Is it really that hard.....? 🤔

[StillGotBabyBrain]

My family is vegan, not a massive deal.

When the school has events, no vegan option, so everyone gets a bbq or food catered and we don't. Not even a dairy free alternative for hot drinks! (Primary school, high school is better).

When they go for sleepovers I get worried parents asking me what should they do, can I provide food and drinks for them...

Pubs and restaurants barely cater for adults let alone add options for the kids menu.

Went to a choir meeting the other week, nothing I could eat from the food included in my ticket price.

Am I being unreasonable thinking it's really not that difficult to provide bread and houmous or vegetable dishes? They're suitable for everyone, so isn't a waste of food! Blows my mind.

I disagree about pubs and restaurants. As somebody who often picks from the vegetarian menu and who has many veggie friends, we have had lots of conversations about how annoying it is to have the veggie menu infiltrated by vegan dishes. We want proper cheese, cream etc! Oh and one has a dairy allergy so benefits but still feels for us as while the vegan stuff is better than it was, it’s still 🤢

I don’t know about parties, but assume vegan options are more expensive and less convenient with people probably struggling to pull things together on a budget.

As with fate and choir etc, assume these things are to raise money, not spend it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Just join the volunteers and show how it is done

i used to run the PTA cake stall, we got so much negative feedback for not providing enough gluten-free, or vegan, or organic options

we just sold what the parents made. If the gluten free or vegan parents did not bake, there were no gluten free or vegan options

one mum who was vegan got so angry we did not cater for her she wrote to the governers yet NEVER offered to bake

Some parents to just look for slights but never offer to help

Also really upsets me when everything gf is vegan
Why should people with real serious autoimmune diseases have to eat way more upf to satisfy vegan beliefs based not on medical issues. Very very selfish people I find. I don't believe it's very healthy. Meat, fish and dairy are so so vital for nutrients and the other half fruit and veg.

Can’t link, but agree with NeverDropYourMoonCup. My husband is coeliac and we have commented quite often, especially when visiting cafes/restaurants in university or student cities, that lots of menus are now marked with V, or Vg, whereas very few indicate gluten free meals. We’ve had to go into lots of places to ask if they serve anything gluten free.

She’s right though 🤷‍♀️

People eat way too much meat anyway. It's part of the reason for the obesity crisis. You don't get hospitals full of obese vegans when the nhs is on its knees

Yes it is very hard to cater for vegans tbh.

I'm happy to cater for vegetarians but not vegans. They can bring their own food rather than expecting others to accommodate a very picky diet.

This. Also I hope the OP is providing Vit B12 supplements for her children who have been talked into veganism...

She’s right though 🤷‍♀️

Of course she is. This is why the meat eaters get so angry. You can't win an ethical argument if you eat meat, you just can't

I'm on the PTA. We run an event every year with a BBQ.

We don't have enough people to organise the event and rely on a core group, including myself to run around like headless chickens trying to organise everything in the weeks leading up to it, whilst all working and being parents etc. We have to beg people to give up an hour of their time to run a stall and mostly rely on the good will of the school staff to do most of the stall staffing.

So if you came to me and demanded vegan food, I'd give you a budget and tell you to go shopping and organise something to cook it all on. I do not have the resources to worry about every dietary need when a simple burger in a bun is fine for the majority.

I'm afraid at these type of volunteer run events, the simple fact is that if you want something done, you need to do it yourself.

Oh bore off with your sanctimonious bullshit. Thankfully most people don’t give a shit.

Thankfully for who? Not the animals, not the planet. Just the people eating dead stuff

If you won't cater to others why should they cater for you?

Because vegans think they are morally superior.

Same here. We just have the rule that the cakes have to be nut free but they are all supplied by the parents.

Honestly it winds me up when people moan about these events but don't volunteer to help. I just respond to any criticism now with an invite to the next meeting.

Why would vegans have to eat UPFs? The vegans I know eat pulses, lentils, nuts, tofu, etc for protein. Hardly any veggies or vegans I know like to eat those fake meat things, which I presume is what you mean. They use olive oil for cooking and dressings and nut oils sometimes.

