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.

Yes, most of my food intake centres fat and protein, plus lots of vegetables.

I can’t imagine eating a carb-heavy diet full of pasta and potatoes - it’s stodgy, yet leaves you hungry because it’s so nutritionally deficient.

Thank you, Iolani; I just had a read through that and it was very interesting

I note, however, that two bits of research were mentioned, both apparently saying different things - also that there seem to be some vested interests at play, so I guess I'm still hoping for something objective (or as near as it's possible to get)

Vegans get a lot more options than those with allergies so count yourself lucky. It’s not a choice for those of us with allergies and it’s completely unacceptable how little options there are!

I loved Shirley Conran's "Superwoman" back in the 70s. Your last sentence made me smile as one of her mantras was "life's too short to stuff a mushroom"

Sorry totally irrelevant just nice to have a nostalgic smile. I think I might read it again.

@Iolani yes I feel this thread will not age well. The majority will be vegan or at least mostly plant based in twenty years. It's already become socially unacceptable in many parts of the country to admit to a meat heavy diet or a fry up. We are aiming for the first British completely vegan high street in the UK.

Unfortunately I had one fussy eater and all of those would have been a No. Kept alive with cakes baked with lots of eggs, butter, honey, fruit, nuts plus lots of yogurt. Doctor was happy as long as we stopped the weight loss as she was 1lb away from being admitted to hospital.

Life saving never mind life altering.

Lol.

Where do you live that pubs don't have vegan menus? I've only ever found this in very rural country pubs / restaurants, especially in the last 5 years.

I think its unfair for you not to be catered for at school events especially if its known your family are vegan. It doesn't take much to say 'we're serving x, what would be a good alternative for your family"

With other parents at sleepovers, though it's strange that theyre unwilling to bother trying to serve vegan foods they are likely already cooking one meal for kids, one for them etc. The saddest thing about it is that they can't face the idea that they could all eat vegan for one meal.

Catering to vegans is a massive pain in the arse. Doesn’t mean I don’t respect the choice. I often eat vegetarian food, although I love meat, but vegan is a step too far for most people. A decent vegan dinner is definitely not just a plate of vegetables, it’s costly, fiddly, and takes an age to prepare. Most vegans I know eat meat and cheese substitutes which cost a bomb and are mostly horrible. I made massive expensive efforts to cater for my ds’s vegan gf ( so we all ate vegan when she had dinner ) with no appreciation whatsoever. If I had a vegan child as a guest in my house are all the children supposed to not eat meat, or what they want, or am I supposed to cook separate meals? Just provide your own food. I’ve also never seen a vegan child at a party not look longingly at all the party food everyone else can enjoy, and feel very left out and pretty hard done by.

I have one friend who is vegan, during sleepovers and school events she allows her dc to either take food that she’s prepared or to eat what’s on offer. They always choose what’s on offer.

I hosted an all class party for my dc when he was 6, one child was vegan, but I wasn’t told until after she had not only eaten most of the sausages at the table, but had also wrestled sausages out of other children’s hands as they were trying to eat them! Had I been told I would have had more veg options near the child, but I’m not sure anyone could have kept her off those sausages!

I organised a work do a while ago that was catered for and choosing the menu was a PITA. The chef gave me 6 choices for each course and each dish had an ingredient that was problematic. It was driving me mad and then a guest rang me on the day to say she was vegan. I nearly swore at her down the phone because I was chasing her for weeks and she didn't respond.

I think if there is somewhere you are going regularly, who know you are vegan it is rubbish that they don't cater for you.

When you kids go to someone else's house for a sleepover? I think they are right to ask you to send something. They want to make sure your child has a full meal that they will like, while also providing a full meal that they know the other kids will like. They might genuinely feel out of their depth.

As for pubs and restaurants the percentage of vegans is pretty low in this country (especially outside of cities) and many people see having a nice piece of meat or fish as a treat and wouldn't feel the same about a vegan dish. I think it should be up to the individual place and whether it would make financial sense to them. That being said a lot of chains now have vegan options, Wetherspoons, Zizi, The Botanist, Giggling Squid, Slug and Lettuce, The Harvester to name just a few.

