Forkers Central

A coworker/friend of mine is a vegetarian. She chose this diet because she thinks meat is "gross" -- not because of ethical, religious or dietary reasons.

Today, she ate her favorite soup at La Madeleine: French Onion.

No one told her it is made from beef broth (though it clearly states that on the soup description.)


Are we heinous?

- Mere "I don't think so" 1975

If she's one of the types who "blah blah blah's" all day about how righteous she is because she's a veggie, then I would totally rub it in, especially when she's right about 3/4 done w/ her bowl of soup. Otherwise, no harm, no foul. It's not unlike ignoring the rat hair and feces that's in all the processed food we eat.

like a friend of mine that chooses to not eat pork and beef, but enjoys chicken and chicken sausages...um, if the sausage has a "natural" casing...what do you think it's made of? yup either pork or lamb casings.

well she got very upset with Aidells sausage, even writing a letter to complain. She's since found a brand that doesn't use casings so she's happy. but HELLO isn't "natural" casing quite obvious? I found it laughable.

none of you should have to report to her what's in the soup, that's her responsibility to know what she's putting in her mouth.

Nah. She's responsible for information she can readily find out for heself, she might even perfer you *not* tell her, since she's obviously not that strict about it, or she'd have checked; soup is almost always based in chicken or beef stock.

...don't tell me there's lard in refried beans, either.

On the other hand, if there's something meaty that is almost always vegetarian - like Trinity Hall used to serve veggie curry with a curry sauce that had broth - that deserves a heads up. And if you made your "home made vegetable dip" from one of those dried soup mixes with broth, you should prolly tell somebody that too.

i "vegetiquette" rock

sit down beside her for lunch with one of those new Wendy's Baconators and talk about how great meat tastes, and drop a subtle hint that her soup uses beef broth. Keep it subtle.

the big questions are how long has she been a vegetarian and how serious she is about it, because every vegetarian/pescetarian/non-red meat eater i know already knows that most broths are made from meat. my guess is either she doesn't take it too seriously, she's new to the practice (in which case telling her would actually be the polite thing to do), or she already knows and just doesn't care cause she doesn't think it counts since there aren't chunks of flesh floating around in it... in which case you can point and laugh and call her names.

Mayhaps it is not the taste of meat that displeases the gal but rather something else like texture. Then perhaps a soupy rendition would not be as unpleasant!??!

the big questions are how long has she been a vegetarian and how serious she is about it

(a) 17 years

(b) So serious that if someone brings out a plate if chicken enchiladas instead of cheese enchiladas and puts it in front of her, she gags and can't eat the cheese enchiladas when they come out

It's really a gross-out thing.

Maybe it is the texture. . .

- Mere "I figured if she liked the broth, I shouldn't be the one to tell her -- and it's not like I was the one who made the beef broth and served it to her -- I just sat down next to her" 1975

she sounds like a pain the ass to me, my suggestion is to not eat with or around her ever again.

she sounds like a pain the ass to me, my suggestion is to not eat with or around her ever again.

hahaha and word. <---forgot about that little guy.

she sounds like a pain the ass to me, my suggestion is to not eat with or around her ever again.

HAAAAAA!

She IS a total pain in the ass, with a strange charismatic side that shows up every once in a while. I try to focus on the good parts sine we work together; otherwise, I wouldn't choose to spend much time with her.

- Mere "nail on the head" 1975

(b) So serious that if someone brings out a plate if chicken enchiladas instead of cheese enchiladas and puts it in front of her, she gags and can't eat the cheese enchiladas when they come out

I used to work woth someone that was this way about mayo. Even the sight of someone else eating mayo would make her gag.
annoying!

mayo-haters make me really angry. i have a friend who can't even SEE mayonnaise without flipping out about it. deaaaaaaaal with it, it's just food!

i'm a vegetarian (8 months now? weird?) and i don't care about meat being around me. i don't do it for ethical reasons or anything, i just don't really like meat and i sort of dared myself to give it up. it hasn't been that hard, so i figure why not? it makes me mad when people who make a choice to not eat meat judge other people who choose to eat it. you make your own choices, not other people's.

i'd have told her, just because it's sort of the polite thing to do. if you don't like her, though, all bets are off and let the laughing behind her back commence.