1. The "becoming a vegetarian is a huge missed steak" pun
I love a pun as much as the next guy, so it was funny at first, but by the 38th time it was texted to me, I stopped finding humor in it. Honestly, it's pretty rude. I don't mock what you eat. Please don't mock what I don't eat.
2. "I could never do that."
I'm not asking you to. Your dietary choices are none of my business... But you're wrong. You could. You don't want to, and that's fine, but don't say you can't. I said "I can't" for years before trying it, but I was wrong, too. Removing meat from your daily life is a lot easier than you would think.
3. "It's rude not to eat what the host serves; can't you just deal with it for one meal?"
This really happened to me. She followed it up with "See, I'm doing it," and took a bite of sausage. I support your decision to eat meat occasionally, but that's not where I stand on the issue, and I would appreciate it if you didn't make assumptions about my beliefs. Moments later, I simply mentioned to the server that I was vegetarian and the plate delivered had meat. Then the server apologized and brought out a meat-free meal. It wasn't a big deal. The only person who made a fuss was you, lady who was sitting two seats down from me.
4. "What difference does it make? The animals are already dead."
Yes, I am aware that the animals are dead and that me not eating them will not bring them back to life. Thank you for your brilliant analysis of the situation. However, demand creates supply, not the other way around. When less people eat meat, less animal products are produced. If no one bought meat anymore, it's not as if anyone would keep raising animals for slaughter just for funsies.
5. "But meat just tastes so good!"
I agree. I think it's delicious. That doesn't mean I have to eat it. There are foods that I am allergic to that I think taste great... But I still make a conscious choice not to eat them.
6. "Ugh. I can't take you out to eat anywhere."
I understand that you're frustrated that I don't like going to a lot of places and that once we agree on one, I spend a lot of time staring at the menu. On top of everything else, I'm a pretty picky eater. If I'm going to spend so much money on a meal, I might as well enjoy it. So, as annoyed as you are, I promise that I'm struggling even more.
7. "Can't you just eat around the meat/pick it out?"
No. I really can't. The meat was cooked in with this and the thought of that makes me so uncomfortable that I want to scratch off my own skin just thinking about it.
8. "That isn't a healthy practice."
This one really rubs me the wrong way. I understand vegetarianism isn't for everyone. I understand that going about it can be very unhealthy. That's because everyone's dietary/nutritional needs are different. Don't assume you know mine.
9. "Humans are omnivores. We're supposed to eat meat."
That's the beautiful thing about humans: we're capable of rational thought and morality. We defy a lot of nature in our normal lives. We have cars to take us places even though nature intended us to walk. We wear clothes on our bodies even though our nature is to be nude. We make art and music even though our nature is simply to survive and reproduce. So yeah, we were created with the ability to eat pretty much anything, but that doesn't mean we're required to.
10. [any assumptions/judgmental comments]
You worry about what you eat and I will worry about what I eat. It really is that simple. If you are genuinely curious about why I chose to remove meat from my diet or want to know where you can find more information about vegetarianism or are just looking for some new recipes, I'm happy to chat with you about it. Otherwise, my food choices don't need to be a topic of conversation.
