# Is being a picky eater inherently bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 8, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728 "2010-03-08T15:44:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/141 "2010-03-13T00:55:07Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Depends where you’re eating. Try getting a completely Vegan (as opposed to Vegetarian) meal at a “normal” restaurant in this part of the world and see how far you get (Not very). So you can’t go to “normal” restaurants with Vegan friends because they won’t eat there, which limits your dining options because of your friend’s lifestyle choice. > > Years ago I had a hard-core Vegan girlfriend, and it turned something as simple as “getting a bite to eat on the way back from the movies” into a major issue because she couldn’t be 100% sure the food wasn’t completely free of anything even slightly animal-related. I guess I don’t get it, or I have more reasonable vegan friends. It seems to me that it’s fairly easy to tell if a salad has meat or cheese in it, and you can use straight oil and vinegar for dressing if you’re unsure about the dressing. Or do you mean she wanted to make sure that her lettuce had never touched meat or cheese? Because even if you make all your own food, you’re never going to get that guaranteed 100%, and it seems a little weird to me to be worried about that to that extent. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/142 "2010-03-13T00:57:26Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > But if it just makes you _want_ to throw up it is _not_ a health reason, and you know that’s what I was referring to. Look, no-one expects people to eat food that makes them want to throw up. That’s so obvious it shouldn’t need to be mentioned. But other people are going to regard you as a picky eater if you don’t eat _any_ of a major food component (like seafood), and you can say “But I’m special!” all you like with regards to that and you may well be right, but that doesn’t mean everyone else is going to agree. I, personally, do not actually give a shit what foods you will and won’t eat in your daily life. But if I say “Hey, let’s go out for seafood” and your (generic you) response is “Sorry, I don’t eat seafood, I don’t like it” then don’t be surprised if I stop inviting you out for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/143 "2010-03-13T01:11:37Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Look, no-one expects people to eat food that makes them want to throw up. That’s so obvious it shouldn’t need to be mentioned. But other people are going to regard you as a picky eater if you don’t eat _any_ of a major food component (like seafood), and you can say “But I’m special!” all you like with regards to that and you may well be right, but that doesn’t mean everyone else is going to agree. > > I, personally, do not actually give a shit what foods you will and won’t eat in your daily life. But if I say “Hey, let’s go out for seafood” and your (generic you) response is “Sorry, I don’t eat seafood, I don’t like it” then don’t be surprised if I stop inviting you out for dinner. Nobody said you have to invite me out to dinner. That aside, my read here is that when a person says they really don’t like the meal, that they’d have to choke it down, based on a popular ingredient (like fish), you don’t _believe_ them? Because you say you wouldn’t expect them to have to eat something that makes them want to throw up, but you do imply it’s perfectly fine to expect them to eat a major food component based on ‘not agreeing’ that they’re special (that specialness being that they hate the taste of fish). ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/144 "2010-03-13T01:12:51Z")
> [@BrightNShiny](#): > > I guess I don’t get it, or I have more reasonable vegan friends. It seems to me that it’s fairly easy to tell if a salad has meat or cheese in it, and you can use straight oil and vinegar for dressing if you’re unsure about the dressing. Or do you mean she wanted to make sure that her lettuce had never touched meat or cheese? Because even if you make all your own food, you’re never going to get that guaranteed 100%, and it seems a little weird to me to be worried about that to that extent. Salads here usually come with the dressing already on them, and even if you just use oil and vinegar (Not readily available condiments on the table at local cafe places) there are still things like “Are these chips cooked in beef tallow or vegetable oil?” (The staff usually have no idea), “Are your vegetables organic?” (Probably not) and “Are there any animal products in your salad sauce?” (which means someone has to go and find the original container to find out), which makes something simple (A quick meal) become a major production about catering to their weird lifestyle. Say, for example, we wanted something really quick and cheap (if