As a vegetarian, I would eat the rice or vegetables off a plate, even if it shared the plate with a piece of meat, because to me they are separate entities. I wouldn't normally freak out if the broccoli "touched" the chicken breast. What I've always had an issue with is if it's cooked with the meat. Generally, in something like a stew, that's a no-no for me, the fat from the meat is definitely absorbed by the vegetables or gratins and that's not OK with me. Where I am slightly confused is in a dish where, though the meat and rice/vegetables are cooked in the same pot, they don't mix until the cook mixes them post cooking time. Let's say the meat is at the very bottom, comprising 1/3 of the pot and the rice is on top, filling up the last 2/3 of the pot. The rice at the top (let's say 1/3 down from the rim) has really no contact at all with the meat. It's not a saucy dish (no puns intended) so there's no fat-filled gravy for the rice to be soaked in. Traditionally I will eat this rice. (As a side note, I don't actually make this dish myself, when I go camping with my family, who, incidentally, are not vegetarian in any respect, this is a popular dish that usually gets served and one that is construed with my eating habits in mind.) If I ever decide that this dish is now inappropriate for me, there will be, of course, consequences. Now that I'm trying to move towards veganism, however, I am becoming extremely vigilant of the food that I eat and this has come up for me because I am going camping with my family this weekend. I'll throw in some inevitably disgusting faux-chicken pieces from my local supermarket, grin, and bear it. Maybe we'll have some corn to roast.
And as an unrelated side-note, I found an absolutely amazing online social networking community geared towards the vegetarian/vegan population. It's a must-visit/join: Volentia.com
Happy conscious-minded eating!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My family is not vegetarian (one of my sister's is vegan, but does not live here).. i generally have no problem with my food having touched meat. but you're right about it having cooked with the meat. like.. if there was tomato sauce made (with meatballs, sausage..etc).. i will not eat the pasta that uses that sauce.. regardless of it the meat was taken out of it.. because it was cooked with the meat.
ReplyDeletemy sister, on the other hand.. is more particular about eating things that have touched meat. i guess it depends on the person...
:)
(i got this link off volentia. i love it too!)
Yeah it does, and there's a balance between not supporting meat-eating and not wasting food. If a plate of food was going to get thrown out and it had some veggies sharing it with some meat (of course, sauceless) I think I would prefer to consume the non-meat portion of the plate as opposed to throwing the entire plate out (assuming I'm hungry). Everyone has their own justifications and distinctions, always interesting to hear a fresh opinion!
ReplyDelete