Working at a fastfood restaurant

[AnonymousVegan]

Hello fellow vegans,

Do you guys think that it is acceptable as a vegan to work at a fastfood chain? Because i may get hired at one,(they serve vegan optioneel)it is the only job in the region available that doesn’t interfere with my school schedule.And i need the money to pay rent etc.The thought of flipping corpse burgers makes me feel guilty.
Have any of you worked at a fastfood chain as a vegan?if so how did you deal with that,and are you stil vegan if you work at a fastfood chain?

Sincerely,

AnonymousVegan

 

[mavrick45]

It's a bit of a sticky wicket, yeah, but you cant champion veganism if you're homeless and starving on the street

 

[AnonymousVegan]

Thank you for your opinion

 

[Emma JC]

We all, to a certain degree, work within/live within a system that is similar to flipping burgers. We buy groceries in stores that sell animal products, have family and friends that eat animal products, buy vegan products produced by non-vegan companies, the list is long....

If you can stomach it then no one should judge you for supporting yourself. IMO

Emma JC

 

[Jamie in Chile]

I think you should ask yourself whether it really is true that this is the only job, whether there might be a way to earn money without taking a job per se. Have a good think. Own business? Online earning? If yes you can find a better option, do that instead.

If not, take the job and pay the rent.

Good luck.

 

[Forest Nymph]

Ive tried even as a student to avoid the part time restaurant work I did as a younger person. I packaged cannabis for a while, I cleaned dorms, worked on a campground, odd jobs and am fortunate now to have a job on campus related to sustainability.

On one hand I encourage you to keep looking just for your own mental health if not vegan principles, but on the other as an impoverished disempowered person you aren't much help to the animals, so take the job if you need it to live.

At least they have vegan options.

 

[TofuRobot]

I was working at a restaurant when I became vegan. It wasn't a fast food restaurant, but an EXTREMELY meat-centered one. The ONLY things that they served that were vegan was one of the salads (the other was a ceasar), or you could choose no dressing and oil & vinegar instead (but I seriously had difficultly with that request the last time I was there - I will never go there again!), and plain pasta with no sauce. Even the veggie soup they served once in a blue moon was made with chicken broth. I remember asking once *why??* and the answer was basically "that's just how we've always made it." I think I was vegan for a few months toward the end. I could not wait to get out of there, for a large laundry list of reasons - this place is stuck in the dark ages in a multitude of ways).

Anyway - when I started there, I was pescatarian, and for whatever reason, I could somehow disassociate more easily, but it got pretty difficult the last few months (weeks?). I, too, did not have a choice at the time (until I did), so I stayed there, more and more despising having to watch people eat what they ate, and spent every waking moment - when I wasn't studying - looking for different work. And, while I appreciate the comments about running your own business, trying to do that as a student is REALLY, really hard. I have done it. Unless you're literally loving every minute of your waking life and can get by on lots of stress and very little sleep you can burn out very easily. Something has to give somewhere, because you can't be 10 people, and something will suffer because of something else (especially if you're also a single parent, which I was at the time).

So, my point is (TLDR): Take the job, stay focused on your education - get that done! - and keep looking for something that is both compatible with your schedule and ethics AND puts food on the table and the lights on with the least amount of stress. You will find it, but in the meantime, you have to eat and keep a roof over your head and stay in school. You have to take care of you first, before you can take care of anyone else (just like the flight attendants say ). xo

 

[AnonymousVegan]

We all, to a certain degree, work within/live within a system that is similar to flipping burgers. We buy groceries in stores that sell animal products, have family and friends that eat animal products, buy vegan products produced by non-vegan companies, the list is long....

If you can stomach it then no one should judge you for supporting yourself. IMO

Emma JC

We all, to a certain degree, work within/live within a system that is similar to flipping burgers. We buy groceries in stores that sell animal products, have family and friends that eat animal products, buy vegan products produced by non-vegan companies, the list is long....

If you can stomach it then no one should judge you for supporting yourself. IMO

Emma JC

Hi,
I hadn’t thought about it like that?thank you for your insight.

AnonymousVegan

 

[Sax]

Nothing wrong with accepting the only viable option. Seems like the real problem is your lack of options, but you're already working to address that by getting an education.

I know a fellow vegan who owns a McDonald's...I'm not so sure about that.

 

[Nekodaiden]

Hello fellow vegans,

Do you guys think that it is acceptable as a vegan to work at a fastfood chain? Because i may get hired at one,(they serve vegan optioneel)it is the only job in the region available that doesn’t interfere with my school schedule.And i need the money to pay rent etc.The thought of flipping corpse burgers makes me feel guilty.
Have any of you worked at a fastfood chain as a vegan?if so how did you deal with that,and are you stil vegan if you work at a fastfood chain?

Sincerely,

AnonymousVegan

I don't think it affects someone's "vegan status" to work such a job, provided, of course, you are disciplined and able to resist all temptation to eat animal products there. That would be of concern, especially if you are new and there is any residual desire to eat animal products. That said, you will feel better working doing something else. My last employer was non-food related and (partly) because of this, this was a huge relief.

I am in a similar situation to you, currently between employers, and fast food/restaurant work is at the bottom of my list. I know I could perform (piano) for at least $100/hour at various venues but I cannot bring myself to entertain people who are dining on animal corpses. I think I would die inside doing it.