# Why are meat-eaters compelled to tell vegetarians how great meat is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 26, 2000, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208 "2000-03-26T23:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/21 "2000-03-27T06:07:00Z")
Again, I’m not talking about baiting the kind of vegetarian who’s in your face constantly about not eating meat. I’m talking about the kind of person who, upon first finding out someone’s veg, makes a speech about the joys of meat. The kind of person who bites into a hamburger and makes some comment about hearing Bossie scream. These same people would never dream of say going up to a Jewish person extolling the virtues of pork or going on at length about how weird a kosher diet is. They wouldn’t even say to someone who simply says they’re cutting down on red meat how wonderful red meat really is. Yet there’s not the slightest compunction about basically ridiculing vegetarians. If someone wants to ask me why I chose vegetarianism, that’s one thing. But why do people feel the need to go into excruciating detail how meat looks, tastes, and smells, usually with that little grin on their face that lets me know that they know I find what they’re doing disgusting and they don’t care. I guess more broadly my question is why is there such a massive breakdown of common courtesy and manners here? ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/22 "2000-03-27T09:20:00Z")
Why is there a breakdown in manners?? Hmmm, probably because most people live on such tight schedules with jobs/shopping/kids/sports/school/family activities, that sitting down at a dinner table and teaching table manners becomes LESS of a priority than just getting everyone together at all. Manners are ‘caught’ more than taught anyway, and everyone is so busy, I just think it falls way back behind the things that seem more urgent today. ## Obviously that is just my WAG, for what it is worth, and that ain’t much in market value! Judy * * * “Um, according to who? Nothing more than a high brow troll, though occasionally the bi polar personality swung in a constructive direction on innocuous topics.” Omniscient ---
**Author:** ![billehunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@billehunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billehunt)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/23 "2000-03-27T09:52:00Z")
One possibility: Carnivores aren’t really **talking** about their joy in meat-eating excessively, but rather Herbivores have a watchful ear for the subject, and actively **listen** for it, which ties into their being an Herbivore in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/24 "2000-03-27T09:54:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Mullinator: > > My wife, other than occasional deer and seafood, would be considered vegetarian. I am a meat eater. We have both gone to health food markets, etc and are always a little confused when we see vegetarian items made to taste and look like meat items. > > Why? I have had a couple of theories, but they don’t seem to hold water. Maybe my thinking is a little clouded by the fact I am a meat eater to begin with. This confuses you? You can’t understand that people might give up meat for a variety of reasons, but still enjoy the taste? Or still enjoy a meat dish that doesn’t work well if you just leave the meat out? It seems very odd to me that this would confuse you. For example, I haven’t eaten meat since I was 14, because I can’t justify killing animals in mind when there is no need to. When I found vegetarian sausage patties though, I bought them. They were something I missed, but certainly not enough to go against my moral feeling about killing animals. My husband buys vegetarian pepperoni for much the same reason. Also, most “veggie burgers” or “veggie patties” are _not_ meant to taste like meat. They are their own thing. They do make ones that are supposed to taste like meat also, but most aren’t. * * * – From an actual catalog: “Disco balls create an enchanting, dazzling effect of light shafts, adding movement and glamour to any occasion” _the Abrams’ bris was certainly memorable_ O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/25 "2000-03-27T09:56:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly: > \*\*Why do some people bait some vegetarians? One word: entertainment. For some, it’s always fun to cause an apoplectic fit in a fanatic of any stripe. People wouldn’t tease you if you didn’t give them the satisfaction of reacting. > > DHR\*\* I don’t think that being a vegetarian automatically qualifies someone as a “fanatic” anymore than someone belonging to a religion makes them a “fanatic”. * * * – From an actual catalog: “Disco balls create an enchanting, dazzling effect of light shafts, adding movement and glamour to any occasion” _the Abrams’ bris was certainly memorable_ O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/26 "2000-03-27T10:27:00Z")
Muffinman- > [@](#): > > Take my friend “Jane”. She actually tried to argue the health of eating no meat products WHILE SUCKING DOWN A CAMEL!!! wasnt her mouth too full to speak? [rimshot] I’m here all week. ## anyway, I try not to say anything on the topic to vegitarians until they start at me. Fair enough, they have made their choice, but they dont need to stuff it down my neck. “I’m a rebel, soul rebel. I’m a capturer, soul adventurer” ~Bob Marley [wanna see me?](http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/hong/341/screen.html) Last picture. Thats me on the left. Blue shirt. I dont have the hair colour anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/27 "2000-03-27T11:14:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly: > **Why do some people bait some vegetarians? One word: entertainment. For some, it’s always fun to cause an apoplectic fit in a fanatic of any stripe. People wouldn’t tease you if you didn’t give them the satisfaction of reacting. > DHR** > > OpalCat responded: > > **I don’t think that being a vegetarian automatically qualifies someone as a “fanatic” anymore than someone belonging to a religion makes them a “fanatic”.** I found your response entertaining. DHR ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/28 "2000-03-27T12:56:00Z")
Count me in the veggie group. There are a number of things that annoy me as a veggie: but this is the most annoying. “God, I don’t know how you people do it. I love steak. A good, bloody steak. mmmmmm…” Here’s how I do it: the concept of eating a steak makes me a little ill. Call it neurosis. So I don’t eat it. It’s easy. I also hate when people start on the “Well, do you drink milk? Isn’t that a form of animal torture? I see you are wearing Doc Martens, aren’t they made of leather…” as if to prove that because I don’t enjoy meat, I am a giant hypocrate. Usually they say this while eating a hamburger. Feh. 5 days till moving day, I’m a little stressed, can ya tell? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/29 "2000-03-27T13:40:00Z")
