To be annoyed that vegan options have replaced vegetarian?

[Sacredhandbag]

It's only a silly gripe in the grand scheme of things but it's bloody annoying.

I've been a vegetarian my whole life but since veganism has become more popular and more and more people are becoming part of the movement (and good on them!) it's like restaurants, cafes and hotels have skipped adding vegetarian options and thought "well vegan options covers both so we'll just add a few of those"

No! I am not vegan. I am vegetarian. I still want my eggs, my cream, my cheese, my butter. I want a stilton and broccoli bake, not a grilled bit of cauliflower!

Afternoon tea (I'm a fan and have one as often as I can) is the worst for it. There's an ordinary menu and then there's a vegan menu and that's it. You order one or the other. I don't want chicken or fish sandwiches but I sure as hell want my scones with proper clotted cream! So I have to be specific about the sandwiches and say I want some from one menu and some from the other. Bloody annoying.

Any other veggies feel the same?

Stop lecturing people. You can be a vegan without being That Vegan who behaves like a pompous arse to anyone who has a different view from them.

Haven’t read the whole thread but agree completely.

If the idea is that vegetarians can eat vegan food - well, so can meat eaters so why cater for them but not vegetarians?

Apparently it’s the No. 1 complaint that The Vegetarian Society get these days.

Isn't the cost of the food only something like about 10% of the actual cost of running a restaurant, though?

I've seen a few chefs (Tom Kerridge, I think?) mention that ingredients should be no more than 30% of the restaurant menu price as the other 70% is overheads and profit. But I've also seen mention of profit margins being higher on vegetarian and vegan options, which I can well believe since a meat burger and a Quorn burger seem to be the same menu price. Which is another reason not to eat them! (That and the fact that Quorn gives me an upset stomach...)

@BetteDavisChin , I'm a vegetarian because I didn't like most meats. That's it.
I don't like most of the vegan substitutes for meat, and vegan cheese is rank.
People like you discourage me from becoming a vegan.

Even as an omnivore, I get where you're coming from. Sometimes I fancy a pizza with an interesting combination of veggie toppings that happens to not include meat, but now these often come with vegan 'cheese'.

A few times I've ordered vegan pizzas but with proper cheese, and so far 50% of the time they've come with the vegan cheese. Yes, the restaurant has always offered to remake it as ordered, and I effectively got two pizzas for the price of one, but (a) I didn't want two pizzas and (b) part of the reason I'm trying to eat less meat is to reduce the associated carbon emissions, but this doesn't work so well if I end up with two pizzas one of which goes in the bin. ☹️

YANBU at all. I appreciate this doesn’t look good on me but I was so excited when the McPlant finally came out after decades being veggie and so disappointed when the cheese wasn’t real. Same with the fake pepperoni pizzas at Papa Johns. Really annoying. I’m sure it’s also the case at more high brow establishments as well….

And before anyone says yes I do eat fake meat because it’s animals I don’t like eating not brown patties.

YANBU, I'm the same, and some vegan food is lovely, but others are vile, particularly the 'dairy' element. I've not found a nice vegan cheese. I've been refused vegan food before in a restaurant because they don't have the vegan 'mayo' element and won't serve it to me with the vegetarian alternative.

I blame Veganuary, veganism snowballed after the first one and there's a lot more choice of food, but much more vegan stuff as opposed to vegetarian.

Oh god this. I’m not vegetarian but I like a lot of vegetarian food. I even like vegan food. What I don’t like is fake meat. It’s DISGUSTING. It’s also UPF

Where does the calf go then? Did your neighbours send you the footage? Fair dos.

I don't understand why it's so hard for some restaurants to substitute normal cheese, mayo, cream etc. for the vegan rubbish.

I rarely eat vegetarian/vegan food as so much of it contains mushrooms which can make me ill. However I would love a veggie pizza but with real cheese but it's not possible in a lot of places.

YANBU to want nicer vegetarian options and have a meal you enjoy

However YABU to want all businesses to cater for every dietary requirement under the sun (unless it's a life or death allergy situation).

