Work sustainability policy dictating crap food

[ThisBrickOtter]

So, my employer has gone on a sustainability bender (don't look at this happening at the same time as the expensive and resource consuming rebrand). This now means for our dept get together, which usually has food, only vegan or vegetarian options are available. This is really annoying me.

I'm a pro thought for the environment type but my choices don't extend to meat (I don't find the vegan argument convincing, I do the vegetarian one, but got ill when tried that). I consume what meat I can afford, thoughtfully.

I do have an unusual relationship with food. Part neurodiversity (this extends to authority at times, something I keep an eye on!), part poor childhood. I think this might be contributing to my reaction.

But yep, I feel angry that my food choices are being taken away. Last meeting I was at where they did this, only the sweet food got completely finished. The savory vege sandwiches and fallafel was picked at. Same with the fake chicken. The policy is resulting in more food waste, not less. So that annoys me too.

I have no issue with people's personal choices, but this feels like being lectured to about drinking but a very drunk uncle.

AIBU feeling this way?

True yet no-one ever says to the vegans 'It's only one meal, surely you can force down the odd Greggs sausage roll'. We live in a world where the minority expect to dictate to the majority.

Exactly. Yes. Mixed in with I don't like feeling dictated to and I've a few issues around food. They're my issues and I manage them, and I'm now in the position of having to ask ahead and make requests.

If it was really good vegetarian food with a few vegan side options. I'd have no issue. It's not. It's like they took the meat out of sandwiches and added some plastic food like product stuff.

Ha, tell that to the vegans etc., why do they get to bully the rest of us with their fads?

Yes ofc I can. It's when I tried to be an actual vegetarian, the depression happened.

After reading some other comments, I took what I'm actually mad about are:

• the food is shit.. It's not good vegetarian or vegan food.
• the sustainability reason is a lie. It allows them to save money, while producing an ESG figure so they appear sustainable. They are a very wasteful, money obsessed company.
• I have issues with food that I self manage, and my ability to self manage has been reduced.
• most of it gets left as it's horrible. So it's a ton of food waste. A lot of my colleagues are vegetarian and they don't like it either!

If they got the catering in, say from a local company who were actually good at making vegetarian and vegan food. I'd have zero issue.

Others are not! This is a company wide policy. No flexibility.

When I'm organising an event I like to cater for those attending. And ensure it's so tasty, guests want to take it with them. I'll be endlessly apologising for the food unless something changes.

Think better ideas for food options are required…fake chicken! Overprocessed crap. What’s wrong with tomatoes or similar

If this department get together is every day through lunch then YANBU
If it’s less ie once a week YABU

I can imagine it's embarrassing if you're the person organising the events and you have to present crap food to people. Especially if it's stuff that your ND means you can't eat yourself. It's poor that they're giving so little consideration to dietary needs. Of course you can bring your own, but if you're the one organising the event, it could be a bit awkward.

It is less than once a week, however it's a service I'm supposed to use in my work. I also have some issues around food, which are mine to manage, so I can over react. Kinda why I asked the question! I'm used to making it a bit of a joke at myself when I'm being a bit food funny. This just seems a terrible idea, badly executed and driven by a crap interpretation of what is a well motivated agenda.

I was meaning other posters experiences of work catering not others in your company.

My work based meat catering was crap so I woukd prefer nicer vegan option with fresh produce like i described. But if other companies were giving delicious meat options and switched to fake meat it would be a downgrade.

I assume youcompaniey's meat options were previously nice so this is a downgrade. It would be embarrassing for you to give to guests.

Yes there used to be a few highlights that were meat or fish based.

Now it's like serving up food from a dystopia.

It does sound like more of a quality issue than specifically that it's veggie/vegan.

Do you ever get feedback forms, where your guests can all complain about the food so it's not coming from you?

The use of the term dystopia suggests it’s more about being told what you’re going to get than anything else.

Suggest you turn it around and if it’s something you’re arranging you chose the veggie choices and if it’s not you suggest some.

Its not that often

You're being quite childish OP...you're not being 'dictated to' just because your workplace isn't pandering to your every whim 🤣

Calling it dystopian 😂😂 lord. You have given me a good giggle today. I assume you're quite young. This is not the hill to die on

Coronation chickpea sand which! Devine. But yeah happy to eat falafels and proper vegan food. No thanks to the upf dairy and meat substitutes which made me very ill at a recent conference with fully vegan food!

Not carbon footprint, the processes involed and their environmental impact

I eat meat but when I cater a party, most of the food is vegetarian (because the curious carnivores always eat the vegetarian stuff anyway leaving the poor vegetarians with a lettuce leaf and a dollop of egg mayo with a stale nub of baguette) with a couple of token meat dishes.

I agree with the OP that if the vegetarian/vegan catering is particularly unappetising, then there will be more waste and perhaps the choices could be re-thought because there is so much delicious food that doesn't involve meat or animal products but the principle is sound and I think the OP is giving this way too much headspace.

I love a vegetarian buffet and I'm a meat eater.

Trouble is, caterers are lazy and think the vegetarians want the crap the vegans want

See also restaurants. One of my vegetarian cousin says she still wants her veggie lasagne (for example) oozing béchamel sauce and real cheese but vegetarian choices as opposed to vegan are increasingly hard to find.

I have no issue with plates of fresh fruit and veg but the fake meat and cheese is so bad for our health.

Not young. You should have seen what I was like when i was young if you want a real laugh!

I often know when it's me being ridiculous. But in this case I was not sure. I am diagnosed with a neurodiversity and am prone to poor emotional regulation which is very context dependent. I do also have a stomach issue that flares up. Again that's context dependent. Just a new environment can set it off. I avoid processed food and a lot of the supposedly vegan stuff, in this place is highly processed. I've had great vegan food but this ain't it. It's a food like product branded as vegan. Plus crap catering.

The whole initiative is producing loads of food waste. So declaring it sustainable is just nuts.

I'm gonna take a photo of the left over food speak to vege' colleagues, and see if we can at least push them to make food that gets eaten.

Good point. A couple of vege colleagues not happy too and that makes sense now.

Trust me not this one.

why ?

Why?
What food will be there?