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 assume OP has windows that open and water to clean the oven.

Not unreasonable at all. It's your kitchen. All meat eaters eat plants anyway and have no objections to plant derived foods, so it's not the same thing as a vegan brining their own food to a party for other people's convenience.

I'm an ethical vegan. Meat is made of the same stuff as any other carcass. Even if someone else has paid for it (therefore I have not contributed) I don't want it and won't have it contaminating my kitchen.

She can spread salmonella in her own kitchen (studies show that 91% of people do not handle raw meat safely) and bring the cooked chicken if she must.

😂 truly cannot imagine thinking that eating a shitty chicken was more important than spending time with people I love at Christmas but truly, this thread shows it takes all sorts to make a world.

Would you be happy eating from an oven that has had a human carcass cooked in it?

You must have magnificent picnics really - a tagine ?? I’d say you have fun transporting and serving that on a picnic blanket!

Your house and your rules. Would you let her bring some cooked ham so she can eat with the veggies?

FFS there are MN threads about domestic abuse that don't get as vitriolic and heated as this.

Is this some kind of wind up?

A reasonable compromise would be to allow her to bring her cooked chicken to eat.
I wouldn't be happy to be forced to eat a vegan meal on Christmas Day and not have an alternative.
I bet she is more accommodating of your dietary preferences when you visit her home.

It's socially acceptable and very common to hate vegans.

It's not possible to humanely kill an animal that doesn't want to die and is nowhere near its natural lifespan.

OPs sister won't die if she eats a vegan meal, nor if she is still hungry (though tagine and falafel are filling).

What she chooses to do outside ops house is up to her, but OP doesn't want meat in her house and that's valid.

You mention the word “vegan” and everyone loses their shit 😂 this place is worse than reddit

The OP did not say that her sister is not offering food that she doesn’t like - just that she wants to eat chicken.

Tagine is such a beautiful dish, when I make it it takes hours, it’s a blend of beautiful spices cooked for hours in tomato, saffron with apricots and dates and if really such a beautiful dish. Like to compare to a roast chicken hurts my heart. I just can’t with the narrow minded comments.

Wearing a tagine lid as a hard hat here - and I'm not even a fecking vegan!

It is rude to do anything in anybody else's oven. It does not matter even if she were to ask if she can bring something vegan and cook it in the oven - it is just not done. Guests do not do things like that.

Lots of posters seem to miss the fact that the husband is Middle Eastern. The menu sounds lovely and festive. Even carnivores might enjoy an alternative to farmed turkey and the trimmings.

Surely having good company is what counts. Not a pig in a blanket

Very extreme reaction. Humans are omnivores and we cook meat to prevent illness.

If you are choosing not to do this good for you, but this is within the range of normal behaviour.

It’s picnic food, don’t you know?!!!

No she can’t have meat, that’s unreasonable. But maybe between you you could rustle up some traditional Xmas food and have a fusion meal.

(Assuming you’re in the UK/US, apologies if not)

Personally I'd let her bring cooked meat, if my sister was going through a difficult time it would be an acceptable middle ground for me. For everyone calling the sister rude, she may be but it might not be intentional. My friend is a notoriously fussy eater and wouldn't eat anything you're cooking or anything I'd typically cook. If she's coming over and I'm cooking for people she'll suggest bringing something she can bung in the oven so as not to make a fuss!

I understand it's very sensitive for you of course, but she may not have thought it through too much. For now all she has done is told you her plan, you've yet to say no so this may be a load of fuss about nothing!

I'm vegetarian so I really admire your choice, but out of interest, is banning meat for other people in your house not difficult at times? What if you're having people over and everyone is ordering pizzas? Can you tell someone they can't have ham on theirs? What if someone pops over with a tesco meal deal chicken sandwich? I can't imagine ever being able to enforce this. But maybe I don't see the point because I always dish up meat for the cat 😂

I don't think it's reasonable for your sister to expect to cook her chicken in your oven, but I think it's unreasonable not to let her bring it ready cooked to eat with your roast vegetables. I wouldn't find the food you're planning to cook at all appetising for my Christmas meal.

I can absolutely assure you that if this food is cooked from scratch and authentically it will be a fucking magnificent and very, very time-consuming spread.

The cultural/culinary ignorance (some of it feels quite wilful) on this thread is excruciating.

Why would I be horrified that you ate something that you enjoy at the time of year that everyone should eat as they please? Good for you! But honestly I’d not get so wound up about the op or my mostly tongue in cheek replies. I really think the op has done their work and is now sat back getting some odd entertainment from a wind up.

OP I will say the spread sounds like a delicious Mediterranean affair, but not very festive.

A Christmas pie with traditional festive ingredients, a nut roast, and things like roast chestnuts might go down better in the future. East European Christmas Eve feasts are highly plant based, and can be a source of inspiration.

It really doesn't work the other way round. If you are vegan or vegetarian the reasons behind that just a matter of taste.