To not let my sister bring her own meat on Christmas day!

[FelizNavidadAmiga]

First off, we are a strictly vegan household for moral reasons. I invited my sister for Christmas lunch as she is recently divorced and has nowhere else to go. I usually put on a magnificent spread with roast vegetables, tagine, stuffed peppers, vine leaves, falafel, home made hummus etc. My sister has just sent me a message saying she's going to bring her own chicken to cook. AIBU to say no way! I don't want chicken cooking in my nice clean vegan oven! Plus the smell makes me feel ill 🤢 I don't want to upset her as she's very sensitive at the moment but surely she can do without chicken for 1 day.

I’m vegan and wouldn’t be happy with someone cooking meat in my oven. I hosted dinner once for friends and they brought a chicken pre cooked at home in tin foil. This felt better. But in all honesty if you don’t even want meat in the house then she needs to respect that.

Oh and OP I think your food sounds great and this thread is weirdly anglo-centric about what Christmas food "should" be like. Ignore it.

Where is that happening ? OP has chosen to exclude meat from her life. That means not having it in her home. So her sister needs to respect that or go somewhere else, because otherwise she is imposing her belief system on her vegan sister. Her home, her choice.

@ueberlin2030 eating meat is also a belief system, do you really believe your cultural attitudes and choices are the default? There's no such thing.

Or OP needs to be a tad more welcoming.

I don't think its a horrible comment at all. By saying for 'moral' reasons, OP sounds like she is casting aspersions on those of us who do eat meat. That's how I take it. I too found the OP's comment about moral reasons to be rather rude and self-righteous, and I thought it was horrible personally. Then someone not far above mentioned about 'corpses' - it just sounds like something a teenager who has just discovered veganism and is being obnoxious and rude. I don't understand why some vegans have to be so rude and obnoxious about it.

When you go vegan, you add foods in, not cut them out.

Eh? From one vegan to another, that's nonsense. Everything I eat now, I ate before I was a vegan. But I also ate meat, fish, dairy and eggs, which I have now cut out.

I totally agree that a vegan diet doesn't have to be restrictive, but you can't deny that it involves cutting foods out!

Go and have a look at a recipe for vegan tagine and tell me it's bland. It's full of warming spices and done right - as I'm sure the OP will do - has real depth of flavour. It might not be to your taste but only vegan food done badly is bland.
I wouldn't describe it as light either. Again, perhaps go and have a look at a couple of recipes.
Oh, and in case you didn't know, people can post what they want on public forums within reason. You thinking a point has been been covered doesn't mean other posters don't get to say anything more.

I didn't say veganism wasn't a belief system. Pretty much anything can be labelled a belief system by pretty much anyone.

@ueberlin2030 literally going through laughing at every one of my posts is the lowest form of discourse I can imagine. You really don't seem very bright.

YANBU. I am a vegetarian, brought up as one. There is no way that someone can bring meat and cook it in mine. They would be told no. My house, my rules.
Also, why should you be put through all this. It’s clearly stressing you, at a stressful time. 1 non meat meal won’t kill her. She can have some meat in her diet before she arrives. I hope she cleans her teeth after. She sounds a selfish mare.

Haha you really have not understood my post at all. I'm out, you're too annoying.

"I usually put on a magnificent spread with roast vegetables, tagine, stuffed peppers, vine leaves, falafel, home made hummus etc. "

She's unreasonable to cook it there but honestly your 'magnificant spread' doesn't look very appealing, out of all that my lot would have the veg and the peppers and leave all the rest. On the other hand if you did baked potatoes for them and gave them cheese (I know its not vegal but its veggie) and baked beans and added the veg to that they would be okay with it.

It's her sister, not a stranger or work colleague. She's been told what the food is and asked if she can bring something to supplement. Because it doesn't sound like enough, it isn't a feast, and she wants to enjoy the day; discussion about options is much more mature than deciding you can only turn down the invitation or go hungry. We don't know how the sister would react to being told no chicken, but being offered more exciting vegan options to choose from, that might make everyone perfectly happy.

I’m a vegetarian and I love Middle Eastern food. Are you doing roasted cauliflower too? I always have that when it’s available!

Disco cauliflower is definitely a very festive and very delicious veg option: https://wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk/lifestyle/dancing-for-disco-cauli/

I agree it's a uninviting menu . If it is your sisters first after a divorce could it be she feels it's not very Christmassy?

Having said that I don't think her cooking a chicken at yours is ok.

Do you know what a tagine is? I've never gone hungry with one on the table.

That sort of works if you would apply your "self-righteous" labels to HIndus, Muslims and Jews. They have moral reasons for avoiding certain foods.

Not so clever now, eh?

I wonder why she's divorced

Do you realise that people may well know what a tagine is but also not enjoy it?

I don’t think it’s rude for veggies/vegans to cover their reasons for not eating meat as ‘moral’. Unless you prefer a detailed discussion about the various farming/rearing and slaughter methods ? The reality of the situation is that animals are bred, reared and slaughtered for meat and meat eaters consume their corpses. That’s fact. Some people prefer not to eat meat, not because they don’t like it, but because they see the process from farm to plate as unacceptable. What else would you like them to say ?

Don't be silly. 'How is that fair?' is such a childish thing to say. Would you say it to an observant Muslim or Orthodox Jewish guest, who arguably are also choosing not to eat certain foods?

Nobody, but nobody, however omnivorous, eats nothing but meat and other foods of animal origin. All you have to do when catering for a guest who follows a vegan diet is make sure there's a dish or two that contains no meat, fish, eggs or dairy. It's hardly rocket science.

For most people who don't have health issues that limit their diet it is not a problem to eat a vegan meal at least occasionally. There is therefore nothing 'unfair' about offering their own food to a guest.

I wonder why you think that's remotely relevant.