filed under Daily Dose
VV Investigates: You Ate It, Part 1
12:01AM ON
08/12/2008
BY
Daily Dose
As a vegetarian, I know that I can’t control everything that goes on where food is prepared behind the scenes, my mom’s house included. It’s one of the great conundrums of vegetarianism—by nature and necessity we’re picky people, but once the order is in, it’s out of our hands, and we can only hope that the people making our food are aware of (and actually care about) preparing our food in a meat-free manner.
But when you can see how your food is being prepared (e.g., when there’s an exposed kitchen, or your friend’s backyard), it’s sometimes easier to make sure that the cuisine is prepared in accordance with your principles. So, whether the food prep is visible or not, this is an open call to action to anyone who makes the following items, all of which are vulnerable to veggie-unfriendliness:
Pizza: Some of you out there are guilty of slicing the pepperoni, and then the cheese, with the same pizza cutter! I don’t want meat juices on my cheese pizza! Please, reserve a special cutter for us veggies.
Sandwiches: I’ve sometimes seen friends make a meaty sandwich before the veggie one without washing their hands! Please, use a little soap between sandwiches, and if you’re using gloves, please change them!
Burgers: I’m not always watching my friends work their magic on the grill, but I am concerned that my veggie burger shares the same grill space as that all-beef patty. Please, all you need to do is reserve a 5 inch by 5 inch space for veggie burgers only. Even bigger would be nice! And, a separate grill space would be just heavenly.
I know there are so many more of these kinds of scandalous indiscretions, but these are the first three that come to mind. So if you are in charge of any of the above three food preparations, or know someone who is, please urge them to take the above suggestions. We veggies truly would appreciate it!
You can email VV at hollaback@veggievigilante.com.
August 12th, 2008 at 7:47AM
Vegan Says:
I’m faced with this dilemma all the time at Subway. If I ask them to change their gloves, I end up getting that “oh-my-god-I’m-gonna-smack-you” look.
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August 12th, 2008 at 8:19AM
Vegetarians are annoying Says:
5 inches by 5 inches of grill space? Thats practically the whole grill (and I need room for very rare, very bloody steak, thank you very much)! Aren’t those things microwaveable? And a separate pizza wheel? You’ve got to be kidding me!!!
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August 12th, 2008 at 11:56AM
Alex Says:
I find solace in the fact that the ‘very rare, very bloody steak’ is slowly clogging the arteries of ‘Vegetarians are annoying’–so the days of inflicting their tired ol’ Maddox-brand of humor upon us are numbered.
Vegetable soups made with chicken stock and bacon bits sprinkled into otherwise harmless salads give me frequent frustration! This is why I only really only feel comfortable going to vegetarian restaurants. Unfortunately, they are few and far between and often very pricey!
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August 12th, 2008 at 12:08PM
Vegan Says:
Hey Annoying, don’t you have better things to do, like stuff your face full of mutton?
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August 12th, 2008 at 1:28PM
Matthew Lawrence Says:
I agree about the soup thing, especially for things like tomato soup where it doesn’t even make sense for a meat stock to be in there.
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August 12th, 2008 at 1:37PM
Lauren Says:
As a vegetarian, all this seems a little silly (especially the back-and forth-taunting). Sure, I would prefer my veggie burgers not to be cooked next to a raw hamburger, but what’s the big deal if a hand at Subway touches a cooked piece of turkey before making my veggie sub? I’m not going to die, and insisting that someone changes their gloves isn’t going save the lives of any turkeys out there, its just going to slow things down and annoy the workers, as well as everyone behind me. (Totally agreed on the soup though!)
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August 12th, 2008 at 3:12PM
Vegan Says:
Lauren, the distinctions you make are arbitrary and capricious. I *do* think it’s a big deal if I have turkey juice on my veggie sandwich — it’s just as bad as raw hamburger on a grill. Your inconsistencies suggest that you’re probably one of those “vegetarians” that thinks it’s still ok to eat fish and poultry. News flash, girl, turkey is meat.
Moreover, how long does it really take to change a pair of gloves? It actually takes less time to do that than it does to sneer rudely and unfairly at a fair-minded request.
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August 12th, 2008 at 3:13PM
nicole Says:
My husband is a vegetarian so I am sympathetic to the issues you raise, BUT reserving grill space is a rather naive way to think you’re ensuring veggie friendly food prep. How about all the meat that was grilled on that 5×5 space previously? Or does that not count? When in doubt, pop the veggie burger in the microwave or grill it up in a pan. Then you’ll know what you’re biting into.
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August 12th, 2008 at 3:17PM
Vegan Says:
Nicole, you obviously reserve the grill space from the first day that the brand new grill is used — it’s only fair!
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August 12th, 2008 at 3:35PM
Alex Says:
I think the point VV was making in this article has been displayed perfectly in the comments. People have differing levels of dedication to their vegetarianism and it results in a laissez-faire attitude toward food preparation. If you’re eating burger juice, why not eat a whole burger? It is essentially the same thing. This should be like any other serious dietary restriction. I think we all need to stop toeing the line of health/morality/dedication and make a conscious choice to not accept less than the clean, healthy meal we are promised.
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August 12th, 2008 at 5:57PM
Alex number 2 Says:
I agree that vegetarians should make the effort to be 100% veggie, not a half-assed veggie, but I think it’s a little pretentious to ask someone to reserve half of their grill for “veggies only”. There are plenty of alternative cooking methods. If you don’t like my meaty grill, go home.
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September 6th, 2008 at 2:27PM
Mandy Says:
I might have read this article incorrectly, but I think we’re talking about eating at a friend’s house - not a restaurant, right? I’d HOPE my friends would be more sensitive to my dietary restrictions than some of the attitudes here reflect.
Also, If I had a friend whose religious beliefs precluded them from eating X, I’d certainly do my level best to accommodate them, including reserving that wrangled-over grill space. And I’ll bet most of the naysayers here would as well. But if a the belief held is secular, it’s to be ridiculed and disrespected? I find that odd.
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