What do you do when you're a guest?

[Ava Odoéména]

[Hiking Fox]

> Maybe I'll set up a 'vegan hikers' club!

That's the way to go! This way you set the rules and you can even decide to invite interested non-vegans, sort of making it a combined activity and "experimental" food experience. Eat the food you like and make new vegans!

[Cookie]

Hiking Fox- if you do set up a hiking club then as you go to different places in the country, people from the board could join you There are a few of us in the West Country, and I've seen other groups of people- London, Manchester etc. Honorary vegan fitness members for the day!

[Stefanie]

You say that you feel embarressed to say that you've become vegan, but that's what YOU stand-up for, so any 'lying' would be out of question for me. Just say that you'd love to come, but you have chosen not to eat or drink any products containing animals or produce of animals. I am sure they love to have you around, normal, vegetarien OR vegan. Either tell them that you bring your own food or eat before the party.
A good thing is to invite your friends and colleagues to your house and make some really nice vegan meals, that's a good time to 'introduce' them to veganism, have some answers prepared for them when they ask questions, write some usefull websites down for them, show them some pictures of animal abuse just to make them aware of what's going on, Make the party a fun-party, maybe ask them to dress for your party with clothes that THEY think is non-animal (product, testing etc.). Then either before the meal or after sit all together and talk about what each individual is wearing, then make them aware if they do wear something
which includes animal products or is tested on animals, make it a fun night

[~*Sarah*~]

It's not so much the chiefs finding out or not as the fact that people are encouraged to say that they are allergic when they are not. If people say they are allergic when they are not, know of other people saying it when they don't like the food or whatever or have read about people encouraging others to use allergy as an excuse, then the likelyhood of them thinking that the next person saying that he or she is allergic is just using it as an excuse is much higher than if no one ever used it as an excuse.

i think thats kind of scraping the barrel there- most if not all chefs would not take the risk of causing an allergic reaction even if they did suspect the customer was just being "fussy".

I havent used the "allergic" line before but i dont see a problem in doing so. I've worked in a bar that did food, and i cant see why anyone would be bothered about this "lie". The majority of restarents do not think in terms of principles and morals, they think in terms of procedure, regulations and profits.

obviously i would prefer to be open and honest with a restaruent about being vegan, but as my choice for being vegan goes beyond the purely "politial" i really dont want animal in my food. I wont nit pick in absolute detail about its veganness, but i will want food to be 100% vegetarian at least , or i wont touch it.

Restaurents aside, im 100% open with everyone and see no reason not to be. The easiest and quickest reasons for me to give people are "i was vegetarian for 10 years and i felt hypocritical for eating cheese when i knew the cow would have to suffer to produce it." or "i was veggie for 10 years and the more i looked into it the more i knew i should be vegan" . Then i normally add "...my skins cleared up amazingly since i went vegan!".

My mum has been absolutely great- i went veggie at 10 and other than once being given soup with meat in ( "i skimmed yours off the top, isnt that ok?" cue hysterics from me lol must have been about 11) she hasnt minded accomodating for me. She has got more into organic food and healthy food over the years, so when i went vegan this year she didnt mind. She's even pretty much given up dairy herself as she realised thats what gives her a rash on her arms. My mum loves cooking and sees it as a challenge. shes also addicted to buying recipe books so what an opportunity for her to buy more lol!

As for friends. Im a student at uni so most of my mates live in the same flats as me, so its easy for me to bring some of my food down to theirs. Im moving into a house with 4 meat eating girls this summer (eeek!) and im hoping to convert them. Hopefully without to many arguments about them using my pots and pans on the way!

sorry for rambling!!!

[Enhydra Lutris]

It's not so much the chiefs finding out or not as the fact that people are encouraged to say that they are allergic when they are not. If people say they are allergic when they are not, know of other people saying it when they don't like the food or whatever or have read about people encouraging others to use allergy as an excuse, then the likelyhood of them thinking that the next person saying that he or she is allergic is just using it as an excuse is much higher than if no one ever used it as an excuse.

i think thats kind of scraping the barrel there- most if not all chefs would not take the risk of causing an allergic reaction even if they did suspect the customer was just being "fussy".

I havent used the "allergic" line before but i dont see a problem in doing so. I've worked in a bar that did food, and i cant see why anyone would be bothered about this "lie". The majority of restarents do not think in terms of principles and morals, they think in terms of procedure, regulations and profits.

I think that in my mind the problem isn't so much whether the chiefs in a restaurant would believe you or not, as the fact that by just talking about it, the idea of using allergy as an easy way out spreads. In some people's eyes it would then become a question of choice rathern than necessity (like when my aunt's collegues made her cake with banana in it and then triumphantly pointed out that she could eat it...(she had to take 2 days off work to recover)).

[Hiking Fox]

To be honest, if a cafe is introducing vegetarian options to their menu that are also vegan because they think that there is sufficient demand, I don't really care whether they are catering for allergies or vegans.

The end result is the same - more vegan food available