Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

It's a fine line between being passionate about what you eat and being disrepectful of other people's choices. Sometimes the disrespect is unintentional and sometimes it's mis-perceived.

On the other hand, some people are just jerks, no matter what they eat or don't eat. Chastising them just lets them know that they've found your hot-button topic.

But to be honest, I think that for the most part, vegetarians on this site are less abused than those who profess a love for Miracle Whip or who put ketchup on a hot dog. And let's not even get into brands of peanut butter. Could be all-out war.

I put ketchup on tofu dogs!

@producestories: You have a good point here. I hope you're not referring to anything the Serious Eats crew has written in the blog posts on this site. If so, I'm sorry about that and will mention to everyone not to take undue swipes like that. If it's the community at large you're talking about, thanks, too, for the reminder here. I think it *is* a rare occurrence but that it does happen. And people should be reminded that we try to foster a "passionate, discerning, and inclusive" atmosphere here. Even for people who, ahem put ketchup on dogs. Have ye not heard of mustard!? ;)

Hot dogs are just an excuse to eat ketchup!

I like ketchup on hot dogs sometimes, and mustard NEVER! (No, seriously. adding mustard seed or powdered mustard to something is ok, but no mustardy condiment!)

Anybody should be able to eat what they want. Period. That being said, after you have told me about your dietary choices do not tell me how you are a better person because of it. Do not whine if restaurants don't have what you want. Pick up a phone or look on the internet to see if your dietary choice is well represented before going there. Lastly, try this--Live and let live --preaching only p****s people off!!

Oh, and Adam, on a more serious note, I have noticed some condescending language, most of which, I think, is meant to be light-hearted (like the comment about how it's easier to trust that tofu tastes okay if the compliment comes from omnivore), so I don't take it personally.

That said, I would love to see more content that treats vegetarians (even, gasp!, vegans) as serious eaters that can appreciate truffles and other yummy and decadent, if plant-based, foods. I think both vegetarians and omnivores appreciate good food!

@producestories - thank you! i was just thinking about that earlier today :)

@simon - as a vegetarian, the only time i ever get into the reasons why are when someone else starts attacking me for it. i've happily attended meals at peter lugar's steakhouse, dallas bbq, and other places where i've had to eat sides and not made a fuss about it, because it's about the company. and i can take a joke about what i eat. so i guess my question to you is, what about that is self-righteous, patronizing, preachy behavior that would warrant a nasty comment? i don't understand why vegetarians are universally tarred as preachy - i've met plenty and i can say that they generally are just people - some are nice, some aren't, but it's the same with the general population.

finsbigfan ... fairly new here, eh? Ok, chill out a bit, really. Karyn's been here a good long time, and I know you're taking things the wrong way. Really, she's a good girl and does not deserve a lecture, especially from someone who doesn't know how nice she really is.

@finsbigfan - My apologies, it's just that you lobbied some complaints that I always see directed at vegetarians, so I assumed that's what you meant, though now I suppose some people eating kosher or all-organic or all-local or whatever could also be accused of being "preachy."

Haha, I think everyone should just come to DC and get some huge Ethiopian platters (veg and nonveg) and eat what we will over conversation and drinks!

@LunaPierCook I am not new here and I'm nice too
@KarynMC thank you for understanding. We have an Ethiopian restaurant in the Tampa Bay area that I have eaten at and very much enjoyed! The flavors and the choices are great and I recommend it.

I always wonder about the up-in-arms omnivores....
I'm vegetarian and easily order off most menus without fuss. It helps that I'll eat anything and everything except for meat-birds-fish, and also carry snacks in my purse. I have been verbally attacked a few times by omnivores who seem threatened by my matter-of-fact veggy ways. It seems to me akin to heterosexuals who attack homosexuals instead of minding their own business... Are they homophobic because they are themselves gay and have self loathing? Are the attack omnivores so agressive about my food choices because they feel guilty/bad about their own? Something to consider...

billyburg, you clearly didn't understand my post. my apologies for not being more eloquent. i'm not saying that all veggies are self righteous. and I wonder why you seem to think that i was saying that you specifically are...

