I do think there’s a bit of a difference between simply not getting a preferred flavor and not having the option of something that isn’t ethically objectionable.
But I’m not. I’m not getting a meal I will eat. I maintain vegetarianism is fundamentally different from a dislike of turkey. If there is a veggie option that I dislike (like grilled eggplant), I’ll usually go ahead and eat it. But I won’t eat meat. Like I said, tho’, I don’t consider it worth it to make a big deal out of it and make other people feel uncomfortable.
tremorviolet, I have much the same experience you do. I am not a vegetarian, but I will often request the vegetarian option at conferences, dinner events, etc. And I’m talking about the kind of thing where you RSVP ahead of time and tick the box that says “I request the vegetarian option.”
Most of the time they try and serve me the regular deal, despite having the veggie ticket right there where the plate should go. Or even if they get it from the beginning, it seems like 80% of the time I’m the last one served…by a good margin of time.
I guess I just don’t look at things that way. The way I see it, it’s sort of like this board. The same threads are there for everyone. If I will not read one, it’s not that I’m being denied something.
I’m craving a donkey sub now.
In a previous job Chinese food was popular for lunch meetings. I knew we had at least two vegetarians in the department. They were both Indian, and I assume that meat-fests are one of the things they’ve had to adjust to in the US. But one time someone pointed out that they were bringing their own lunches to the meetings, or else had a very limited choice of catered food. So I suggested to the manager that he order a couple of vegetarian options. (And as it happens, I like Family Style Tofu. 
) The manager did so for every meeting after that, and the vegetarians seemed to appreciate it.
You mean all these people eat things that they find ethically objectionable?
Damn, what a bunch of hypocrites!
Tris
Your right to be a vegetarian ends at my hamburger.
Fellow vegetarian here. I would say, no not reasonable to ask for the five bucks. The time to say something was at the initial e-mail, not after the food has arrived.
I seem to have quite a few lunch meetings in my workplace. Last week I actually had lunch meetings four of five days. This coming week of four days I already know that at least two of four will have lunch meetings. At my work, getting vegetarian food is not an issue. All the admin assistants who are ordering lunches are aware that I’m a vegetarian and will make sure that I have appropriate food. They are very nice about it. It is a rare occasion where I haven’t had a veg option, and on those circumstances I just grab a granola bar or something out of my desk afterward. In my opinion there is little to be gained by making a big deal out of it (not that I"m suggesting you are doing that) but instead I take the approach of getting in touch in advance next time and just letting them know I’d like something veggie friendly.
And yeah, conferences and outside meetings, well sometimes I eat a lot of salad and potatoes or rice. C’est la vie.
La vie.
??
C’est it out loud. 
A “sub” is by common definition, not vegetarian, it is primarily composed of cold cuts and cheese. On the other hand it is also, by common definition, “well dressed” with lettuce, tomato, onions, possibly other kinds of relish or peppers and olives, as well as condiments such as oil, vinegar, mustard, mayo, etc.
So if the company memo stipulated “free subs and BYOF otherwise”, and you are a vegetarian, you can either: (a) ask ahead of time for alternatives for those with dietary restrictions (phrasing it this way suggests a religious reason, which in turn often has some real or imagined weight of legal ruling behind it); (b) bring your own food; or © pick off the meat from one of the subs and eat the resulting “vegetarian sub”, which is basically the same thing. Pass the meat on to someone else who is probably grousing about how thin the meat is in their sub (no matter how piled the subs are, somebody is grousing about it).
If you’ve got some kind of vegetarian kosher/halal thing going on and the minus-meat converto-veggie sub is still “tainted” by association and unfit for your consumption, then you are DEFINITELY in the ask-ahead or BYOF category pretty much every day of your life already, why would this scenario be any different?
That’s a good point. Since I am a Christian, and there are threads on this board bashing Christianity, should I not get a partial refund of my subscription since I won’t have any use for those threads?
Before anyone thinks this is ridiculous, religion, unlike vegetariansim IS a protected class.
But, I still hold by original position. Just because YOU have a particular ethic against eating animals doesn’t mean that everyone else needs to accomodate you. Now, as a matter of courtesy, I personally would do it, but the hypothetical that your boss owes you something is ridiculous, and I see it the same as my Turkey Sub scenario.
Um…what? What I said was that a comparison between someone’s not getting a particular meat that they like is not really comparable to a vegetarian’s not getting anything to eat that isn’t ethically objectionable. There was no suggestion made that anyone was eating anything that they personally find ethically objectionable so I have no idea what you’re on about.
Yes, exactly - we don’t disagree on anything. If you took the job knowing you’d never have time to go out for lunch for whatever reason, then it’s incumbent on you to make arrangements. However if you took the job with the assurance you would have a lunch hour, then it’s incumbent on the company to provide you with food on the days where they make you stay in.
Reading Otto’s further comments, however, I think the company did mess up a bit. Vegetarianism is not so uncommon now that you can just order meat for everybody and hope that it works out. Vegetarians for ethical and health reasons are everywhere, and more and more devout Hindus are entering the workforce. I think they should have provided a veggie option; however, most likely the person who did the ordering didn’t even think about it. I don’t think Otto should ask for five bucks; I do think he should voice his concerns - not complain - to the orderer and ask if next time, a veggie option could be included.
Anyone have any ideas on how common vegetarianism is in various sectors of American society? I know there is one guy in our office of 50-60 who will eat no meat. And I know another guy who keeps strictly kosher. But I have no idea as to the dietary preferences of probably 75% of my co-workers. I’m just wondering whether the “responsibility” for anticipating dietary preferences/limitations falls upon the person supplying the food, or the person with the pref/lim.
Heck, they probably would have gladly gotten a veggie sub, as it would have been cheaper. It seems quite common for most pizza spreads to feature a veggie option. Or they could have gotten a large side salad. I get the impression that Otto somewhat anticipated not being satisfied, but took no steps to see if he would be accomodated beforehand - when it could have easily been addressed.
Why not?
Smile when you c’est that.
Another “no” vote, for the reasons already mentioned. Just let it go, and respond to the email beforehand, requesting a veggie option, the next time this happens.
my 2¢ worth:
We frequently are presented with a lunch in by management, usually as a thank you for some extra effort sans grumbling, or as a morale booster around some holiday. Possibly because of the size of the staff, or possible because as Anaamika said, management is aware that vegetarianism is on the rise, vegetarian choices are always provided without prior request. What we do run into, however, is the issue of Kosher choices. Since the staff is more than 95% non-Jewish, it seems to never occur to those that do the ordering that keeping Kosher means more than just not mixing meat with dairy. And sometimes (rarely, granted), the vegetarian choices do not suffice for those keeping Kosher. I’ve seen the same two or three people always bring in their own food regardless of what was catered in, and have never heard them say a word about it.
Because if I did that, what would I have to bitch about?
No, honestly, I didn’t care enough about it to take even the minimal time to make the request. Remember, this is just an intellectual exercise.
But you care enough to start a thread on it? You’ve already spend more time and bandwidth than would take to type “Hey, I’m a vegetarian, any chance you could get a no-meat sub with that order?”
I agree that if you are serving the staff lunch you should check if people have dietary restrictions, its common practice in any company I’ve ever worked with. But I think its a little snarky to call someone out on it after the fact, when there was ample oppurtunity to bring it up before hand. Asking for $5 petty cash just seems like an attempt to embarrass the lunch organizer, if it were me it would be a strike against doing this sort of lunch in the future.