unhealthy). Oh look, there’s a KFC. That’ll do. No, it won’t- they serve CHICKEN! (Well, duh) and there’s nothing there Ms. Vegan can eat. OK, how a kebab? What’s in their pita bread? How the hell should I- or the kid working there- know? And everything there smells of meat anyway so Ms. Vegan won’t eat that either. How about Subway? Maybe but… oh, they’ve only got the bread with cheese on it left. Nope, no Subway either. Whereas normal people would have been happily munching away on KFC or Subway an hour ago, Ms. Vegan is now sitting in a cafe demanding the waiter find out _exactly_ what oil the chips are cooked in. So yeah, simple activity made complicated by weird lifestyle choices and definitely picky eating IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/145 "2010-03-13T01:16:56Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Nobody said you have to invite me out to dinner. > > That aside, my read here is that when a person says they really don’t like the meal, that they’d have to choke it down, based on a popular ingredient (like fish), you don’t _believe_ them? Because you say you wouldn’t expect them to have to eat something that makes them want to throw up, but you do imply it’s perfectly fine to expect them to eat a major food component based on ‘not agreeing’ that they’re special (that specialness being that they hate the taste of fish). No, I’d believe them. I’d just think they were odd or weird. How tolerant I am of that oddness or weirdness would depend on how good a friend they are and all sorts of other things like that. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/146 "2010-03-13T01:36:15Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > No, I’d believe them. I’d just think they were odd or weird. How tolerant I am of that oddness or weirdness would depend on how good a friend they are and all sorts of other things like that. Well, clearly your vegan girlfriend was weird. Question is, is she picky, and is it a bad thing? It was certainly a bad thing for you - because she wasn’t sufficiently polite about it. If I was that anal about food, _knowing_ that I’d never be able to eat out, I’d eat before I left and join people at places just to sip the water and shoot the breeze. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/147 "2010-03-13T01:40:37Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Now is the time- is being a picky eater inherently bad? I’d say probably not, unless it goes to such an extreme that it threatens your health. On the other hand, if you never try anything new, at least once, you’ll miss out on some amazingly great stuff. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/148 "2010-03-13T01:42:26Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Salads here usually come with the dressing already on them, and even if you just use oil and vinegar (Not readily available condiments on the table at local cafe places) there are still things like “Are these chips cooked in beef tallow or vegetable oil?” (The staff usually have no idea), “Are your vegetables organic?” (Probably not) and “Are there any animal products in your salad sauce?” (which means someone has to go and find the original container to find out), which makes something simple (A quick meal) become a major production about catering to their weird lifestyle. > > Say, for example, we wanted something really quick and cheap (if unhealthy). Oh look, there’s a KFC. That’ll do. No, it won’t- they serve CHICKEN! (Well, duh) and there’s nothing there Ms. Vegan can eat. OK, how a kebab? What’s in their pita bread? How the hell should I- or the kid working there- know? And everything there smells of meat anyway so Ms. Vegan won’t eat that either. How about Subway? Maybe but… oh, they’ve only got the bread with cheese on it left. Nope, no Subway either. > > Whereas normal people would have been happily munching away on KFC or Subway an hour ago, Ms. Vegan is now sitting in a cafe demanding the waiter find out _exactly_ what oil the chips are cooked in. So yeah, simple activity made complicated by weird lifestyle choices and definitely picky eating IMHO. Okay, I honestly have never had this problem, and I drove out to LA from Dallas sixteen years ago with a vegetarian and a vegan. Yeah, we probably couldn’t have stopped at KFC, but there was always some place around that we could eat without too much hassle. I guess I should start thanking my friends and family for being so reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/149 "2010-03-13T01:51:21Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > From what I’ve seen of people raising children now, picky eating is just accepted as a matter of course. Moms think nothing of making three meals every day for supper - one for the adults, and one each for the kids. I’ll be interested to see where on the pickiness scale these super-fussy children end up as adults. I was