Why can't my choice be respected and treaed with more sensitivity?

July 27, 2009

Distressed, hurt. Yesterday night I ordered and was having Tofu & Sauteed veg

bowl at World Wrapp, AMC Mercado, Santa Clara, CA, USA. And they added chicken

in it. I am VEGETARIAN FROM BIRTH Man! ????

Is it wrong to be a vegetarian and live in harmony with people who don't eat Non

Veg? I never tried to convert people to vegetarianism, then why can't Non

Vegetarians be kind and Open enough to be careful to our sentiments?

Is it wrong to expect, to be honored of one's choice of being vegetarian when

you go out and have dinner where non-veg is also served? I was skeptical when

the dish arrived. and was eating very carefully. Spotted some nonveg piece. told

Yogish to taste as he eats non veg. Yes, I am touchy and really careful when it

comes to my food.

Leave apart taking food from one's plate who is eating non-veg, I won't even

used for cooking non-veg. Just because there is no escape from smell and people

eating non-veg here, I adjust. else I would run away.

Fine if they cannot respect people's wishes, they should clearly state in front

of the restaurant, " ONLY NON VEGETARIANS Allowed. Vegetarians be aware. You can

be served pieces of beef, meat, chicken or fish if you order with us. We are

INSENSITIVE to Vegetarians. They have no rights to follow Their Choice " .

Yogish confirmed it was chicken piece. Why can't people take care while catering

to vegetarian people. Why this insensitivity?

IF You care about this issue, please forward it to other friends in Bay Area,

let is spread through out the world.

It is not that I have anything against Non Vegetarians but I Need Respect

regarding my Choice. I wish to be respected and treated with respect because I

do the same. I never impose my choice of Food on other people.

Why can't they Keep veg and non veg utensils separate? Why can't they keep veg

products too separate? Restaurants will lose <50% clientele if all vegetarians

decide not to eat in such restaurants resulting in Non Veg eating family members

to be forced to eat at home and that too veg. I am sure no one will like that.

There is so much more that I want to say right now but don't even know if people

may shrug off their shoulder and say They said sorry. So what. It happens. But

the issue has not been solved and will not be...

why can't we raise our voice and let people know that they should be careful and

be sensitive to our choice. where is the respect for vegetarians when things

like these happen? I am really shaken because it makes me think, we are

disregarding even ourselves if we are not raising our voice and letting govt or

local govts make laws that will be sensitive to vegetarians. why not? We are no

different than other people. are we?

Manisha

July 27, 2009

manisha,

from your experience of no meat in your diet since birth, i can imagine how

distressful this must have been for you. i've been to this place on several

occasions over the years, recently in the last month, and from my experience

with this place, the workers there are basically kids and/or ESL people. i've

not had an error w/ my orders like this there ever. of course, i wasn't there

with you and i'm not aware of the actually conversations during the ordering

process and/or follow up process but i would not place any

disrespect meant towards you or vegetarians in general. I would guess it was a

mistake, most likely due to rushing the orders or a misscommunication mishap. i

too would like ordering a correctly made vegetarian dish to be as simple as

ordering french fries but the facts on the ground is that respect for

vegetarians are not a high priority for most people, not because they want to

vilify/trash us, but mainly because alot of people have trouble respecting

others in general, including themselves; let alone suspicious non meat eaters,

as i've been made to feel after telling someone i'm a vegetarian.

i hope you informed the crew of their mistake when you found the chicken, a good

opportunity to at least remind people that " vegetarians " exist, if not to

remind/inform them that also means no chicken. a quick education/awareness, not

a preaching kind of thing. many people are uninformed on what it means to be a

vegetarian, and it doesn't help that so called " vegetarians " have multiple

definitions of the practice, sometimes including various meat sources into their

" vegetarian diet " .

did you inform the establishment of their error and if so, how did they respond?

brian

--- On Mon, 7/27/09, Manisha <mansy_b wrote:

Manisha <mansy_b

Why can't my choice be respected and treaed with more

sensitivity?

Monday, July 27, 2009, 10:29 AM

Distressed, hurt. Yesterday night I ordered and was having

Tofu & Sauteed veg bowl at World Wrapp, AMC Mercado, Santa Clara, CA, USA. And

they added chicken in it. I am VEGETARIAN FROM BIRTH Man! ????