Food orders for work related events are to be vegan and vegetarian only

[ValerieVomit]

We all received an email at work to say that when we order catering in future for work related events we can only order vegetarian and vegan food. The management team has imposed this. It's to reduce our carbon footprint. I don't think that this means there is to be no carnivorous food available for the rest of the organisation but our department won't allow us to order any.

Reasonable or not?

Batshit reasoning unless they are going to ask the food miles of each buffet item, but totally fine with the outcome - the vegetarian and vegan options are often the tastiest and first to go - though it's been alooooong time since my last beige buffet!

I would say that if there argument was for inclusiveness, then they consider dietary needs of anyone needing predictable flavour and texture that foods like chicken and ham provide.

So don't eat it then? It's free food. Not obligatory.

Better to have vegan and low carb food for events, imo.

Covers dairy allergy and gluten free.

It’s not hard to do an inclusive vegan low carb meal on an occasional basis and helps a lot of people.
Extras like samosa and naan, cake, crisps etc. can up the carb/calorie content for those that need it.

I organise catered training days at work and generally do gluten free vegan as it’s easier and cheaper than doing halal/ lactofree vegetarian. People moan whatever you offer.

You've put it very well.

It's a work buffet. Inevitably shit anyway. At least you know now the food will always be meatless, and can bring your own sandwiches if you prefer.

It's the hypocrisy I would choke on, not the vegan sandwiches.

Did they specifically say carbon footprint? As veganism is a more sustainable diet than carnivorous, but unless you're only going to source products within a specifuc mileage of the event, then the carbon footprint / food miles could be higher.

My company introduced this a few years ago (for catering ordered from our catering supplier). A few meat options have since been reintroduced. And they always included cheese, which seems hypocritical.

I'm sceptical about the carbon footprint claims - partly because it's greenwashing if you don't also take into account the varying impacts of the non-meat ingredients, and partly because carbon-footprint doesn't include other environmental impacts (eg land clearance and unsustainable consumption of water).

It's not a straightforward case of 'meat equals bad therefore everything that isn't meat equals good'.

‘ A “significant” amount of food had to be thrown away at a Cambridge City Council event after people opted against eating the vegan choices.
The Remembrance civic event was used as a pilot by the city council of its plan to offer more plant-based food options.
Half of the food offered was plant-based, but a report to the environment and community scrutiny committee on January 19 said most of it had to be thrown away.’

I suppose if it become all vegan, people will only have the choice to eat or not eat…..

Yeah because it’s a well known fact that vegans only eat “pretend” food…

Not a bad idea. Not just more carbon-footprint friendly, but potentially cheaper, more inclusive and less risk of food poisoning.

It sounds logical to me and not hypocritical at all.

https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/lifestyle/amp/how-bad-for-the-planet-are-imported-fruit-and-veg-9270035/

I'd be fine with this in principle- no one needs to eat meat every meal and I'd rather eat veggie stuff than cheap low quality meat. I'm sure most of us eat meals without meat all the time without particularly thinking of them as veggie.

OTOH it does depend on what the veggie stuff is. No processed fake meat please.

I think it’s fair enough to say vegetarian but lots of people don’t like vegan alternatives .

Really? So the meat that would have come from the UK, is now going to be replaced with veggie and vegan ingredients from abroad... And that's more carbon-footprint friendly, is it?

Whereas vegetarians and vegans cannot eat certain products.

No, they choose not to - people with allergies/intolerances can't eat certain things.

It’s the way the world is going, as long as the alternative food isn’t ultra processed- then it’s a good idea

so bread would need to be vegan, some bread has milk

I'd be up for vegetarian! Wouldn't fancy the vegan part, I'd rather not have the overly processed substitutions they tend to use for butter / cheese / milk / meat.

I think the points about carbon footprint of items grown abroad and shipped in to cater for menus like this would be a good point to raise.

Sounds good to me. Cutting down on meat is something everyone should do. One lunch without meat isn’t going to kill anyone.

Oh dear. Looks like coffee's out for the meetings too!

Still, nicely picked and chosen article 😏

It's hardly a problem is it, it's just one meal

Its entirely possible that's the case, yes.

It is not compulsory to use processed vegan alternatives. They could be providing healthy food that is naturally vegan.

It's unreasonable

I cannot stand things like humous, chickpeas etc

They make me heave

Why shouldn't I be able to enjoy a basic ham Sandwich or sausage roll?

Really? So the meat that would have come from the UK, is now going to be replaced with veggie and vegan ingredients from abroad...

Why assume they won’t use UK fruit and veg where possible?

And that's more carbon-footprint friendly, is it?

Yes.