Do vegans expect to be treated special?

Hi folks, I've been involved on another forum and the discussion there was started around whether or not vegans 'expect' special consideration when invited to anothers home. The example given was the program where a group of people take turns cooking for one another and one of the group is a vegan. The meat eaters cooked a special dish for 'the vegan' but when it came time for the vegan fellow to cook, he didn't provide a meat dish. Of course the bunch I was talking with were irritated by that, declaring it patently unfair that the vegan didn't take their diets into consideration. I should point out that according to the OP who posed the question, the vegan didn't actually ask for a special dish.

I and my daughter are vegans and we would never EXPECT someone to cook specially for us. We are both comfortable with the usual side dishes,having the philosophy that if we are there it is not for the free meal, but more for the company. Being fully aware of the fact that we are 'ambassadors' for the lifestyle, we try not to be the 'ugly vegan'.

In my recent discussions, there were numerous references to 'vegans ALWAYS expecting to be treated special and accomodated, etc.'. The question I'm asking here, to all you vegans, is "do you expected to be treated special"? I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say. Thanks.

Sounds like you're talking about Come Dine With Me. A UK programme.

The answer is, yes, I do expect to be catered for. You ask me round for dinner, you meet my dietary requirements. The thing with 'meat eaters' is they can consume vegan food with no hassle. Vegans obviously cannot consume what meat eaters eat as in animal products.

ME who complain about not being catered for need to stop their whining. One day or one meal without meat/eggs/dairy/etc will not kill them, and their body will all the better for it.

I never expect it, I'm always surprised to discover that someone went out of their way. More often than not, though, someone feels especially put out that they thought they had to go out of their way for me and they feel I didn't bow down and worship them enough for it... leading to hard feelings.

I try not to place myself in a position where I have to ask for anything. I try very hard to find something on a menu that I only need to change one thing... like "I'd like a number four, but without cheese. Thanks!" ...but too often, only if they know I'm vegan, the people freak out and act like I'm trying to re-write the recipe from the bottom up. They come out from the kitchen asking sarcastically "Can you eat flour? Is it okay if we leave the flour in?"

Unfortunately, there are a few vegans out there who think they're royalty and deserve special treatment... but it's really not often you run into a spoiled brat like that. Most of the time when I'm accused of "expecting special treatment" its all in the person's head. "Oh... SHE'S coming? Well, we'll have to do this, and this, and that, and... oh... she's so much trouble... why did you invite her?" <-- Geez, it's just a bowling game for crying out loud.

*** Tell your omni friends to settle down. Vegans should learn to take care of themselves. If a vegan does expect special treatment, then they deserve to be humbled, and maybe they should learn to plan for themselves.

*** To the food service industry... I, and every other vegetarian I know, are very good tippers. We appreciate small kindnesses, like making sure there was no cheese put on the burrito. Check your attitude. I have even left a $5 tip for a $7 burrito before because the staff was SO nice, and gave me lots of extra veggies to make up for the items I was leaving off.

Edited to add, after reading Tofulicious's post...
I'm not referring to being invited over to a person's house, where it is just the two of you eating. If that person serves nothing but meat, and then gets mad because you're not eating, that was just poor taste on the other person's part.

Last edited by Hazelnut; 06-01-2011 at 08:16 AM.

Give thanks to Mother Earth for Her greatest gift...

...gravity.

For without it, we would be lost.

I don't think it's a vegan thing. I think it's common courtesy that when you invite someone over to dinner, if they have allergies or other considerations with regard to diet (religious beliefs, ethics), that you provide something for them.

If someone was a meat eater and they ate pork, beef, chicken, and fish, and someone provided a meal with "only" chicken, would that meat eater be upset? No. So why are these idiots making a fuss about eating a plant-based meal? Sounds like they are the ones who think they get special consideration, regardless of another's ethics of not wanting to kill animals.

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