It's not really hard to provide a vegan sausage or patty at a BBQ though is it. Just cook them first and rest it on a separate plate. Or a falafel and hummus sandwich or whatever for cold foods.

Yes the study I showed was the largest study based at Oxford uni.
The full article that I couldn’t load, sorry, also had a smaller study in America.
The American study took veggies that hadn’t been following the diet for very long. ie some just a few months. That’s why the Oxford study of long term veggies is more accurate.
The American study saying 84% give up being veggie is widely used by those who are basically against the diet…..ie the meat industry. It’s the one you will find at the top of every Google search….surprise surprise.

Both articles were published in Plant based news so yes there is a vested interest in getting this study out there for them. But farmers weekly is hardly going to post it.

It would be great if the WHO did a study.

Not sure why you have taken this as boasting - there are large numbers of vegans worldwide and increasing numbers of the young eating this way. We all should be going more plant based.

Ah, okay. No ethics at all or understanding of nutrition. Crack on with the omnivores.

After stopping eating animals at age 14 in 1980 in a country where it was rare and I had to constantly justify why I loved animals more than I loved eating them. I pray before I die the country you predict really does come true.

Vegan high street? Where. I’ll move there.

That might happen in an affluent section of West Sussex where 90% of the population is White British (although the reality is more likely that the expensive coffee shops on the main strip are until they go out of business whilst the general population goes to the chicken and kebab shops in other streets), but if you think that all you need to do is speak ver-ry slo-ow-ly to locals of other areas and they'll understand that you aren't being a bunch of patronising middleclass white people interfering with the food on their plates, you will find out that this will really not go down well.

I’m sure @GCWorkNightmare is perfectly happy with her lifestyle choice.
Its better for everyone to make the changes that they feel comfortable with. If we push for vegan only we’ll gain less ground. It’s been proved that more people making small changes will last the test of time and be more effective.

The reason that poster said what she said is that you seem to be really defensive and rude when she was simply stating facts - this is because you’ve used terms like boastful, unpopular, tiny - these are all judgment laden terms which far outweigh anything that poster said. So I agree with her - if you’re happy being an omnivore go for it. No reason to attack a vegan who has been measured and reasonable.

My kids do not want to eat non vegan food. They do not want to contribute to the harm of animals. They do not want to increase their risk of disease.

I couldn't stop them if I wanted to when they're out or round a friends, but, they don't want to. They get really upset if they slip up, they understand why they are vegan and they're very outspoken about it. They ask to go to protests and take it all seriously.

They're tall and have good weight, their bloods are fine. They're bright and doing well at school.

But yeah, I'm clearly neglecting them and need interventions..... what a horrible bunch of people who jumped on this thread to push their anti vegan agendas!

Many many foods that everyone eats are vegan naturally. Yet people have actually said they hate vegan food. It's childish and futile.

Wow @skullbabe thankyou!

Interesting. I actually find I'm very well catered for as a vegan. Friends always go out of their way to provide, sometimes serving only vegan food to all guests. Schools, nursery all very careful to provide suitable foods and can always find something to eat when out too. I wonder if its regional? I live in a very young area close to a major diverse city with several unis, and I know plant based diets are increasingly popular with that demographic.
You always get a few militant meat eaters on these threads who are in denial about the growing popularity of veganism. Always try to push the idea that 'everyone' hates vegans, thst its weird and niche. It's wishful thinking, just trying to hold back the tide by shouting at it.

At the end of the day, most people just don’t like vegans. It’s not rational, but then people aren’t rational, sadly.

Veggies are just about tolerated because it’s less different and actually fairly ubiquitous now.

I still have the odd work do (very young, trendy, very ‘global’ global company) where there is nothing veggie. There’ll be a fair few people in the same hungry boat, so I’ll mention it to the events team, who will then order something like a load of pizzas in a panic and THEN, when they finally arrive, the fat fucking meat munchers all fall on the veg food and you’ve got to elbow your way in there to get a look-in!

This is partly why I bend over backwards to accommodate dietary requirements at parties etc.

Such is life!

Yes we live rurally, no chains unless we drive into a town.