Veganism: Does it affect your social life?

Blues

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BBC News: Veganism: Does it affect your social life?

Since becoming, in his words "almost vegan", people don't ask Adrian Chiles out for dinner any more.

Has the presenter just got fickle friends, or does being vegan really affect more than your diet? Does it have an effect on your social life too?

These vegans have told us how they navigate the issue and give tips for anyone else thinking about a plant-based diet..................
 
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Nobody ever invites me for dinner anymore. :sob:

Ok, I actually have one friend who invites me over and who also cooks for me (veggie soup!), but she's the only one! We still socialize frequently, but it's always at restaurants or at my house.
 
What social life? :rofl:

I started to "isolate" a couple years before I went meat-free... so that sort of worked out, I guess.... :bag: LMAO
 
I'm surprised that nobody invites AC (I certainly wood as he's nice person) as it's easy to provide a Veg*n option in the UK. It's most probably due to
the fact that many people are ignorant when it comes to what kind of food vegans eat. They often think that it's
weird food such as seaweed and sprouted stuff !!
I remember when a lady invited me for dinner last year she was
in utter shock when I told her that I was a strict vegetarian. I ended up by having to bring the main course for dinner.She has only ever invited me over once and did provide a plant based cream cheese for me as it was a cocktail event.

I often end up by having to bring my own food or a few friends will oblige and make a meal mainly comprising of vegetables and a few grain dishes. However, it's often a hit or miss as I have come home feeling very hungry.

When I do the inviting everyone really enjoys the food because I make sure that it's delicious, plentiful and original. There is nothing worse than feeling hungry after a meal.:D
 
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I'm surprised that nobody invites AC (I certainly wood as he's nice person) as it's easy to provide a Veg*n option in the UK. It's most probably due to
the fact that many people are ignorant when it comes to what kind of food vegans eat. They often think that it's
weird food such as seaweed and sprouted stuff !!
I remember when a lady invited me for dinner last year she was
in utter shock when I told her that I was a strict vegetarian. I ended up by having to bring the main course for dinner.She has only ever invited me over once and did provide a plant based cream cheese for me as it was a cocktail event.

I often end up by having to bring my own food or a few friends will oblige and make a meal mainly comprising of vegetables and a few grain dishes. However, it's often a hit or miss as I have come home feeling very hungry.

When I do the inviting everyone really enjoys the food because I make sure that it's delicious, plentiful and original. There is nothing worse than feeling hungry after a meal.:D
Yes, same here on all counts. I have two friends who still invite me to dinner, but many more of them don't anymore. I was snubbed for a New Year's outing at a friend's because the menu wasn't vegan-friendly. I was annoyed because I could have come after her dinner and enjoyed the rest of the evening.
 
Yes, same here on all counts. I have two friends who still invite me to dinner, but many more of them don't anymore. I was snubbed for a New Year's outing at a friend's because the menu wasn't vegan-friendly. I was annoyed because I could have come after her dinner and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

Oh, I'm amazed as you seem to have a hectic social life.

A friend of mine also made a remark the other day when organising a birthday party for her mum. She said that
there was only going to be roast on the menu. She was a bit fed up with certain people's eating habits and having to cater for them.
 
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Oh, I'm amazed as you seem to have a hectic social life.

A friend of mine also made a remark the other day when organising a birthday party for her mum. She said that
there was only going to be roast on the menu. She was a bit fed up with certain people's eating habits.
LOL, I do indeed, but many times we meet at restaurants.

I think non-veg*ns just don't realize that so many ordinary meals are accidentally veg*n. They get overwhelmed about what to have on hand. I have one friend who always stresses out when I come to visit despite my repeated insistence that I'm good with very simple foods like fruits, salads, soups (that can be made so easily with veggie broth instead of animal broth) and pasta dishes. And yes, I've had some friends complain that it's their house and they'll serve what they want. I have no issue with that; I just might not want to eat what they are serving. I always want my guests to be happy, so I do my best to make them delicious vegan foods. I've yet to hear a complaint. :D
 
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LOL, I do indeed, but many times we meet at restaurants.

I think non-veg*ns just don't realize that so many ordinary meals are accidentally veg*n. They get overwhelmed about what to have on hand. I have one friend who always stresses out when I come to visit despite my repeated insistence that I'm good with very simple foods like fruits, salads, soups (that can be made so easily with veggie broth instead of animal broth) and pasta dishes. And yes, I've had some friends complain that it's their house and they'll serve what they want. I have no issue with that; I just might not want to eat what they are serving. I always want my guests to be happy, so I do my best to make them delicious vegan foods. I've yet to hear a complaint. :D

That is a shame. Perhaps she doesn't cook many different recipes ?

When I stayed with my cousin in the UK this summer, I was pleasantly surprised that she cooked vegan dishes for
us. Even though both her and her husband are omnis, she made a point of looking up recipes on Pinterest and made the most amazing meals. She also stocked up with vegan sausages, burgers, yogurts, spread and I would have the substitutes with vegetables and or potatoes and salads that she made.She actually found it easy after I explained what kind of substitutes I required and exactly what shops stocked the food.
When her husband grilled the sausages/burgers on the barbie, he made a point of separating the food(and letting me know that it's wasn't 'contaminated ') and basting it with a different brush and sauce. I found that he was really
very considerate to go out of his way. Moreover, neither of them made any snide remarks about vegans or vegetarians.

My experience was quite different when I went on to stay with other members of the family where
one person made it quite clear that she thought cooking vegan food was a pitn and that I couldn't have sausages on the same barbecue as there would be meat 'everywhere' on it !!!! I was very put off by the drama that she had created and did not enjoy the meal at all .


It really is easy to cater for vegans when you're in the UK as all the major supermarkets have a large selection of vegan foods.
 
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Being vegan definitely affects my social life, and not in a good way, unfortunately. Veganism is yet another factor which makes me different from a lot of the people with whom I interact on a daily basis.

Though I never was a particularly sociable person to begin with, and I enjoy a certain amount of alone-time.

I think we vegans probably ought to be vigilant to nurture our social life, more so than flesh-eaters, because food/diet can be such a divisive issue. We ought to reach out to fellow vegans and make sure we're all doing alright in order to counteract this effect.