Everyone can eat a vegan meal but a vegan can't eat any other meal so it's easier and cheaper for restaurants to default to vegan to tick off the two customer bases. They are businesses at the end of the day, not a public service so they need to reduce over stock, food waste and make a profit on top

But surely only if you eat out? Which I am assuming isn't all the time so you could still be a vegetarian if you wanted to be

@September1013 My condolences!

Also OP, back to your point, I am vegan and it would annoy me too if no vegetarian options. Vegan cheese is disgusting ;)

Vegetarian with a nut allergy here, with a coeliac, and an egg allergy best friend.

Can't eat most of the naturally vegan cuisines because they tend to be nut heavy, and vegan food uses a lot of nuts to substitute for the fats/mouthfeel from eggs and dairy. Best restaurants to go to are ALWAYS italian. Usually do a gluten free pizza base for the coeliacs, pizza naturally egg free, not a lot of nuts in the main dishes and plenty of naturally vegan options. Can usually get a sorbet and convince them to pour limoncello over it for some dessert joy. Plus wine, potatoes and a side salad are always on the menu and we've survived many a day on those alone.

YABU because having a vegan menu and a normal menu captures everyone. Adding a third "vegetarian" menu would just be an unnecessary extra cost, especially since as you say you can still mix and match from both menus if you want to.

There isn't a law preventing people mixing things up a bit. There's nothing to stop a vegan ordering vegan cream substitute but a nice BLT with real mayonnaise if they wanted to. People can do what they want. Hell, I love meat and fish and dairy but even I could order something from a vegan menu if I wanted to.

I take the point that vegetarianism has been "trumped" by the explosion in veganism in recent years. Vegetarians are looked down on by both sides around them, perhaps ironically for the very same reason, that they are taking a stand against meat but not a stand against the meat industry. Whether you think farming animals for human consumption is fine, or wrongly believe it isn't, vegetarianism no longer makes any sense to most people.

Vegetarianism makes sense to me because I love veggies and lentils! I realise this is a minority view.

Agreed! It’s super annoying.. even quorn have done this with my old favourite sausages 😞 the new vegan version is not as nice.

Yup! Veggie for 30+ years and while I'm really pleased most places now do a veggie option (I remember when salad and chips was your only option) I'm also annoyed that everything is vegan. I love mayo. I love cheese. I love cream. Vegan doesn't always cut it. I get it, it's a "two birds, one stone" thing to tick boxes but I'm borrrrred of vegan food. I'm not vegan for a reason!

Yes it's so annoying. No one wanted to cater for vegetarians at the best of times, then veganism became trendy so every establishment became pro vegan and what are vegetarians? Just chopped (veggie) liver! Wheres my haloumi?

One of the best things about being vegetarian was that the one or two options on any menu would 99/100 be something cheesy. Now it's all vegan and disappointing!

And I absolutely agree on the sadness of the 'vegetarian' afternoon tea. Margarine cakes and no cheese sandwiches. They can shove it.

I agree OP but my bigger issue is with places who only have fake meat as the vegan/veggie option (I am actually pescatarian but loads of places don’t have a fish option either). I hate chicken/beef/pork/lamb, I don’t want to eat even more disgusting pretend versions of them.

You need to go to better restaurants if you're going to ones where the vegan options is just a 'grilled bit of cauliflower'.

I'm vegan (have been for 12 years) and was veggie before that (although never ate eggs) and I eat a wider variety of more exciting food now. I guess it depends on what options you have where you live. I live in a big, diverse city with amazing restaurants.

I think it might also be because it covers people who are lactose intolerant too so there's a wider variety for them potentially as well.

I do feel for you though.

I'm the same with chilli. Feel like everything has it in. I have IBS and I have an intolerance to chilli. It doesn't matter how much is in it, I cannot have any of it. It's maddening so much food seems to be spiced with it.

You're not being unreasonable, OP. Even meat-eaters like to eat vegetarian options, it's my preference anyway.

There are THREE classes - omnivore, vegetarian, vegan - and they should be kept distinct so that all have a 'home'.