US Why so much intolerance for segregation??

[sus898]

Hi. My name is Suse and I am a (yet imperfect but 110% doing my best) Vegan. I eat no animals, wear no animals, use no products made on the backs of animals...unless u count being made in China as on the backs of human animals. I try to avoid that too but is hard as I am poor...make $12,000 a year.
Anyways, I my fiancee has a traditional "ghetto" restaurant with lots of chicken and seafood as more poor folks are now cutting down on red meat. So I had an idea to offer vegan options for all his menu items to try to bring more people over to Veganism. A DESEGREGATION if u will.
A place where families would not be torn in two because of their beliefs about how to nourish their body. I see that a lot in the forums and it seems to defeat the purpose of peace and equality. I do not promote eating of living beings yet I live in the real world of 2014. How many of you feed me to your dog or cat companions? then you are in a sense guilty also of promoting meat consumption
We are not where we hope to be yet and need to be more accepting of those who have not seen what we have seen and or experienced yet.
I have a dream of desegregation and am getting crucified for it FROM BOTH SIDES. This extremism attitude has not EVER WORKED.
I was born not wanting to eat my meat and yet was forced to. As soon as I was able I quit and am now making peace and am mends for my "sins".... HOWEVER... Much of the vegan food I eat if you look at it could be mistaken for real meat....
I even often refer to it that way for example spaghetti and meatballs spaghetti and sausage cheeseburger chicken sandwich NOT ANY OF WHICH IS MADE FROM ANYONE OR ANYTHING WITH A CNS...U SEE it is all vegan alternatives
HOWEVER...God forbid if people would judge me from what they THINK they see...GOD FORBID....
I would just like to be able to offer an alternative to people who cannot afford places such as those big chain stores.
I posted a link for a PRETEND website of my idea on one Vegan support place and was banned for life. I I think that is really sad
you see I am a website developer I just don't make any money yet ...so I will not post that link again although it had NO phone number NO real name NO address it was simply an idea to offer people alternative choices to traditional dishes for example offer the vegan chicken wings in place of real chicken wings offer vegan chicken strips in place of real chicken strips offer a vegan gyro in place of a real gyro...vegan pizza...etc.... not as a trick but with people well aware of what they are tasting...
IMO
if we sit back and wait for people to come OUR way it is not EVER going to happen because vegetarians AND ESPESCIALLY (\VEGANS)and beginners are known to be annoying, arrogant,and self-righteous.
Just wondering if I have ANYONE OR EVER A SOUL on my side or if I stand alone in this belief/idea

 

[Second Summer]

I'm not quite sure I follow. Are you suggesting a restaurant menu with vegan food that looks like non-vegan "ghetto" food? If so, that sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Clueless Git]

A place where families would not be torn in two because of their beliefs about how to nourish their body.

If that's what you think the problem is then that's why you're having a problem.

 

[sus898]

Yes Summer that's exactly what I was thinking to do...
Vegan "munchie" food. Junk food some would say....(yummy I say) and way better than a lot of omnivores could even realize. My O - friends( O = omnivore) love my V (V = Vegan) dishes in spite of themselves!! I don't know about other people but I went vegan for ethical reasons not health reasons I still love me some fried food southern style "chik" sandwich being my fave with waffle fries. Make it at home now. I would have put a link but do not want to get banned. And I have no family(all dead and burned up no graves even to visit!!) so don't have that problem myself. I see posts about people having the problem AND I cannot say how many women say they COULD not go vegan because of kids and or husband and now can at 50+ I am 42 btw. I mean personally I find it very difficult to eat out since becoming vegan. I just wonder if my fiance is right and that no one would come to a restaurant that served both real meat and vegan alternative meat.

 

[Freesia]

I thought this was about race issues. I dont think that vegetarians are oppressed people so I dont see why the term "segregation" is even used here.

 

[Freesia]

I often go out to omni restaurants with family. Sometimes there is not much to eat there, it is hard and makes me not want to go eat out much. I tend to satisfy my cravings with my own cooking.

The best restaurants for options I find are various Asian, and Indian restaurants. They often have a vegetarian sub menu.

 

[Calliegirl]

I think a lot of families or mixed couples (veg*n/omni) would eat at a place offering both. I don't know if many single veg*ns or veg*n couples/families would eat there on their own though unless the food was really, really good, or veg*n options were limited in your area. The one thing that would worry me about eating in a place like that would be that I might accidentally be served the real thing.

