Fucking meat eaters.

[feuervogel]

So I'm going to DC this weekend, and I'm staying with my sister Friday and Saturday nights. We're trying to work out what to do for dinner Saturday. (Friday we're going to Agora for Turkish food, which sounds awesome.)

I suggest the lazy-ass pasta bake and throwing in some Quorn (chunks or grounds) for extra filling properties. She says "BF is a real meat-eater..." and I'm just like "if he's that inflexible, I'm happy to go out again."

So she replies with this "you threw a tantrum when you were younger and couldn't eat in restaurants, and we prefer to eat real meat. You don't like meat, I'm just trying to cover all our preferences."

First off, our grandmother decided it was a good idea to take a vegetarian to Steak and Ale. The only options that weren't meat were starches (baked potatoes) and sides (spinach, etc). Not exactly what I call dinner! Second off, it's not a "preference." If I eat meat, I have gastrointestinal distress. I found this out by accidentally eating ground beef a few years ago. (I was really hungry and brain-fried from an all-day tai chi workshop.)

Third off, is it that fucking hard to not eat meat just ONE fucking time? Seriously?

Fucking asshole meat-eaters. This is why I hate you.

Comments

[groovesinorbit]

I eat meat, but yeah, it's no hardship to not to for one meal. Yeesh!

[feuervogel]

Right? One meal. People act like it's asking them to cut off a limb if you suggest skipping meat one time.

When we were planning our wedding, my mom said to me that if we didn't serve meat at our reception, "people will leave disappointed." Seriously? SERIOUSLY?? A) it's our money B) actually dad gave us $5k for it so stfu C) I don't eat meat, and they can get a fucking hamburger at McD's afterward if they're that put out. D) It won't kill them to skip meat one time E) besides the thing everybody wants at a wedding is CAKE anyway.

(Our cake was really good. Fancy bakery in Gaithersburg iirc. Had directions for freezing and thawing the top tier that actually worked to give us an edible anniversary cake.)

[groovesinorbit]

Agreed. We are such a protein-obsessed culture. There seem to be few things people are more close-minded about than their food in this country, especially meat, and beef in particular.

And I've never really expected amazing food at a wedding reception anyway. Cake and booze, that's what everyone's there for.

[feuervogel]

If only meat cost as much as it should once you've factored in all the environmental damage from CAFOs and antibiotic resistance and corn subsidies and all that. Then maybe Americans would get their heads out of their collective behinds about MUST EAT MEAT THREE TIMES A DAY EVERY DAY.

But there's a whole social stigma behind not eating meat, too--only pansy fag girls eat vegetables. Which is another pile of bullshit to deal with. But if meat cost what it should, which it starts to when you get into the free range Niman Ranch type stuff, people would have to get over it right quick.

On the flip side, if there is no preparation for people who don't eat meat, you have very upset and hungry guests at your wedding. (My cousin's, me. I noted on my RSVP that vegetarian food would be needed. The chef made me pasta alfredo when the only meatless items were green beans, potatoes, and rolls.) Meat eaters can go without on occasion; it won't harm them. Vegetarians, otoh, will get sick.

[groovesinorbit]

Seriously. But when meat is cheaper than vegetables, there's no push. And it seems like very few folks really get where their food comes from.

R&I only eat meat for dinner and we gave up beef years ago. It's been a challenge to go all the way. We both like the taste too much, even though we get all the reasons not to eat it.

What did you end up doing for your wedding dinner?

[feuervogel]

We had a selection of appetizers (which it said on the invitations), all but one of which was completely meatless (the crab dip. I'm from Maryland; crabs are food.)

[groovesinorbit]

R's from Maryland and I went to school there. Crabs definitely are food! :) Where in MD?

[feuervogel]

Frederick.

[groovesinorbit]

Catonsville for R. I lived in Ellicott City and Laurel.

[feuervogel]

My cousin lived in Laurel for a while. She's in Gaithersburg now, I think. My whole family (both sides) is in the Frederick-Carroll-Montgomery county area, for the most part.

[groovesinorbit]

Nice.

[krait]

As other omnivores have noted: one meal is not a sacrifice! Good grief. And frankly it sounds like she's using him as an excuse, because otherwise? Don't tell him there's no meat, and he probably won't notice. Or does she submit every recipe she makes to his scrutiny beforehand? *eyerolling* Does he watch over her shoulder while she cooks? Does he do all the cooking? Because otherwise I'm not really seeing where his opinion was codified into unbreakable law.

In other words... Dear fellow omnivores: shut up unless you're doing the cooking. (And even then, hospitality dictates that your guest has priority; you can eat something you're not crazy about, even if you have to make yourself a turkey sandwich as a midnight snack.)

[pharna.livejournal.com]

I don't like eating meat all the time but holy shit some of those vegetarian fake meats have given me a wicked case of the shits.

If I am going to eat meat, it will be the real thing. Hydrolized vegetable protein is utter fucking junk. I will not eat that bullshit.

