Calling all vegetarians...

[robin3]

Would you be offended/revolted if we cooked veggie burgers on same barbie as the meat and used the same cooking utensils?

good for you.

If that works fine for you then carry on doing it, if it fits in with your beliefs.

But for others it doesn't. The thought of eating meat or something 'contaminated' is abhorrent to them, and they cannot bring themselves to do it.

It depends on your beliefs and reasoning behind being vege.

wow I doubt I could have eaten such a casserole without gagging
Far more insulting I'd imagine.

I guess the reasons we are all veggie are very varied

My dad had a bbq on saturday which my DP (a veggie from birth) and I attended. My dad said he was going to be cooking DP's stuff on a separate griddle etc and DP said he really didn't mind it being cooked on the same bit as the meat.

All depends on the person, but DP was deffo not offended etc about his veggie burgers being cooked with the meat stuff!

I'm not 'happy' to eat meat. I choose not to but there are some instances when i do because of the examlpes i gave below. I do really hate to see an animal killed for eating and then for it to go in the bin. I find that really difficult to contend with.

The people who regularly cook dinners for me know my views and cater for me accordingly - and i am always grateful for their support. It is just these odd situations where someone isn't exactly aware of your views and they make an honest mistake that i would rather eat what is given to me and say to them afterwards 'by the way i am a veggie...blah blah' so they know for next time.

I have known some people in the past who love nothing more than making a big fuss and refusing to eat what is served to them. It annoys me is all. All this rubbish about 'it makes me feel sick' is nonsense and designed to cause maximum impact.

I think the simple fact that you are a veggie should suffice. People often ask me why after they see me eating and i am more than happy to explain it to them. I don't need to make a huge fuss to make my point and try and make people think about the issue.

I get DP to cook mine first or sometimes just a bit separate from the meat but I'm not that bothered.

I can understand why a veggie would be upset if their food wasn't kept separate.

surely people feel worse knowing that you were a veggie and they've just fed you meat . than if you'd told them and they'd been able to russle something up for you

Most people I know would make it clear before accepting any meal invitation and the majority have never had that situation come up.

Yeah some people do it for effect and kick up a fuss.

Not all do though - some are genuinely repulsed by the thought of eating dead flesh, and so cannot bring themselves to do it even for politeness sake. Others have been brought up from birth vege and those who have eaten meat will know the texture is unlike anything that can be replicated in other forms of protein. The unusual texture alone can make them gag.

People have different reasons for being vege, their personal beliefs impact on whether this would be an issue for them or not.

Wouldn't bother me too much if it was cooked on the same grill. ime people tend to keep the veggie stuff on one side of the grill slightly seperated from the meaty stuff. tbh I never expect to be catered for a bbq, will usually have a sandwich before I go or bring a pack of Quorn sausages with me. Wouldn't expect anyone to buy a dispo bbq just for little old me!

In answer to the OP, I wouldn't be revolted or offended by the principle but if I could taste meat fat/juice I wouldn't be able to eat it.

I'm not sure cooking the veggie stuff first works as it will get eaten by everyone else who is too hungry/drunk to wait. A separate disposable grill is a good idea. TBH when I go to a bbq I only eat jacket potatoes anyway.

I can't eat much more than chicken and fish anyway - the taste and texture of other meats is too strange for my body.

I guess there are always extremes of behaviour though and while i feel i am quite relaxed about it i know there are some people who will follow their beliefs to the extreme and will never compromise. That's fine i guess and it's up to them. I just hate it when they make a big fuss about it and upset others.

An example is one of my friends who didn't take pictures cos camera film conatined gelatine. But i wanted to take pictures of my life so i did. When digital cameras came in i saved up and bought one because i then had the choice between the two kinds.

When we have a bbq dh will keep a part on the side fo my veggie food and my mum's who is also a veggie. He always uses different utensils though. I wouldn't eat anything that was put where meat had been or touched meat.

When my ds was veggie I used to cook the veggie ones first and only then the meat ones. You're at risk of offending vegetarians if you don't do this tbh.

EricL, I don't knwo why you have a problem with it.

But how did the not taking pictures impact on others?

Yes some people believe in these things very strongly - there are a few that will do it solely for the impact, but I do believe that they are in the minority.

There comes a point with whatever you believe in (whether it be to do with vegetarianism or not) that you have to make a choice whether to stand up for it and risk offending someone or not. This can be political beliefs, religion, childrearing, any number of things.

Most of the time we make these desicions we are not doing it for the 'impact' it makes, but to stand up for that which we truly believe is right.

It's usually not attention seeking.

And ime attention seekers usually annoy those who share their beliefs more than those they are 'against' at that moment in time, because it causes those who truly believe many more problems.

Whilst not in agreement with Eric, I do have a big problem with those who describe themselves as 'ethical vegans' or 'ethical vegetarians', as though meat-eaters are devoid of ethical considerations.

prof, if someone brought their own food to my house i would be offended
i would rather go out of my way to make them feel comfortable
i dont like red wine but i dont take a bottle of white just incase they only have red...

its insulting to your host to take your own food

i've not come across the term ethical vegetarian/vegan before

depending on whose BBQ/party I go to I have been known to fill up before the party however the majority of my friends are by chance veggie so its not usually a problem.
Well we are the best people to know eh

i wouldn't be bothered if you cooked my veggie burger next to a beef burger. but i wouldn't want you to cook my veggie burger while a beef burger oozes fat and grease over it. so keep some distance please. and i would prefer you to use non meaty utensils, or at least give it a wipe first.

but there is no universal set of ethics.

To themselves they are ethical. Just as meat eaters are conforming to their own ethics.

People have different 'ethics'.

I can smell and taste the meat juices a mile off and would deffo not eat a veggie burger that had been handled using meaty utensils, quite simply because it would make me retch. That said, I'm quite used to not being catered for at dinners and bbqs and will quite happily eat the salad or potatoes and make up for it later at home.

One solution, if you don't want to use a separate grill/separate area is to wrap the veggie option in foil. Most veggie burgers don't need to be "singed" anyway and the foil would keep the contamination away.

my mum always does our veggie stuff in the oven, i cant tell the difference with veggie food if its been ovened or bbqed. i wouldnt mind it being on the same grill as i think the meat would be burned off anyway (or maybe thats just the bbqs i have been to) but i would object to the same utensils as they are bound to be covered in meat fat

eric you are wierd. i find meat revolting. would you eat a dead rat because it was going to waste? or if i smeared the bbq with the contents of a nappy would you still be happy to use it? thats how i feel about meat, if you dont understand thats up to you but dont speak for the rest of us when you havent a clue

Agree with GGGoblin

Nailpolish, I don't think anyone would find it insulting if a guest brought their own food to a barbeque and said " I don't know if you knew that I was a veggie so i brought along some sausages "

I wouldn't be offended if a veggie brought along food for a BBQ 'in case'. I don't get offended if meat eaters do the same. I would think that this was a person who was keen to minimise the potential effects of his/her chosen food prefernces on me, the host. I would think it a thoughtful act.

it really annoys me when people immediately pair militancy with vegetarianism. i couldn't care less what anyone else eats I simply cannot face eating flesh. I have met very few meat eaters who simply accept this and often feel the need to question it.
to answer the op, i would be offended and revolted, but wouldn't let the host know. i tend to get round it by offering to do the cooking!