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?

A bit off-topic, but don't people know that celery is meant to be peeled ?

All parts are edible.

Is this going to be the new 'life's too short to stuff a mushroom' 😆

'Life's too short to peel celery'...

I've never felt the need to peel celery. I have occasionally peeled a broccoli stalk though...

@Kalevala @MassageForLife 😀😀

It was in response to those who complained about celery being stringy.

You aren't 'meant' to peel it anymore than you are meant to peel an apple. People may read and think they can't eat that bit, even if they are cutting it up to cook.

Someone at Calderdale Council might be on this thread... https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjrrn7k285ro

😆

Being vegan/vegetarian does NOT automatically reduce carbon footprint.

Given the energy and water required to make those processed 'it needs to look like a fish-finger or bacon' vegan foods use, the 'carbon footprint ' of meat is negligible.

Management needs to get it's facts straight

Id be really annoyed about this.

I find whats offered in vegan options often either relies on very processed things, or is overseasoned/full of chilli. It can be really carby and have a lot of non local food.

Our workplace has done something similar - reduced meat offering and increased vegan/veggie. It leads to a massive amount of waste as people try the vegan food, find it unpalatable and leave it.

Georgyporky · 13/03/2024 18:32
A bit off-topic, but don't people know that celery is meant to be peeled ?

Since when? Ive never seen it peeled in my life. You just eat it as is.

You're talking bollocks.

Read up on how vegan fake fish/meat is made

Beyond Burger is probably one of the most processed vegan alternatives around. This is from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1254448/environmental-impacts-beyond-burger-us-beef-patty/

Just copied ingredient list from online supermarket:

BACON:
Pork (87%),
Water, Salt,
Preservative (Sodium Nitrite).

VEGAN BACON:

Water,

Soya Protein Concentrate (11%),

Olive Oil (8%),

Dextrin,

Soya Protein Isolate (3%),

Smoke Flavouring,

Pea Protein Isolate (1%),

Smoked Water,

Alginate, Maize Starch, Psyllium Fibre,

Rapeseed Oil,

Potato Starch,

Vegetable Extracts (Radish, Beetroot, Carrot, Paprika),

Salt,

Maltodextrin,

Smoked Salt,

Stabiliser: Calcium Sulphate,

Vitamin B12,

Iron

Don't know what happened there... but you see my point clearly!

You're still talking bollocks.

Explain why

PS: it's also a rule to list the greatest ingredient first... so vegan bacon is probably overpriced water with a smoky flavour and a few other random things 🤢

Who has bacon at work events? A better comparison would be veggie vs meat sausage rolls.

Read up on... Well, everything about the carbon footprint of food. You don't even understand the basics let alone the nuances.

There's plenty of vegan and vegetarian options that aren't fake meat though. Imo the best vegan options aren't fake meat. Felafel, hummus, pizza, salad etc etc

I object to this and my 2 closest friends are vegan, but I don't see why I should be forced to eat a certain way/style/preference.

Don't worry, I don't think they've started force feeding people yet. You won't have to eat any of it at all.

You're not being FORCED to eat any of it!

You go to work, and if you're hungry, you can choose to eat from the food that has been provided, or eat the food you've brought with you.

It's perfectly possible to cater entirely veggie/ vegan food, without resorting to weird fake meat products or ingredients with high ecological footprints (a wide range of fruit, veg, beans etc grow perfectly well in the UK, you know - I do eat chickpeas grown in France and rice grown in Italy but try to limit my intake of foods from further away, so don't buy things like bananas very often).

There are lots of other benefits to sticking to vegan catering...
It means that the food is automatically suitable for lots of different dietary requirements, including vegetarians but also those who want to eat halal and kosher food, Hindus who avoid eating cows etc.
The risk of food poisoning is usually far lower when there are no animal products involved.

@Longtimelurkerfinallyposts

"It's perfectly possible to cater entirely veggie/ vegan food, without resorting to weird fake meat products or ingredients with high ecological footprints ".

Indeed. It is. But few do.
Many vegan meals, use many products that aren't very carbon footprint friendly.