Try a veggie burger — it won’t kill you
“I could never be vegetarian, I love eating meat too much.”
“Ew. I hate the taste of tofu and vegetables.”
“How do you get enough protein?”
“I tried that for a while, but it didn’t last for very long.”
“Why do you even bother? You don’t make a difference.”
These are just a few of the most popular phrases I sometimes get in response when people find out that I’m vegetarian. While in most cases the response is positive or indifferent, I hear these negative responses all too often. Certain family members, friends, and coworkers have all given me their unsolicited opinion about my diet, at times trying to convince me to change my mind because my diet is an inconvenience to them when it comes to choosing a restaurant, ordering food, or bringing food to a potluck.
And it’s true, a plant-based diet is an inconvenience to some people. But in all likelihood, most people only have a few friends and family members who restrict their diets, and you’re not being forced to eat every single meal of the day with them. Also, most restaurants have a handful of vegetarian-friendly options, so chances are you can still have your preferred plate of protein while dining with your vegetarian friends.
On the off chance that your acquaintances insist on eating at a vegetarian or vegan restaurant, I promise you can sit through a meal at a plant-based restaurant once in a blue moon. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to try vegetarian food after all!I’ll admit that not all vegetarian and vegan foods are equal, but a lot of it tastes better than you think. And let’s not pretend that all carnivorous foods taste good, so stop ragging on vegetarian and vegan food because you might’ve had one bad experience.
Unfortunately, many national restaurant chains haven’t added vegetarian- or vegan-friendly options to their menus. In fact, a few chains have seemingly taken firm stances against inclusivity, directly antagonizing potential customers.
In 2015, the fast food chain Arby’s launched a marketing campaign comprised of a “Vegetarian Support Hotline,” and an open letter to vegetarians that attempts to convince recent vegetarians to break their diet and try Arby’s bacon burger.
More recently, in February 2018, an Arby’s ad featured a slab of tofu next to the phrase, “FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS EAT TOFU. JUST EAT MEAT.”
Many commenters on their Facebook page stated their displeasure over this distasteful ad, but many top comments included:
“As a man, I refuse to eat anything that gives me estrogen. I’ll stick with rare/medium rare steaks with a glass pint of beer.” –Anthony López
“I just ate Arbys 2 days in a row. Meat good, tofu bad.”
–Jessica Sharma
“To all the vegans trying to shame Arby’s for this, I don’t think they’re going to lose any customers. The venn diagram of people who love tofu and people who love arbys is two non-intersecting circles.”
–Robert L. Lynch
This type of marketing is nothing new. Burger King New Zealand revealed its promotional “Meatatarian” menu in August 2016. In an Instagram post featuring their new menu, the caption reads “Lack of protein can lead to mood swings. Get hold of the new Full Meaty to stay in check.”
It’s clear that there are a lot of misconceptions about plant-based diets, and fast food restaurants like Arby’s and Burger King only further spread these ideas that are not supported by scientific facts. Whether or not their executive teams actually need to feel threatened by the rise of plant-based diets remains to be seen.
In a survey by Statista in 2015, eight per cent of Canadians reported that they were vegetarian or mostly vegetarian, and that number only seems to be going up. At the moment, it’s not a high enough number to affect the sales of national restaurant chains, so why bother creating marketing campaigns to alienate potential customers?
Instead of spending the effort on shaming plant-based diets, why not work on something more productive, like adding vegetarian options to the menu?
Vegetarian and vegan diets aren’t as inconvenient as you might think. And even if a plant-based diet isn’t right for you, it’s not your business to tell someone what’s right for them.
Feature photo by Karen K. Tran/The Ontarion