a super-picky eater as a kid. These days, I am a super-adventurous eater. I will try anything. (And I am such a zealous convert to adventurous eating that I do an internal eye-roll when a dinner companion starts announcing the list of foods they can’t or won’t eat.) So you never know how a fussy kid will turn out. They may grow out of it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/150 "2010-03-13T03:33:43Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Not in this case it isn’t. > > I didn’t say “Everyone must love seafood!” But, in Australia & New Zealand, seafood is a popular and widely consumed food (There are Fish & Chip shops everywhere for a reason) and anyone saying “I don’t like seafood” for non-religious (maybe) or health reasons would run a very high chance of more or less be labelled a picky eater because of that. It’d almost be like saying “I don’t drink water”. > > And the point I was addressing is that you can’t call yourself a “Non-picky eater” and then say you won’t eat _any_ of one of major things used as a main component in meals. It isn’t a main component in meals in the Rocky Mountains. That much I can guarantee you. It was not a main component in meals in central Illinois either. I never ever have a problem finding something on any menu, anywhere. I have tried LOTS of seafood. As I said, I cook seafood for my Wife. She loves my grilled salmon. And I steam King Crab and strip them a few times a year. I love butter, and lemon and dill. I wish I liked seafood, I don’t. It may be like the Cilantro thing. My Wife and I live in Colorado USA. While not particularly a hot bed of BBQ cooking like Texas, we have a lot BBQ. My Wife does not enjoy those flavors, so she will order something else. Does that make her a picky eater to you? **Martini** , as a shooter, I always pay attention to your posts. You know your stuff. IMHO, are off the mark here. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/151 "2010-03-13T04:55:44Z")
I’ve never heard this answered: are foodies with rarefied tastes considered picky eaters by the SDMB “I’ll eat anything!” crowd? You know; the people who refuse to eat at chains and claim to projectile vomit at just the thought of Applebee’s or Olive Garden, the ones who insist that every ingredient is organic, free-range and fair-trade, the folks who view simple, traditional meals as “pedestrian”, and so on. Okay, so you’re frustrated by picky eaters who only find limited offerings appealing at your favorite obscure ethnic cuisine restaurant. What about the people you can’t take to a neighborhood diner or a P.F. Chang’s? ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/152 "2010-03-13T06:53:31Z")
> [@BrightNShiny](#): > > No, I totally agree with you. It’s very rare to find vegetarian food in America. Here are some exotic restaurants which offer vegetarian food (I’ve listed their country of origin in parenthesis): > > Subway (India), El Torito (the Russian steppes), Del Taco (the planet Mars), TGIFridays (the Queen’s kingdom in Alice in Wonderland), and McDonald’s (the legendary city of El Dorado) Do tell, what at McDonald’s is vegetarian? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Defenestrator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/13edae/32.png) [@The\_Defenestrator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Defenestrator)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/153 "2010-03-13T07:02:06Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > Do tell, what at McDonald’s is vegetarian? Not who you asked, but (around here/US) they have fries, side salads, fruit and walnut salad, ice cream, fruit and yogurt parfait, fruit pies, and anything on the breakfast menu you can get without meat. Not the best meal ever, but you could eat _something_ there if you were vegetarian. I wouldn’t mind eating there for breakfast if I was vegetarian. Their eggs and hotcakes aren’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/154 "2010-03-13T08:03:35Z")
If you dined out with me, you might consider me one; however, I figure I’m paying good money and I should be able to get what I want. If I can’t order salad dressing on the side (holy crap! They usually put about half a cup on it!) or a plain baked potato without looking picky, so be it! Mostly, I’m a very adventurous eater, I just don’t like things smothered in dressing or creamy sauces or butter. