"He eats meat, but can't eat any processed meat."

[Flangelica]

If someone said this to you when you asked about dietary requirements for a child, would you think they were massively w*nky/snobby, or is it socially acceptable and fine?

If it's just a preference, then yeah, it's a bit wanky.

Although I would happily give my own children curry. I would not give it to visiting children. A lot of children seem to only eat fairly bland "children's" type food.

What it adds to the thread is a response to a point made.

More useful than the endless "maybe it's an allergy" posts when a) thats been said 4,000 times already and b)its not a bloody allergy.

I'd never had a proper read of the WHO website before so out of interest I went and had a look. It said this:

"Processed meat was classified as carcinogenic to humans(Group 1). Tobacco smoking and asbestos are also both classified as carcinogenic to humans(Group 1). Does it mean that consumption of processed meat is as carcinogenic as tobacco smoking and asbestos?
No, processed meat has been classified in the same category as causes of cancer such as tobacco smoking and asbestos (IARC Group 1, carcinogenic to humans), but this does NOT mean that they are all equally dangerous. The IARC classifications describe the strength of the scientific evidence about an agent being a cause of cancer, rather than assessing the level of risk."

Bloody website. Posted too soon.

I thought it was interesting as PP suggested that processed meat is the same risk as tobacco etc, and WHO have made it clear that it's very definitely not the case.

They also say the risk is present for diets which are "high in processed meat" - not that eating a single portion is akin to a visit to Chernobyl.

So sensible to cut right back on processed meat but the occasional indulgence won't do much harm, as per WHO.

I've had a DC with multiple food allergies when younger, and always stated what he was allergic to and the non obvious forms of allergens.

When weaning him back on, I realised that I have a low tolerance to a couple of common foods. I describe it as low tolerance because some forms I can take as an occasional one-off, but if it was a longer period, I'd be taking my substitutes. I am clear that form/ quantity matters because it is awkward when there is a partial/ inconsistent issue with food (e.g. I can eat modest portions of cheese, but milk will go through me)

I'm not concinved that artificial sweetners are a great idea, (they give me headaches) and I prefer my DCs to swerve them, but swerving them 95% of the time at home is fine and I'm not going add that onto people hosting my children for a limited period.

If it was an actual issue with some processes of processing meat, I'd say that there is an issue and serving vegetarian is the simplest option. If it was just a preference with no direct consequences, I'd let it pass as an occasional one-off. (Yes I've done catering for youth groups where the copy-cat gluten-free child mimicking their mate's new diagnosis has been aghast that yes in line with parental instructions is not sneaking in any gluten whether they have it at home or not- quite a common issue where parents are asked about the child's diet)

Yep.
I’m an excellent cook. My people have been vegetarian for centuries. I can definitely produce a gluten free, {insert allergen here} free meal.

However I’ve had too many children turn up their noses at ‘different’ foods to bother. Some might not even be fussy, they may have sensory issues etc.

I myself have needed to follow restricted diets at various points in time and have just brought my own food if it’s something that would inconvenience the host too much. I expect the same consideration in return.

@TyneTortoise interesting. We’ve had the opposite experience. We’ve served up a range of different foods for visiting children and no one has ever complained. In fact, the opposite-they often make a request to come back for more especially for our more traditional south Asian dishes.

Easy enough to accommodate no processed meat though. Even providing just a cheese sandwich would be ok.

I think that it is entirely reasonable to only give "proper" meat to your child and not really unhealthy, crap, dangerous processed meat. It is reasonable for a parent to say "don't give my kid crap when he is with you".

It is also reasonable of you to say "we eat processed meat and we don't specifically cater for vegetarians of quality-tarians.... your son will have to have whatever we're having but without the meat".

My DH is on a medically restricted diet and one of the foods he can't eat is processed meat.

Fortunately he's a veggie so it doesn't matter but if he was a meat eater it would be a medical dietary requirement.

if he was a meat eater it would be a medical dietary requirement.

But then you’d make it crystal clear to the host that it was a medical imperative; in the same way as my DD’s friend with a nut allergy came with her epipen. And that, of course, is totally different.

But - as I said upthread - if you let your child go to someone’s house, then you entrust those parents to look after him/her. You don’t dictate the quality of the food any more than you dictate that they can’t watch ITV, or must have a napkin at dinner. If you think they aren’t people you want your child to be with/looked after by, then just decline the invitation politely!

Its my child. He is on fodmap and most processed meat has onion and garlic in he could eat fresh ordinary meat

Mince isn't processed meat.

If you ask about dietary requirements why then judge if a requirement is wanky, snobby or legit?

Yep - mince is just chopped meat. I make my own usually, as the bought version is often too finely chopped and too lean for some recipes.

No one has to eat meat at all, processed or not

give them a margarita pizza

Yes processed meat is like tobacco and asbestos insofar as it's on the short list of everyday substances that definitely causes cancer, but that doesn't mean that the level of risk is the same - and like tobacco, the risk is completely dose dependent.

A single ham sandwich is vanishingly unlikely to cause harm: processed meats in your lunchbox day after day for years on end is a genuine hazard.

It is a legitimate dietary requirement, especially since processed meat is "washed" in chemicals. I have silent reflux, so I would avoid processed meat and would go for organic instead.

It's not snobby in that sense.

I'm really disappointed that some posters think this is a wanky statement. As the OP had said "can't" rather than "won't", I would have assumed it was a dietary or food intolerance/allergy requirement.

I don't particularly like processed meat but I don't object to the occasional chicken nugget for my kids. I think it's a bit cheeky tbf

It’s not an allergen request so I would ignore it.

It’s not an allergen request so I would ignore it.
See, I just don't get this kind of attitude
If you were to ask about dietary requirements and/or they told you what they couldn't eat, what makes you the judge of whether it's worthy of ignoring or not?
Seriously, what is what other people eat anything of anyone else"s business?!
If they've said they can't eat it, it's fucking rude in my opinion to decide it's wanky and just ignore "because it's not an allergen."

My daughter doesn’t eat processed meat, it’s not snobby we don’t buy it and she has tried sausages, ham etc…. but she doesn’t like it. What are the benefits of eating processed foods/meats ?

My daughter doesn’t eat processed meat, it’s not snobby we don’t buy it and she has tried sausages, ham etc…. but she doesn’t like it

She will be getting pizza or pasta then when staying at a friend's for dinner. I don't see what the issue is

None whatsoever. It's depressing that so many people think it's wanky or snobby to have a preference about what you put jn your body and not to want to eat crap*.

I also find it odd that people are claiming to be confused by the word 'processed'. It may not be precisely correct or whatever, but we all know exactly what is meant by the words "processed meat", so why pretend they don't?

If you invite someone to your house, whether they are an adult or child, and you ask their dietary preferences, then unless they ask for someone totally outlandish, surely you just make something that suits? In this case, a cheese toastie would do the job!

(*I agree with a PP - if we're talking about kids food, then the processed meat we're talking about is crap. Nobody is getting out the artisanal charcuterie selection when the neighbour's kids pop over.)