But, if I go to Kyoto, I can be happy eating dishes that are vegan there. Fresh Yuba with a bit of soy sauce is better than cheese fondue to me now plus it's not so unhealthy. Yuba can be grilled like meat and covered in an epic miso sauce for extra win. I can handle tofu as it is just fine but the whack a loin oils and shit that get added to make it into fake meat? Baaaaaaaaarf
How can you digest that stuff? Σ（ﾟдﾟlll）

[feuervogel]

I've never had a problem with them, but some are way superior to others. I don't know what's available in Japan or what you tried here first.

Those Buddhist places in Kyoto are ridiculously awesome. Giant block of fresh tofu :9

[pharna.livejournal.com]

Alas I can't tell you what I ate because it was at a vegan restaurant in CA. It tasted good, but after that? We didn't get a long...

Slightly relevant story:
A friend of mine was told by his doctor he needs to do 2 things:
Lose 100lbs
Eat more vegetables

He works in video games so I know he does long hours and doesn't have time to cook. So I recommended this book:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1568364369
It's a Buddhist cookbook adapted to stuff you can easily get in the USA.

He freaked. He thought that I was somehow telling him to go be a vegan.

WUT.

I eat more types of meat than he does! He eats more meat, but I've eaten practically all of Noah's fucking arc here.

Since this is on Failbook, a bunch of friends chime in, 80% freaking that OMG I'M ASSIMILATED BY THE VEGAN BORG. And they weren't joking, they posted crap like "well I'm anemic, my doctor told me to eat red meat at least 2x a week!"

STFU mang, I am too and I get 100g of Matsuzaka(aka Kobe) beef cubes to grill every week myself.

While I eat a LOT less meat in Japan, I still sure as hell eat meat. That and I obsess over honey so how the hell can you think I'm vegan based on that?

And d00d. All yuba may be tofu but not all tofu is yuba.
Kyoto really is something epic.


And I go just about every weekend. bwaahahahhaha

[pharna.livejournal.com]

Blarg. If she had problems with the fake meat like I know people can have, that is a pretty damn rude way to put it.

I

[botia.livejournal.com]

When we had our wedding, we made the dinner meatless. Because it's our wedding, our values. All of our family and local friends? FINE WITH IT. Sister even paid for the hot part of the meal, which was catered (I made the cold parts).

Brian's "friends" from CT apparently pissed and moaned (I heard about it after the fact) and were offended that we didn't have meat there. Because apparently if your favorite ingredient isn't served at EVERY meal, you will die.

Fuck 'em.

[feuervogel]

I left a comment on the DW post of this about my and Ben's wedding, and how my mom said "if you don't serve meat, people will leave disappointed." Dude, my money, my wedding, stfu. And besides, it's cake everybody wants at a wedding.

[thesmallwonder.livejournal.com]

Her reply seems more like a reaction to you calling her husband inflexible more than anything to me. Which from your perspective wasn't intended ans an insult, but from hers it was probably viewed as one.

[feuervogel]

Her boyfriend. They don't live together, either.

My main problem is that they are both completely unwilling to entertain the idea of leaving meat entirely out of one meal. Which is inflexible and stupid.

[kurai-seraphim.livejournal.com]

Is it possible to prep some kind of "assembly dinner" like burritos where you simply make two protein options (one meat, one not meat) and the entire rest of the meal can be applied to everyone?

As for the root issue, I've found that the meat vs no meat argument largely gets pushed to extremes because one party can't eat meat at all and the other party doesn't like having its diet dictated by the former party. I think most people are inherently understanding about dietary needs when presented neutrally, such as "can we maybe not include peanuts because I will die," but it sounds like your sister has some baggage from previous food conflicts that she's bringing into this one.

I imagine if you politely and calmly express that meat physically makes you sick and that you would appreciate a compromise option, they would be okay with it. Using "meat eaters" as a derogatory term and calling them inflexible can be antagonizing, which results in the extreme backlash response. You'll have to let the frustration go and approach them from the honest and rational position in a positive and educational tone if you want them to chill out and realize that yes, you're asking for support for one meal and will not hold it against them if they go steak-tastic the night after you end your visit.

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

I hear you. My mom goes through these phases where she'll read some research suggesting foods are unhealthy and then (1) expect everyone around her to bend themselves over backwards and (2) take on the same eating habits themselves. There were a few years where she would tell everyone --including waitresses!-- that she was "allergic" to wheat. EVERY TIME I would stop her and say, "That's not correct, my mother prefers to avoid wheat; please do not have your chef stress over her food as if she had Celiac's."

That being said, a person with a real allergy has every right to request foods be avoided. "No meat" is pretty easy, compared to my intolerance to gluten. I wish I could go vegetarian, but with my body reacting so strongly to carbohydrates, I eat a lot of protein and fruits and vegetables.

[feuervogel]

I get most of my protein from dairy, with only a small amount from the soy-extrusion products. Though tempeh and tofu are also staples, and I eat nuts for snacks a lot (DIY trail mix). (I forget, are you also lactose intolerant? I have so many friends with so many food intolerances and allergies I can't always keep them straight. At least I remember "hmm, X has some sort of food issue, I should ask before I attempt to feed them." Because inadvertently poisoning your friends is bad hostess behavior.)

I tend to eat a lot of protein, but I can get it from cereals and things, too.

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

Yep, I'm also lactose intolerant. Lactose/gluten intolerance and Rheumatoid Arthritis are all autoimmune disorders. It's soooo fun.