How far would you go to accommodate a vegan?

[Juicyj1993]

In a few weeks we're hosting a bbq for my Husband's birthday.

We have about a dozen guests coming, one of whom is vegan. As we don't normally buy vegan food I've started looking at what we'd normally buy and what is and isn't vegan. To make sure the vegan has the same variety of choice as everyone else I'm going to have to spend quite a bit on alternatives. As we have the non vegan alternatives we won't be eating the vegan versions, so they'll either go home with the guest or be thrown.

How much would you accommodate a vegan?

Would I be unreasonable to provide vegan burger with vegan cheese, plus bun and nothing else or do I need to go the whole hog and get vegan sausages, vegan condiments and vegan coleslaw?

Ps they are vegan by choice, not for medical reasons

No, those people don't like catering to vegans. They assume that we're all superior holier than though types judging them for eating meat and its their little act of defiance. As I said, I couldn't care less if people don't cater for me because it's expensive or a hassle, I agree it can be, and I wouldn't expect it. But the undertone on here is that they'd should deliberately not bother to stick two fingers up at vegans. Its very petty.

I like my friends. None of my friends are vegans, though.

I would not make friends with a vegan though as our values are clearly not the same.

Agreed. Some take others' veganism/vegetarianism as a criticism of their own lifestyle.

OK. I have read many bizarre posts on this thread, but I think this one wins for sheer lack of logic and basic weirdness. Congratulations. @ApplesInTheSunshine,
is your medal.🥇And here is the post "I would not make friends with a vegan though as our values are clearly not the same."

I thought that was pretty epic too, @CurlewKate .

Interesting. Vegans are all types of people with all different values, the only thing they may have in common is their veganism. What about that one trait is so defining for you that it would take precedence over every other aspect of the person's character and personality? And if you accidentally started to get friendly with a person without realising they were vegan, would you distance yourself when you found out? Genuinely curious as I've never heard anyone be this extreme on either side. I've never met a vegan who would refuse to be friends with a non vegan for example.

Just do as you suggest and get the vegan Burger and vegan cheese.
Bread is usually vegan, and so are most salad things and crisps.
For pudding, suckers or hartley's jelly pots or bourbon biscuits.
It's easy to find vegan food these days.

You don't need to make a huge fuss of get loads of expensive food

Its the circle of life. Animals eat animals. We are animals. We are meant to eat meat. Just Some choose not to.

I think a lot of meat eaters struggle to reconcile their actions with the knowledge that it inflicts suffering and death on a living beings, and so go on the defensive and lash out.

Nobody likes being told something the do or enjoy is wrong / bad and it's made all the worse when there's no real justification to defend it.

I say that as someone who does eat meat on occasion but I am fully aware of the impacts of doing so, understand that I am putting my desire for the taste of something over the life of an animal, and fully accept that makes me a bit of an arsehole.

Veganism is just as bad for the planet. So I don't know how they dare criticise meat eaters. Look at all the fruit and veg that get shipped all over the world in a aircraft.....

If you’re the sort of person who decides who can be their friend by judging they do or don’t eat, I doubt you will find many people who share your values (thank God).

it really sounds like you have some deep underlying issues round this, it’s totally abnormal behaviour and dysfunctional thinking.

assuming you have s partner, what would you do if they became vegan?

why does it affect you so much what other people eat?

Total lack of understanding of food production

Many animals also just eat plants! I’m not sure what your point is

It's not, there's an abundance of readily available data, research, and studies out there that shows that veganism has a smaller impact on the planet in terms of climate, emissions, biodiversity loss, etc.

There are some studies that indicate that in some conditions low intensity regenerative farming using live stock can have positive impacts but in terms of industrial food production meat, especially beef, is almost always worse.

Most people attending a bbq would expect to eat meat though

if you are making coleslaw for everyone else, and don't want to buy vegan mayonnaise, you could portion off some of the veg and mix in a french dressing.

I buy Hellman's mayo for a frequent vegan guest, it's a bit more expensive than regular mayo but perfectly acceptable if you wanted to buy that instead and use for everyone.

We have a small bbq which we use only for vegetables (for everyone) and vegan sausages/burgers. I reckoned it was a good investment as it provides extra cooking space for larger gatherings

All the fancy sides ideas on here!

When we all have BBQ’s here, it's a “i’m stivking the BBQ on later, bring whatever you want to eat and drink” and everyone bowls on round with whatever they buy. Not a salad in sight 😂
non of my friends are veggie or vegan so never really thought about it.

Nobody knows I am vegan unless it comes up directly in a conversation (e.g. someone asks about vegan products and I am able to answer, someone says they want to try becoming vegan,etc) OR I am invited to a dinner party, work gathering involving food, or BBQ with people I don't know well, where I have to say something.

Most of my closest friends now were either my friends when I went vegan, or had no idea until one of the instances above came up. I am glad none of them ran off screaming.
I am a royalist-one of my friends is a die-heard republican. It isn't a problem, because, well neither of us are 12, I suppose.

@ApplesInTheSunshine

out of interest, how would you say your values differ?

@RedPony1

really? Is it just literally meat?

What a ridiculous statement. Are you assuming only vegans eat fruit and vegetables that are grown in other countries and shipped over to the uk? Have you never eaten a banana?

@Emmamoo89

its not those is it, considering that lots of animals do not
eat meat and have a plant based diet

@Emmamoo89

lol exactly! ⬆️

you do realise that meat eaters will also eat that fruit and veg too right?

I don't know if anyone has covered this aspect, but I am vegetarian (not completely vegan) but I won't go to a meaty barbecue even if food suitable for me was cooked separately and not in contact with a meat-greasy grill. This is because I find the smell of scorched flesh nauseating. My DH isn't veggie but he has asthma and smoke is one of his triggers so he wouldn't go either.

I love meat but cannot imagine a barbecue with no side dishes at all