 

[hungryraccoon]

I think a lot of families or mixed couples (veg*n/omni) would eat at a place offering both. I don't know if many single veg*ns or veg*n couples/families would eat there on their own though unless the food was really, really good, or veg*n options were limited in your area. The one thing that would worry me about eating in a place like that would be that I might accidentally be served the real thing.

Or the use of the same utensils or areas in the kitchen. How can you trust that your veggie meal is being cooked separately or with separate things than a meat dish? that's what I always think anyway. I think that's why a lot of vegans\vegetarians feel more comfortable going to a specifically veg place.

 

[sus898]

I thought this was about race issues. I dont think that vegetarians are oppressed people so I dont see why the term "segregation" is even used here.

I actually think more as vegans looking down on omnis .... And I didn't mean that the people are segregated I meant when we eat we are segregated. I mean I got banned from another vegan website for posting an idea to serve regular meat alongside of Veggie "meat" in a restaurant. And believe me I wish no meat ever would be served again coming from an animal I feel pain everyday because of the fact that my fiance has this restaurant. I wish there was a way for me to prove to him that my idea would make sense if I had it my way it would be a 100% vegan trust me not sure that that area I am in is ready for it yet unfortunately[emoji17]

 

[sus898]

Or the use of the same utensils or areas in the kitchen. How can you trust that your veggie meal is being cooked separately or with separate things than a meat dish? that's what I always think anyway. I think that's why a lot of vegans\vegetarians feel more comfortable going to a specifically veg place.

I feel you!! I thought ideally it would be an open kitchen you could see inside of and split ...one side would be on the omnivr cooking(my fiancee and crew)one side would be for vegan cooking(me and mine!)
Then served in different colored containers. A to go/delivery place. Like fast food. Also personally I can tell the difference as my preference is now soy based products.
Probably best to just have 2 separate ugh....segregated cooking facilities huh?
I appreciate the feedback though. I I just think that vegans need their own fast food type restaurant.

 

[Amy SF]

I live in an area with a ton of veg*an dining options, and I have to say, it's a wonderful feeling to be in a vegan restaurant and know that I can order anything I want off the menu, without having to ask questions or make any special requests. Nobody else I would eat in a restaurant with is veg*an, so I do feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. I've been a vegetarian for 17 years, and there have been so many times in that 17 years that I've had to "make do" when there was little or nothing for me to eat on the menu. And the people I would be in a restaurant with would not visit a vegan restaurant on their own, with the exception of my sister, who is something like 80% vegetarian (she eats a small amount of fish). But when she’s at a restaurant with her husband or others, she eats at an omni restaurant.

A lot of veg*ans do willingly eat in omni restaurants, though, because it’s more than just for the food, it’s for the company as well. In that situation, having an omni restaurant near you that’s veg*an-friendly is a godsend.

I was once in a Chinese restaurant that had a separate vegetarian menu. All the entrees on it were just like the omni entrees, except for the mock meats. I was able to order a couple of entrees I loved in my omni days, and it made me happy. We were celebrating my nephew’s graduation from college, so it was a very positive, enjoyable and happy experience for all of us. (My only regret is that this restaurant was in Northern California and I live in Southern California, so I couldn’t take home any leftovers.)

So by my rambling post what I’m trying to say is, that there are both advantages and disadvantages to eating in an omni restaurant vs. eating in a separate vegan restaurant.

 

[sus898]

I often go out to omni restaurants with family. Sometimes there is not much to eat there, it is hard and makes me not want to go eat out much. I tend to satisfy my cravings with my own cooking.

The best restaurants for options I find are various Asian, and Indian restaurants. They often have a vegetarian sub menu.

Me too!! Just had my chik sand with waffle fries and homemade v- mayo. Yum.
I get tired of french fries when out with friends and even then have to watch big chains are good at keeping ff seperated...
I just joined here and am in happy tears seeing people on same page as I am.
I usually even keep it a secret around the area I am I in that I am vegan so as to avoid problems as I said before when I tell people they seem to think I think I am better than them or something like I have more self control or something and what they don't realize is I have NO desire anymore to have animals as a meal or clothing or a purse. No more than I would have a desire to eat my neighbor for dinner. Its like not an exceptional feat for me to accomplish this and people don't seem to get that around here... sigh

 

[Calliegirl]

Would your fiance be okay with having just a few vegan options? Things like chicken salad with a choice of real chicken or chik'n, hamburgers with a choice of a veggie patty or beef patty. You could offer a few desserts too, and advertise them as dairy free (as well as vegan) for those who are lactose intolerant. And then, as your restaurant becomes known for having good vegan options, you could probably continue to add more dishes (until you eventually ended up completely vegan ).