@sooooooo PeanutButter when you can't think of a good retort you play the gay card? Nicely done. No one is attacking your food choices. But I guess you will read what you want and ignore the rest to get your way in life. Indeed.

it's interesting from my perspective, as someone that was a vegetarian for 12 years and is now not.

before, i got hassled constantly about not eating meat. i'd always think, why do you CARE what i eat or don't eat? i'm not bothering you! i'm not telling you what to eat or not eat. but now that i DO eat meat, all of my vegetarian friends hassle me. "that looks disgusting. do you know how much that suffered for you to have it on your plate? is that BLOOD?! EW!"

i guess i can't win!

i think it's just that people on this site are very passionate about food, and we need to remember that each person's passions are not always the same as everyone else's. people feel strongly so they get insolent about a lot of stuff -- have you seen the thread about DARING to put ranch on pizza in the "slice" blog?! ;)

My only problem with the vegetarians on this board is that we'll most likely never meat. I'd love to be able to chew the fat with some of them. I might then even be tempted to turn over a new leaf.

wow. this reminds me of a thread about 12 pages back. anybody got a crayon.

My take on dietary choices: i'm an omnivore and a hypocrite.
Vegetarians: totally fine.
Vegans: ok, but yr really missing out on soooo much. (i know this isn't a unique argument, but...)

People who eat at McRestaurants: scum of the earth trash. And hey, I'm poor, too.

Why can't we all just get along about food? Because that would be boring.

@simon - i just meant that frequently people jump to the assumption that vegetarians - all of them - are going to be self-righteous and preachy all the time when many never are - so the self-righteous and preachy "responses" are preemptive and unnecessary

@Adam - My original post was directed toward the Talk section. I can't recall any posts from SE writers that have been disrespectful to veg folks, but it's true that vegetarian proteins seem to get short shrift around here (and, honestly, everywhere). Tofu or seitan admittedly make for less glorious photos than a big roast.

The more political issues raised about food, the more potential there seems to be for conflict. It doesn't surprise me that people seem more and more tense about dietary choices, since the dicsussion has expanded from just, say organic vs. conventional and meat vs. non-meat to local and seasonal vs. shipped, sustainable vs. factory farmed, HFCS vs. no HFCS, grass-fed vs. grain-fed, etc. The more we know, the more, for a lot of people, the discussion becomes bewildering. Defensiveness is a natural response. (And I know I have been on the defensive side lots of times.)

I also recognize that comments about, say, vegans all being skinny and devoid of energy may seem simply humorous in isolation, but the lack of understanding and respect that underlies such comments is what can be affecting. SE should be a forum for everybody, and a place where people on alternative diets shouldn't have to undergo the hassling and mockery that they face in other areas of their lives.

Also: I don't put ranch dressing on pizza in NYC but I do it when I'm in my California hometown!

producestories and KarynMC as well, thank you once again for bringing up this issue--I think it would be wise sometimes for posters, before making cruel comments about people they consider 'intolerant' to ask if they are being intolerant themselves.

I guess I was surprised that people weren't more accepting on this board of vegetarians. I admire anyone with a passion for good food--even the omnivores on this board who make, for example, full Thanksgiving feasts for their family. Even if I don't eat meat, I admire the passion they put into what they create and their love and zeal for what they do. It just surprised me that similar respect wasn't accorded to people who might have a different viewpoint, but equal passion about a different approach to eating.

@veggie people -- I think that if you take a look at the posters, most are either supportive or neutral about people who have a different style of eating, whether it's by choice or for religious or medical reasons.

There are a few posters who may just be cranky and intolerant in general, there are some who may think they're being funny, and there are some who only show themselves when they think they can stir a little controversy.

There's really nothing that can be done about the jerks in the world. They exist. They're going to show up in public places. I suppose SE could start censoring posts, but that's a bit extreme, considering that most people here are civil to each other.

When you, @Heart, say you expected people to be more accepting of vegetarians here, I'm not exactly sure what you were hoping for. You're never going to find a place that's 100% warm and fuzzy about everyone's life choices. But before you tar and feather everyone here as being a food bigot, you might want to look at the ratio of posts that are actually anti-vegetarian. And then look at the names. And see how many regular posters are making the comments. I think you'll find that most of the regular posters are not making negative comments. You'll find positive or neutral comments from the ones who do comment, and the ones who are smarter than me just stay out of these conversations altogether.