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/155 "2010-03-13T10:34:17Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > It isn’t a main component in meals in the Rocky Mountains. That much I can guarantee you. It was not a main component in meals in central Illinois either. > > I never ever have a problem finding something on any menu, anywhere. > > I have tried LOTS of seafood. As I said, I cook seafood for my Wife. She loves my grilled salmon. And I steam King Crab and strip them a few times a year. I love butter, and lemon and dill. I wish I liked seafood, I don’t. It may be like the Cilantro thing. > > My Wife and I live in Colorado USA. While not particularly a hot bed of BBQ cooking like Texas, we have a lot BBQ. My Wife does not enjoy those flavors, so she will order something else. > > Does that make her a picky eater to you? As I’ve said before, my main criteria for the “Picky eater” categorisation is when it inconveniences other people. So not liking BBQ but being happy to order (say) fish from the menu at a steak place isn’t being a picky eater because no-one’s having to rearrange their meal plans to cater for it. Now, if you live in the middle of a huge continent and seafood isn’t a big part of the cuisine there, it’s not an issue. But if you live in the coastal area of a country noted for being major consumers of seafood, then not liking seafood is going to be a problem in some circles. Ironically, it’s usually less of a problem when you’re dining out because you can order something else- but when you’re cooking it yourself (and I do a lot of cooking as well), it’s a real pain in the neck to be preparing a “special” meal for the one person who doesn’t like steamed hoki; especially if you’re on a budget. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/156 "2010-03-13T12:28:44Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > Do tell, what at McDonald’s is vegetarian? In addition to what **The Defenestrator** said, you can order any of their dishes without the meat in it. It’s probably not the tastiest food for a vegetarian, and depending on how strict a vegetarian one is, a vegetarian might not want to eat there, but it’s not as if it’s completely unheard of to eat a vegetarian dish at a McDonald’s. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/157 "2010-03-14T00:39:01Z")
Bump to post this again. I’ve never heard this answered: are foodies with rarefied tastes considered picky eaters by the SDMB “I’ll eat anything!” crowd? You know; the people who refuse to eat at chains and claim to projectile vomit at just the thought of Applebee’s or Olive Garden, the ones who insist that every ingredient is organic, free-range and fair-trade, the folks who view simple, traditional meals as “pedestrian”, and so on. Okay, so you’re frustrated by picky eaters who only find limited offerings appealing at your favorite obscure ethnic cuisine restaurant. What about the people you can’t take to a neighborhood diner or a P.F. Chang’s? ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/158 "2010-03-14T09:43:02Z")
I’m late to this thread, but I do have a question I’d like answered as well. I am incredibly picky. It’s easier to list the things I will eat than the things I won’t. Every week I go to the grocery store and buy the same things. I try new things maybe once a year, and usually I don’t like them. (This year it was quiche, and I did like it, incidentally.) Anyway, if I go to a restaurant with friends and there isn’t anything on the menu I will eat, I order some bread and a drink, and I am fine with that. No problem. So why do people feel the need to INSIST that I eat something, that I MUST try something, that I can’t POSSIBLY leave without eating? Why does it bother them for me to sit and eat a roll and drink some Sprite? I don’t complain about the food, I don’t whine, I don’t force us all to go to another restaurant. There’s no drama from my side, but other people want to create some for me. If I’m not making a big deal out of how picky I am, why should they? I’d really like to know. Anybody? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/159 "2010-03-14T10:40:29Z")
Well, it’s like the guy whose only reading is confined to one magazine. Or the lady who has never left her hometown and sees no reason not to. Or the girl who likes one movie and only one movies and plays it over and over again. To me, it just seems sad. There is such a big beautiful world out there, and its a shame to miss out on so much of it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728/160 "2010-03-14T14:48:27Z")
:shrug: I object to the term ‘Picky’. I’ve tried to enjoy seafood, I really have. I even cook it for my Wife. I don’t like it. It’s very, very difficult for me to eat. There is nothing picky about it. I also don’t like hitting my self with a hammer. My Wife is a good cook. But she must have a recipe. Since I am not that picky, I am able to ‘whip something up’. Sometimes it sticks, sometimes not. But because I am willing to experiment, I have come up with some wonderful dishes. Most recent was rice, lentils and left over steak. Wrap in a corn tortilla with a little cheese and dose of fresh salsa. Not particularly exotic, but it was what we had on hand and it was fantastic. Picky? Me? Not by a long shot. I just don’t like seafood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-being-a-picky-eater-inherently-bad/531728.md?page=9)