RE: Should vegans eat in omnivorous restaurants?

[Guest guest]

Robbie Beane said:

 

> All of us here have different beliefs, and different ways of implementing

> our similar beliefs. I don't think that you are doing this, but I get

> tired

> of veg*ans chewing out veg*ans that eat at places that serve meat

> products.

> Obviously, it is preferable to not eat at a place that supports meat

> consumption, and perhaps McDonalds is the worst of these places, but not

> everyone lives somewhere where they can go to specifically veg*an

> restaurants. I live in a small town in Mid Missouri, and if I limited the

> places I ate to only those that didn't serve meat, I'd be staying home a

> whole lot. As a person with an active social life, who spends a lot of

> time

> out with friends, this really isn't an option.

>

My take on this is that we live in an imperfect world which we are doing our

best to change. And I believe that most of us only follow a vegan ethic as

far as it suits us to. Sounds like fighting talk, I know, but consider how

many everyday items we use that contain animal products or involve animal

exploitation. We all know that magazines ain't vegan because of the

gelatine in photographic film; that to travel on any form of transport

requiring tyres is a no-no because of (again) gelatine in same. The list

goes on - I believe even some materials used to make pavements includes

animal stuff, so walking on the pavement isn't strictly vegan. Whilst we

cannot avoid walking on public paths, if we are really of a mind to then we

can live a (very restricted) life without such things as cars, bikes and

magazines. And believe it or not, we can live without eating out. I should

know, until very recently I had to travel 30 miles to get a vegan meal at a

restaurant. So I never ate out as I find the experience of eating whilst

the person next to me devours the carcass of someone I would like to have

known extremely unpleasant.

 

We all have to cope with the world as it is and we all have to decide on our

own boundaries of vegan acceptability. The fact that we are making an effort

at all marks us out from most other people.

 

For McDonalds my tolerance goes out of the window, however. I would starve

first.

 

Cheers

Cathy