Argument over Billy Bear Ham

[Yebbie]

DC had friends over for play date, I provided lunch (baguettes, cucumber, cheese and billy bear ham, apple and yoghurt for pudding)

Yes it's processed and gimmicky, we are all vegetarian in this house apart from my 3 year old, so it was the only meat we had and they asked for ham in their baguettes.

Friend fuming I fed her son Billy bear ham, very dramatic about it, don't you know what's in that? I'm not one for processed food particularly, but my 3yo loves the stuff and has an otherwise balanced vegetarian diet so what's the issue, in my opinion. AIBU?

Can you not just say to your dc it is meat and you don't /they don't eat meat?. My dc is vegi and wouldn't be agreeing to that.. Even at 3.
Odd.
What if he wanted something else inappropriate?

Would you like a medal?

It's meat in the shape of a bears face. Not heroin.

as long as my dc has been looked after and been made to feel welcome I couldn't give two shiney shites what they were served for lunch. The very idea of critiquing what another parent served to my child is just cringesome.

The OP wasn't asking for tips on how to stop her kid eating meat she said they're not vegetarian and seems ok with them having the odd bit of meat 🤷🏼‍♀️

This!

This thread has a fair few snooty sneery replies about a bit of meat.

If you are that picky about what your child eats send a packed lunch or pay for professional childcare where you can dictate exactly what the kids are fed.

Apparently it's 66% pork and the rest is other 'stuff'
Higher meat content than some sausages on the market but I bet there wouldn’t be the snobbery about kids being fed bangers for tea.

She was rude.

id never feed it to anyone because it’s foul but it’s still rude of her

But buy decent ham if you buy ham at all

it’s actually fairly difficult to buy “proper” ham, you need a butcher or deli counter. Our local
sainsburys have just closed down their deli so for me it’s a seperate trip to a butcher.

last time I looked all the packet stuff is “formed” ham, even the expensive versions.

My husband only went veggie 6 months ago so until then he cooked meat for both of them. I don't want to force my 3 year old to never eat meat again he eats it at nursery and if ever gets a McDonald's asking for more judgement there aren't I I can't get worked up about a slice of billy bear..

Must remember not to feed Los minion "Ham" to any visiting kids for fear of being tarred and feathered

Honestly though I can do without "friends" that are that rude and ungrateful

It's no worse than cheap sausages, burgers, chicken nuggets, chicken goujons, chicken steaks, most types of ham that come in a pack from the supermarket, chorizo, pepperoni, salami, corned beef, and probably loads of other processed meat products that most people eat at least some of. I'm sure lots of these things are in school dinners for example.

Ha! Brilliant 🤣

I've never tasted Billy Bear ham. I now feel my life is incomplete.

She sounds like a snotty cow. It's not exactly "good" food but as a one off nobody's going to die. It's higher in fat that "normal" ham but lower in salt. I wouldn't have a problem with it and would just be appreciative you'd fed my kids and kept them amused.

I've never tasted Billy Bear ham.

As others have said (repeatedly), Billy Bear isn't ham. It's luncheon meat. If you want suitably Mumsnet references, it's like cheap Mortadella (and similarly tasteless).

As an omni, I'd have replied to her question either 'yes. Mechanically recovered bits of dead pig.'

I think any vegetarian would be reasonable in replying in a similar way. Or 'Yes. Bits of animal. That's why I don't eat it, but they asked for ham and I wasn't about to force my beliefs onto your child'

Yanbu. I love Billy bear. Sometimes I still buy it and have it in sneaky sandwiches in crusty rolls when noone can see me! 🤣

I would be horrified if my child ate Billy Bear ham. It's disgusting, processed, incredibly unhealthy. Did you know that processed meat is as bad for the body as literally smoking cigarettes and just as carcinogenic? Please don't feed this to your child or anyone for that matter! I'm usually pretty relaxed about food, but absolutely draw the line at processed meat like this.

And yes, I agree with this - ALL processed meat is extremely harmful, but there are levels of quality and Billy Bear has got to be very close to the bottom of the list. 🤮

Oh give over! The odd slice of luncheon meat is not the same as smoking 😂

Farking hell she’d hate me, I would give them Haribo at that age just to keep them quiet.

Dry funny and typical MN to someone who said it’s the same as having a cigarette 😂😂😂😂

Evidence that processed meat gives you cancer please

Billy Bear ham is a gateway drug.

She's bonkers! I never have it to my now adult kids but I'm sure they've eaten it at parties, along with a load of other crap! Is she going to police the child at parties?
How did you respond to her ridiculous outburst?

You would think so!

I’m going to have to pick up a packet on the way home now. Love Billy. Fond memories of pulling the various features apart.

Your friend is being completely ridiculous (As are all the sneery posters on here) and I wouldn’t be offering to have the DC over any time soon.