what is that jello gelitin stuff anyway? ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/30 "2000-03-27T13:50:00Z")
If ingrediants include “Gelatin,” it’s made of animal by-products. If it says “kosher gelatin” or “pectin” it is made of vegetable by-products. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e95f7d/32.png) [@Dr\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Love)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/31 "2000-03-27T14:54:00Z")
You know an animals guts taste so good. Yum, Yum, Yummy. All you people that preach veggie stuff can go to hell, big buncha pansies. And before I kick your butts I will be sure to stick a nice big fat piece of chicken in there first. * * * Dr Love has the answer ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/32 "2000-03-27T15:10:00Z")
Because, Otto, some meat-eaters feel threatened by a person who is - by their own estimate - healthier and more ethical than they are, and cover up for it by trying to make you uncomfortable. Same thing happens when some smokers needle ex-smokers, when some overweight people laugh at swimsuit models, and when some drug-users mock straight arrows. For reasons of their own, they don’t like the choices they’ve made, they don’t want to have to face up to that, so they’re shifting attention away from themselves. FTR, my reaction the first time I met a vegetarian in college was “Gosh, I could never do that. I like meat too much.”, which at least has the benefit of being honest, if not completely ethical. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/33 "2000-03-27T15:21:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Otto: > **Almost to a person, every meat-eater I know has offered up, upon finding out I’m a vegetarian, a rapturous description of how much they love meat. I suppose I’m setting myself up for a string of such descriptions, but those of you who do it (and you know who you are), why? Now, I’m not talking here about taunting people who are self-righteous about their vegetarianism to the point of boorishness. I’m talking about the average vegetarian who politely declines something made of animals by saying they’re vegetarian, and you can’t just let it drop. Why?** Probably the same reason some of my vegetarian coworkers at lunch say stuff like “How can you eat that! It’s so unhealthy” or “Did you know that you have over 5 pounds of undigested meat in your colon?” or “You’d be horrified if you could see inside your intestines” (Which goes without saying). In other words, there are asses in every group: vegetarians, omnivores, breathitarians, etc. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/34 "2000-03-27T16:02:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Take my friend “Jane”. She actually tried to argue the health of eating no meat products WHILE SUCKING DOWN A CAMEL!!! Let’s leave bestiality out of it, shall we? * * * Pardon me while I burst into flames. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/35 "2000-03-27T16:23:00Z")
People _are_ meat. ---
**Author:** ![idiotboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@idiotboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/idiotboy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/36 "2000-03-27T16:31:00Z")
I have an Indian friend who is vegetarian by religion (I guess), however she eats aggs, or things with eggs in them. Now, aren’t eggs meat? Sure they’re not fully grown Chickens, but they’re still animals. ## Anyways, I think this topic goes both ways. I don’t think I’ve ever told her how good meat is or anything, for fear that I might insult her. However, just as I take a bite out of my hamburger, she always has to remind me how cute and fuzzy that cow was. She constantly has to make me feel bad for eating meat. I’m **sorry** if I was raised eating meat, but I like it, it tastes good, and it’s part of my daily source of vitamins and minerals. I really wouldn’t enjoy replacing that juicy steak with a little pill. I want my vitamins, minerals, and fat the old-fashioned way!!! 😃 Roots&Radicals, -ldiot8oy [JerkWaterJive](http://mp3.com/jerkwaterjive) …Ska and Punk never tasted so good together! ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/37 "2000-03-27T16:33:00Z")
On the egg question: Depends on whether you think life begins at conception. ---
**Author:** ![idiotboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@idiotboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/idiotboy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/38 "2000-03-27T16:48:00Z")
The Fetus in the egg is alive, correct? I mean, if the vegetarianism is for religious purposes, as in “Thou shalt not consume any living animal”, eggs should count, right? Like she won’t kill spiders or flies, she always gets upset when animals on TV die, etc, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2000, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/39 "2000-03-27T17:41:00Z")
> [@](#): > > The Fetus in the egg is alive, correct? I mean, if the vegetarianism is for religious > purposes, as in “Thou shalt not consume any living animal”, eggs should count, right? > Like she won’t kill spiders or flies, she always gets upset when animals on TV die, etc, > etc… Is this true? I heard that most eggs we eat are actually unfertilized, or is this a myth? FWIW I’m also a veg except for eggs and milk, yeah I feel a bit guilty and hypocritical for still eating those, but unless yeah want to turn watching your diet into a full time job, or have lots of money, removing these from your diet can be bad news. * * * pweetman ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2000, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208/40 "2000-03-28T06:42:00Z")
Eggs are unfertilized, the hens are not exposed to males (chickens that is). Also what is this term you veggies like to throw around ‘meat eater’ most people I know eat both meat and plants. In fact I am the closest one I know to a meat eater, but still have salid and the occational green veg. (I have been on Atkins for about 7 yrs which limited my choices of plant products, but no problem I love meat, always have, never cared to much for plants). From my side of the fence, it appears that most people can be described as plant and meat eaters or omnivores. Though not personally offended by your choice of words, I feel a politiacl motivation behind that term. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-meat-eaters-compelled-to-tell-vegetarians-how-great-meat-is/15208.md?page=3)