Vegans and Bar-B-Q

[IceStar100]

Ok so friend over having one last BBQ for the year. One of the guys is a Buddhist. Harm none type but wants to be a part of the event. To put it blankly he won't even eat plants unless it does not cause real harm to the plant. Things he eat are apples, banana, Water melon. Stuff that can survive the picking. Ok that out of the way. He brought some calling them Tofu dogs not sure what they where. I throw them on no problem. We do give him some hell but it really is all in fun.

Started me thinking about the old joke. Vegans not being welcome to a BBQ. Really why unless there militant seems stupid this ever became a thing. I mean most militant aren't welcome anyway except around the like minded.

So many here are from different back ground want to see what people come up with.

 

[OneCatch]

I'm veggie, and I've always found it easy enough to attend BBQs without being a complete pain in the arse. Just bring one of those disposable barbecues for the veggie stuff, and then you can join in with meat substitute stuff in place of meat.

 

[briankoontz]

It just depends on what one is willing to tolerate. There may come a time when meat-eating is widely understood to be terrible, and there's nothing wrong with taking an aggressive stand against meat-eating, but that's a choice.

It's like Brother vs. Brother in the American Civil War. Some chose the higher principle of the cause over their family, some chose their family over the cause.

It would be best if people who don't need to eat meat to survive stopped eating it, but before that happens there's a lot of moral conflicts over what to do in social situations. There's no single easy answer for what to do.

 

[Rosiv]

There is vegan meat "Paste", it suppose to taste like beef, and is in a sausage form, but its the consistency of goo.
There are also "Chicken" patties, that are vegan, i think they are tasty but are a bit pricy.

http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=359289&storeId=10052&langId=-1

I dont see any eggs or stuff in there, i think they use fungi or something. Speaking of Fungi,

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/portobello-mushroom-burgers/

They don't taste half bad in my opinion, and you cant really "hurt" a mushroom, since its all interconnected via hyphae, and can grow their fruiting bodies from any of them.

Spoiler

 

[Robert Marrs]

So long as you don't try and preach to my guests about being a vegetarian or vegan you can come to my BBQ anytime. Also as I meat eater I can vouch for the portobello mushroom burgers. They are really good.

 

[omega 616]

Wait, your friend (with a little twist) sounds like a psycho ..."To put it blankly he won't even eat plants unless it does not cause real harm to the plant. Things he eat are apples, banana, Water melon. Stuff that can survive the picking." .. which to me sounds like "he wants the food to be alive when he bites it!".

Sorry.

On topic. I personally don't care what you eat or for what reasons, I wont give you a hard time over it. If somebody wants to get into it, then I will happily throw my two pennies in ... so here goes.

I hate the way veggies or vegans describe it as "a dietary requirement", it's not! It is a dietary want, you don't WANT to eat meat but you are capable of it (unless you medically can't).

Secondly, unless the entire population of the Western world stops eating meat ... the meat you aren't eating is going to waste, you might as well eat and enjoy the meat instead of letting the animal die for nothing.

Thirdly, this is for the vegans ... if a cow isn't milked it gets mastitis, which is an infection it can get from not being milked. Not being milked also causes it to suffer 'cos of the pressure build up ... I imagine it's like needing to piss but you physically can't.

 

[COMaestro]

I think it is the militant vegetarians/vegans that really made this thought a stereotype. You do occasionally come across a person who will disparage someone for eating meat, thinking it barbaric or some such nonsense and essentially lord their "civilized" behavior over the others. People like that can just stay the hell away from me or enjoy watching me bite into delicious meat and breathe my meat-scented breath into their face.

 

[Lethos]

I've never actually met an aggressive veggie/vegan, but the internet loves to complain about them so much.

Where the fuck are they hiding?

 

[manic_depressive13]

Secondly, unless the entire population of the Western world stops eating meat ... the meat you aren't eating is going to waste, you might as well eat and enjoy the meat instead of letting the animal die for nothing.

That's such a terrible argument. That's like saying everyone should buy sweatshop products because otherwise all the sweatshop labour will be going to waste and people would have died for nothing.

The idea is that if enough people refuse to participate in a (perceived) immoral system, it will force social change and industry practice.

Thirdly, this is for the vegans ... if a cow isn't milked it gets mastitis, which is an infection it can get from not being milked. Not being milked also causes it to suffer 'cos of the pressure build up ... I imagine it's like needing to piss but you physically can't.

Sure, after we breed cows to produce too much milk, artificially inseminate them every year to force them into a constant state of lactation, remove their calves and pump them full of hormones, we have no choice but to milk them. Then cull them the moment they stop producing milk. It's the only humane thing to do!

Seriously, if you want to eat animal products, eat animal products. But don't drop these pathetic, intellectually dishonest arguments as a "checkmate" to people who object, when it's obvious they've put more thought and research into it than you.

 

[Frezzato]

There are so many good alternatives to meat--that kinda sorta taste like meat--so there's no reason for vegans to be unwelcome at barbecues.

Tofu Pups are the worst though, being somewhat high on the "what is this" scale. As far as being Buddhist-friendly, I have no idea, but Morningstar vegetarian stuff isn't half bad. And Boca Burgers are pretty close to good.

 

[OneCatch]

I've never actually met an aggressive veggie/vegan, but the internet loves to complain about them so much.

Where the fuck are they hiding?

They're like guerillas - they conceal themselves in the ranks of normal, well-adjusted vegetarians (like myself, naturally), but they carry within them a dark and vengeful perspective, ready to burst out at the most tangential reference to diet or animals.
They care not for awkward dinner conversations or accusations of condescending behaviour; they positively revel in the tactical intricacies and casual social atrocities of such a dietary skirmish!


On the other hand, someone's got to deal with the "Hurr durr, you'll get brittle bones because you get calcium from meat" or "chicken isn't meat, I can't believe you won't eat chicken - I will take this as a grievous personal insult" brigade.

It's basically this:

Spoiler: (assuming the audio is ok - I have no speakers on this computer)

Definitely not exaggerating at all with these characterisations...

 

[Silvanus]

I'm a vegetarian (or very nearly; I recognise some exceptional circumstances, such as food that will otherwise go to waste), and I also love BBQs. Veggie burgers and sausages can both be great barbecued, and I've also done skewers with peppers, mushrooms, and cubes of halloumi before. There are plenty of options.

 

[Diddy_Mao]

Vegans or Vegetarians at a BBQ are only unwelcome when they expect the rest of the world to cater to their needs.

I have a lot of Vegan friends. If they bring tofu or veggies to grill and I've already slapped down a couple of steaks, I can usually provide some tin foil to wrap up their food in and a grill riser to avoid any accidental cross contamination.

It works well, I consider it a reasonable concession to make for my friends. Everyone's happy and nobody leaves hungry.
Which is pretty much the point of a BBQ.



One time though. A friend of a friend of a friend showed up and demanded that I scour the grill and cook their mixed veggie skewers apart from all the other food because, and I quote.

"I don't want my food to remind me of burned flesh."

The possibility of the smoke from someone else's food wafting over their food was just more than their delicate snowflake heart could handle.
(After a short and terse discussion I pulled out my old George Forman Grille and let them use that instead.)


I get that folks have their convictions and I'm fine with that, but accept reasonable concessions and don't be a pain in the ass. If I accept my Aunt's invitation to a church picnic I'm hardly going to demand that they stop praying just because it annoys me.

 

[Lethos]

Snippidydoodaa

You obviously need to eat some meat, bro. That lack of protein has made you go ga-ga. Or you could one of thousands of other products that contain protein and no meat.

No. You need to eat your meat.

EAT IT