Around the world are so many diverse people with different and unique dietary habits, one of the most common being vegetarian. Being born and brought up as a vegetarian, I never really understood why many people find it intriguing that I do not eat meat. Without doubt, almost every vegetarian has heard one of many of these comments and questions at least once:

1. “So you just don’t eat meat?”

Yes. Is that so hard to comprehend?

2. “Does it bother you when you see meat?”

Personally, I don’t care whether someone is eating meat in front of me or if I use a microwave that previously heated food with meat in it. However, some vegetarians can’t even bear the sight of meat, so it really does depend.

3. “How can you not eat meat? it’s SOOOO good!”

Here is where the saying “ignorance is bliss” fits in perfectly. If you have been brought up and raised not eating meat, you would naturally not have a craving for it, especially if you’ve never tried it. However, this does apply to people who have eaten meat before and have converted to vegetarianism.

3. How we shouldn’t judge non-vegetarians when vegetarians kill plants.

First and foremost, I do not have a problem with non-vegetarians and the concept of eating meat. I am vegetarian because I was raised as one. However, I do question how some non-vegetarians equate killing plants to killing animals. Vegetarians don't feed plants food that make them taste better and slaughter them eventually. For the most part, we eat the byproducts from plants, which, unlike animals, can grow and revive back again, in case you didn’t know.

5. Thinking vegetarian is the same as being vegan.

This probably irks me the most, especially when flying on airplanes. The difference between vegetarians and vegans are that vegans do not eat animal-based products such as dairy. So while every other person on the flight can get ice cream because they aren’t vegetarian/vegan/rabbit or whatever the airline categorizes us in, I’ll just be chilling here with my salted peanut packets.

6. Going to a restaurant and being served meat “on accident.”

We all make mistakes, it’s a part of life. I certainly don’t mind if someone serves me meat by accident, except when you stress that you want something with no meat in it. And what annoys all vegetarians the most is when it’s made to be no big deal and we can just “scoop off the meat”.

7. “Is [insert clearly vegetarian food type] okay with you?”

Oh you know exactly what I’m talking about. When you’re settling down and your waiter recommends the fish filet. The second you let them know you’re vegetarian, a cyclone of questions hit you extremely hard. I get it, you’re just concerned about our dietary habits, but yes, cabbage is okay with our “culture," thanks for asking.