling someone it is vegan friendly.

I don't agree with this because people haven't usually made a conscious choice to avoid vegan food in the way that vegetarians/vegans have.

But I also think you should check allergies before cooking for people to avoid reactions like yours to Quorn. And I wouldn't lie and pretend something was meat, I'd be open about what I was cooking.

RobotValkyrie · 09/11/2021 17:15

Potentially poisoning someone just to make a smug point isn't ethical.
Soy and nuts are known allergens.
YANBU

MadeOfStarStuff · 09/11/2021 17:16

YANBU

I don’t expect to be lied to about what I’m eating and I wouldn’t lie to others. I’m perfectly happy eating vegetarian or vegan food, preferably not meat substitutes but I don’t mind them. But I’m not a child, I don’t want to be treated like one by someone tricking me into eating something

TractorAndHeadphones · 09/11/2021 17:16

An aside but honestly why can’t people cook vegan food that stands on its own? Veganism isn’t about meat substitués

I’m from a vegetarian culture and there are lots of delicious dishes than have been made vegetarian because people know what to do with vegetables. Seriously. Meat isn’t vegetables and vice versa

TonTonMacoute · 09/11/2021 17:18

Why would you want to trick anyone about what they are eating?

I am a meat eater but am more than happy to be served a vegan meal. I have enjoyed many vegan meals. I even make them myself, I don't need to be tricked into eating them.

I do not want to be a full time vegan, I would miss eggs and dairy far more than the meat, and am not going to change my mind just because there are nice vegan meals available.

I don't want to eat meat substitutes, I don't like them as many of them seem to be highly processed. I would far rather eat lentils or vegetables.

Weird friend!

MurielSpriggs · 09/11/2021 17:20

@WhatATimeToBeAlive

I would need to know as I have a nut allergy and nuts are used a lot in vegan food.
But you can't really assume that "beef pie" with hunks of actual beef doesn't have nuts in. Surely you check with the cook in all cases?
LemonPeonies · 09/11/2021 17:23

I imagine vegans wouldn't be happy about being "tricked" into eating animal products...

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