There are usually two reasons that people don’t provide food for vegans - not knowing or understanding about vegan food, and a dismissive attitude like yours.

I mean the planet depends on it!!

Yet there's still people in here saying I force this 'diet' on my children. Despite the fact they force eating dead animals on theirs....

We are though 😘

This is the problem. You can't see that your beliefs are extreme. Humans are omnivores we are supposed to eat dead animals, we are mammals. Evolution? And you don't seem to understand that gf isn't a choice, if you get glutened I takes up to 5 years for all the filia to grow back so it affects everything else you eat, your body can't process food at all in the worst cases. Some coeliac are air sensitive so can't even play with flour in the classroom when they don't touch it. And you think taking milk out of all s9rts when these kids have a real restriction is ok? I find that very very selfish. All gf bread is milk free too, no reason but to get the vegan business too.

I think @BreatheAndFocus they were talking about the "PTA bbq" scenario where the catering is sausages and burgers. When you have one or two vegan parents the simplest and cheapest option is to buy a pack of vegan burgers or sausages from the frozen section at the supermarket. It is entirely unreasonable in that situation to expect a volunteer to go out of their way to research bean burgers or whatever, source the ingredients and cook a special homemade vegan burger which may or may not get eaten by the handful of vegans in attendance. In that situation it would be highly unreasonable for a vegan to kick off about it being ultra processed.

Do your own catering then. if nothing provided is up to scratch, bring your own. I don't see the issue

If people are so anti-vegan food, how come, whenever someone has gone to the effort all the meat eaters eat it and still the vegans go hungry. This particularly applies to samosas and spring rolls
I've had specially catered plates waiting for me at work conferences and the carnivores usually look on enviously.

What I'm saying is, rather than not feed the vegan kid at all, a plate of veggies or fruit would be better? If course it is not ideal, but, is better than nothing.

I wouldn't call asking people to stop being so bloody minded and having a CBA attitude, entitled or difficult. In fact, I've said how to make it easier and that I'm always happy to help.

I should have known that some people would get their nickers in a twist over the word vegan and let their minds run wild with it.....

Surely it's not unreasonable to think that things like PTA's are designed to cater for the masses not every dietary need. My husband is a coeliac and was diagnosed over 40 years ago when no one had a clue what it was, he never expects to be catered for even now and sees it as a bonus if he is. We go to places we know he can eat or have another option with us. He doesn't have a choice and yet doesn't expect to be catered for so I really struggle with those that have made a lifestyle choice and then get cross that everyone won't cater for it.

I don't understand people who are saying they couldn't think of anything to serve a vegan 🤷‍♀️

Thai curries, Indian curries, pastas, cous cous with roasted veg, bean salads with olive oil and herbs. Tofu and rice noodle stir fry. Burrito style food with salsa, avocado, hummus and grilled peppers etc. There's heaps of choice that's really easy to cook. The OP has even said she wouldn't mind processed food for ease of hosts like vegan burgers. You can cook them on a piece of tin foil on a bbq. That's no effort at all - it's literally the next aisle in a lot of supermarkets. For breakfast or snacks, toast and nut butters, coconut yoghurt and fruit, coconut ice cream. A carton of oat milk is under £1. And loads of people drink it, not just vegans. I'm not vegan but don't like milk. Probably half of my friends drink plant milks and aren't vegan.

Why wouldn't you try to cater for a guest? I always do, you want people to be comfortable in your home and happy.

I have coeliacs. Before I was diagnosed with it, I’d have probably been too lazy to cater properly for vegans, because I’d not have understood how ‘othering’ it is having dietary requirements and important food is socially.

However, I merrily cater for allergies/preferences/dietary choices, because I get it now. I wouldn’t know what to make for vegan options tbh, but would Google or just ask the person what they like so they didn’t feel left out!

I am vegetarian but I don't like cheese and eggs, so I kind of understand where you are coming from, but also accept that my tastes are unusual. Fine at home, the trouble starts when I leave it. Had to buy a sandwich for lunch last week, couldn't get anything even in a large supermarket. Couldn't even get a nice vegan salad in a container. Ended up with some disgusting dried noodle thing in a cup.

If your kids are going on sleepovers, just give them food to bring with them?