So how do we do it? I joined this board after a frustrating brush with the editor of a food and travel website who reacted quite badly when I told her that "vegan" pastry couldn't be vegan once it was brushed with milk and egg....and anyway what the hell was it doing in a CRAB pie in the first place. She deleted my comment after the recipe - which was actually quite polite (considering) - and told me she thought I was vitriolic for suggesting that the writer of the piece was a stupid idiot. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. After years of being treated like an oddity for being vegan, now any half-arsed food blog wants to hijack veganism because it's hip, but still can't be bothered to get it right. How do we educate them? Should I post a definition of veganism myself under the offending article? I'm really cross because she tried to make me feel like I was out of order for such a "small oversight" - gah!
How to educate food bloggers
- Thread starter greencow
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TofuRobot
Forum Legend
I hadn't thought of that. I wonder if a few friendly comments might be the answer. It's called London Unattached and the amazing disappearing vegan pastry is in a recipe for crab pie under a review of English wine. It's a tricky one as it's been changed as if the word vegan never appeared with no recognition the there was a mistake made.
Lou
Forum Legend
Wait! What? In a comment, you called the author a "stupid idiot"? Even if the comment was well deserved, that is not a good strategy for effective advocacy.
Lou
Forum Legend
Sounds like you accomplished something there. Not sure how or why the stupid idiot made the original mistake. But it's taken care of for now. and you probably had something to do with it. Doesn't look like you got any attaboys, so I'll give you one.
Lou
Forum Legend
Oh. And for future reference, don't call people stupid idiots. Also, there is a distinction between stupid and ignorant. Some people can't help being stupid and should be treated with kindness. Ignorance can be fixed. Although some people are deliberately ignorant and I, too, have little patience for them.
And you may have stumbled upon someone deliberately ignorant. I can't imagine a person in the food/journalism industry in England being ignorant about veganism. Unless they choose to be. Were they asleep during the whole William Sitwell/Waitrose incident? It even made the papers in California.
But still, calling people stupid idiots is usually not a good first step if you hope to change their minds.
And you may have stumbled upon someone deliberately ignorant. I can't imagine a person in the food/journalism industry in England being ignorant about veganism. Unless they choose to be. Were they asleep during the whole William Sitwell/Waitrose incident? It even made the papers in California.
But still, calling people stupid idiots is usually not a good first step if you hope to change their minds.
Please be assured I wouldn't dream of calling anyone who genuinely was challenged "stupid", but some people are stupid (as "that was a stupid thing to do" = daft) although this may be more of a British turn of phrase than American. I would argue this particular amateur critic is a case in point, judging by his biog on the site which states he's "an academic and a keen spectator of the restaurant scene". My point is that brushing "vegan pastry" with egg just perpetuates the myth that vegans are people who don't eat meat or fish.
Lou
Forum Legend
Wasn't the "vegan pastry" in question a crab cake? He does sound like a stupid idiot. but I still think you shouldn't call him that. A f#%&ing moron would be more accurate. but don't call him that either.
