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?

Exactly!

Totally unreasonable. For all those saying non meat eaters are fine eating a veggie meal, I personally don’t particularly enjoy meals that don’t include meat and wouldn’t expect my work to dictate what I eat when there.

They aren't dictating what you eat. They don't have that power.

They are limiting what they offer. That's not the same thing.

And the carbon footprint argument has been already more than adequately covered in this thread. In summary, the carbon footprint of meat is much higher than any of those items mentioned.

In theory I can't complain about this but in practice it really depends on the cost and care put into it. Most veggie catering is sadly pants.

Depends on the exact circumstances of the event. If you’re forced to attend a full day work event and they are supplying the food and will only offer a limited food type then yes, they’re dictating.

And it’s only much higher if they’re careful about the items they are offering and, unless I’ve missed something, that hasn’t been clarified.

Indeed!

Well unless everything is locally sourced etc they are only doing it to save money

But anyway it’s going to result in less mess, save money, and cheap meat isn’t good for you so I think it’s fine.

I'm vegetarian. Have been for 40 years. I don't except to be criticised for my choices and I don't foist my choices on others.
So, no, even though I am in complete agreement with trying to reduce the carbon footprint, I'm not in favour of dictatorship.

Except they are highly processed and don't reduce carbon footprint.

Doesn't help where there are multiple intolerances to common vegetarian protein sources. A friend couldn't have dairy or legumes. This would make life difficult for those with already restricted diets.

My god we are like 20 pages in and this is still being repeated? A vegan sausage roll has a lower carbon footprint than a meat sausage roll.

Do you really think a few avocados or almonds makes that big a difference ??

My son is very allergic to beetroot. Unfortunately this is a common ingredient in vegan food as it's used to mimic blood in things like vegan burgers etc. He is also allergic to quite a few other ingredients as well. This means he can't eat vegan food.

I can't eat food containing coconut which is also frequently in vegan food. I would definitely play the allergens card here. Also, palm oil features heavily in vegan food and the carbon footprint of that is immense. Ditto certain types of non-dairy milk so their argument is very flawed.

It's also offensive to those who rely on a bland diet. Sometimes you need the sandwiches to be plain ham or cheese with no mayp, with chicken nuggets on the side to accommodate those with Sensory Processing Disorders. They clearly haven't thought about that either...

Have fun pointing all of this out. I'd get a PPT with it all in for extra fun.

It's also offensive to those who rely on a bland diet. Sometimes you need the sandwiches to be plain ham or cheese with no mayp, with chicken nuggets on the side to accommodate those with Sensory Processing Disorders. They clearly haven't thought about that either...

Most meat-containing corporate catering doesn’t contain sandwiches like that either…

It is unreasonable of your department to force restricted dietary choices on you all. What's the betting the person is vegan. Find another department or job.

Most of the recent posts are covered by the fact that the department is ordering food for it's own events - so will be able to request that allergies etc are catered for.

And if someone's dietary needs are so complex that they can't be covered by a vegetarian buffet, then they would be difficult to cover for any caterer - anyone I know that has issues like this always packs their own food anyway!

Just because something is an all day event doesn't mean that people can't take food with them!

You may have no objection to not eating meat but isn't it selfish to impose your dietary choices on others.

Nobody is doing that though.

They are being offered a free buffet lunch. They are not being forced to eat it.

Discrimination

They are only considering the impact by just saying right no meat. A good start imo but they can go further. I'd also ask if they have a green energy supplier. Also consider a blanket ban on emails that just say "thanks or niceties" every email uses resources and they all add up

Are you this discriminating about what you eat and the messages you send in real life?

How far is reasonable? At what point are they doing enough?

Because clearly there are plenty of people that think they are doing too much!

I guess if people are complaining that they are both doing too much and doing too little, maybe they've got it about right.

I wonder how this would be policed if ordering from a caterer that also supplies non vegetarian food? Are they checking that a quiche is goats cheese and roasted pepper or cheddar and caramelised onion but not cheddar and bacon? What if Dave, who can't eat falafel or hummus, orders some plain chicken sandwiches?

What’s the big deal? We just had a staff lunch and had gorgeous fresh spring rolls and dip plus Pad Thai. All vegetarian and delish. Out org has an ethics policy too so staffing/everything is looked at. I like this.
We often use a Syrian caterer who only hires migrants.

I suspect most catering companies are pretty good at understanding what's needed if someone orders vegetarian and vegan food. If they can't manage to supply a vegetarian quiche when it's ordered, then I would be changing suppliers pdq!

I would be surprised if people are ordering individually. It sounds like someone will be ordering for the department.

Well you see, it's because they are clearly ordering nothing but avocados, soya beans and highly processed vegan food.

At least, that's the impression this thread gives 😁

🤣

So the person who places the order, orders a vegetarian sandwich selection plus some plain chicken sandwiches for Dave who can't have what's on the general menu, then would someone check up on that?