A new perspective on eating out - a refusal of meat kitchens
December 2, 2011
I used to be like most vegans I know and eat at any restaurant that I believed I could get vegan food at. You know, leave the cheese off of this, ask whats in the broth of my vegetable soup, that sort of thing. Every now and then I would order a dish made vegan from a "trusted" restaurant only to find a chunk of meat in it or some cheese hiding behind my potatoes. These situations would obviously upset me but after a few years it just becomes a part of life and I learned to deal with it and move on.
It wasn't until late 2010 that I actually met someone who didn't eat at meat kitchens. I was talking to a friend about the vegan sushi that I'd had for lunch a few hours earlier and was surprised when she started asking me questions like, "doesn't it gross you out to think they are cutting fish with that same knife? Or that they're using the same cutting board?" Of course I had thought about those things before but again, it all just seemed like something all vegans have to deal with. But for some reason, over the next several days, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. Despite feeling a little gross and very guilty, I went back to the same sushi place and ordered some avocado rolls. I know it was just me but, it was as though everyone in the place knew I was vegan and was making a huge effort to talk about dead fish.
(You know in movies when the main character gets dumped and they are trying to stay positive but every where she/he goes she/he sees happy couples skipping through the park and feeding each other strawberries dipped in chocolate?
It was like that only, the thing that was being rubbed in my face was the fact that every person around me was feasting on the fish carcasses.)
I was disgusted. After a little thought I realized that there are a ton of vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Berkeley.
Flacos, Saturn and Cafe Gratitude just to name a few. So I decided to see how long I could go without eating in a meat kitchen. Not necessarily for any political or ideological reasons, just to see if I could. I didn't set any rules for myself as I really just wanted to see how it would go. I was surprised to find that not eating at meat kitchens was incredibly easy. During the last year I have eaten at four. Twice I ate french fries from an establishment that does not fry anything but french fries and has an open kitchen, once at a hotel in Las Vegas that had created a specific vegan menu for an event I was attending and the last time was actually in a hotel in LA that was hosting FARM's annual Animal Rights Conference.
Before I go on I think it's important for me to stress that I know things may not be this easy for other people based on things like geographical location and one's financial situation.
How easy it is to avoid meat kitchens in the Bay Area was not the only surprise I encountered. As time went on and I thought about my situation more and more, I began to develop a new perspective on eating out and being vegan. I discovered a sort of pride and satisfaction in knowing that I was not giving money to any restaurants that serve the flesh of animals, other than eggs that is. Although it was not my intention, I felt like I was taking my veganism in a new direction and refusing to compromise one more thing. I am not entirely sure how to describe what I have been feeling other than just being more happy with myself and feeling like I am taking one more step (even if it's a small one) in taking away from the meat industries bottom line.
These new found feelings of accomplishment and self satisfaction coupled with the realization that most of the places I have eaten in the last year are vegan anyway has helped me set my new goal for the next 12 months, which is to only eat at vegan and/or beegan (restaurants that are almost vegan but choose to serve honey for some odd reason) restaurants. I look forward to this challenge but, honestly don't see it being too hard where I live.
In short, I feel like I have started a new chapter in my veganism and I welcome the new challenges that lie ahead of me. I look forward to finding new way of question and pushing myself.
Also, I would like to propose a challenge to vegans, beegans and vegetarians across the world: Stop eating at meat kitchens, try it for a week, try it for a month, try it for a year. It may be incredibly difficult and it may be ridiculously easy but you'll never know until you try.
It wasn't until late 2010 that I actually met someone who didn't eat at meat kitchens. I was talking to a friend about the vegan sushi that I'd had for lunch a few hours earlier and was surprised when she started asking me questions like, "doesn't it gross you out to think they are cutting fish with that same knife? Or that they're using the same cutting board?" Of course I had thought about those things before but again, it all just seemed like something all vegans have to deal with. But for some reason, over the next several days, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. Despite feeling a little gross and very guilty, I went back to the same sushi place and ordered some avocado rolls. I know it was just me but, it was as though everyone in the place knew I was vegan and was making a huge effort to talk about dead fish.
(You know in movies when the main character gets dumped and they are trying to stay positive but every where she/he goes she/he sees happy couples skipping through the park and feeding each other strawberries dipped in chocolate?
It was like that only, the thing that was being rubbed in my face was the fact that every person around me was feasting on the fish carcasses.)
I was disgusted. After a little thought I realized that there are a ton of vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Berkeley.
Flacos, Saturn and Cafe Gratitude just to name a few. So I decided to see how long I could go without eating in a meat kitchen. Not necessarily for any political or ideological reasons, just to see if I could. I didn't set any rules for myself as I really just wanted to see how it would go. I was surprised to find that not eating at meat kitchens was incredibly easy. During the last year I have eaten at four. Twice I ate french fries from an establishment that does not fry anything but french fries and has an open kitchen, once at a hotel in Las Vegas that had created a specific vegan menu for an event I was attending and the last time was actually in a hotel in LA that was hosting FARM's annual Animal Rights Conference.
Before I go on I think it's important for me to stress that I know things may not be this easy for other people based on things like geographical location and one's financial situation.
How easy it is to avoid meat kitchens in the Bay Area was not the only surprise I encountered. As time went on and I thought about my situation more and more, I began to develop a new perspective on eating out and being vegan. I discovered a sort of pride and satisfaction in knowing that I was not giving money to any restaurants that serve the flesh of animals, other than eggs that is. Although it was not my intention, I felt like I was taking my veganism in a new direction and refusing to compromise one more thing. I am not entirely sure how to describe what I have been feeling other than just being more happy with myself and feeling like I am taking one more step (even if it's a small one) in taking away from the meat industries bottom line.
These new found feelings of accomplishment and self satisfaction coupled with the realization that most of the places I have eaten in the last year are vegan anyway has helped me set my new goal for the next 12 months, which is to only eat at vegan and/or beegan (restaurants that are almost vegan but choose to serve honey for some odd reason) restaurants. I look forward to this challenge but, honestly don't see it being too hard where I live.
In short, I feel like I have started a new chapter in my veganism and I welcome the new challenges that lie ahead of me. I look forward to finding new way of question and pushing myself.
Also, I would like to propose a challenge to vegans, beegans and vegetarians across the world: Stop eating at meat kitchens, try it for a week, try it for a month, try it for a year. It may be incredibly difficult and it may be ridiculously easy but you'll never know until you try.
Posted by Justin Mendez. Posted In : vegan
