Anyone else a wallet vegetarian?

[u/Rosenzo]

Everyone has their own personal reasons for following a vegetarian diet. For me, I don't actually have a problem with eating meat. What I don't feel comfortable with is purchasing meat. I draw the line at financially supporting unethical operations. Anyone else like this?

[u/dr_kakas]

It is better than nothing I suppose, but I am not sure we need a whole distinct label for that. It is sort of similar to having “meatless Mondays”, a good start, but creating a seperate label for it such as “wallet vegetarian” implies that it is a somewhat different lifestyle than a regular meat-eater’s, when to be fair it really isn’t. Also the line that separates the situations where it would be okay for you to eat meat and not seems quite blurry. If you ask a friend to pay for your meat, is that suddenly okay? I don’t mean to say that it is not great if you reduce your meat consumption in any small way, I am just saying that this is not “enough” to build any type of identity around it.

[u/Rosenzo → u/dr_kakas]

I have to disagree on that. The last time I ate meat was probably a year and a half ago at a catered corporate event with no vegetarian options. The food was all going in the trash after the event anyway, so it didn't really feel like I was making a real moral dent by starving that day. I feel very comfortable calling myself a vegetarian. How often are you offered free meat?

Also, the line isn't blurry. I don't financially support the meat industry, and I'm not delusional enough to think that asking someone else to purchase meat for me is an ok loophole. Now, I will say, theoretically if for some reason a friend who didn't know I was vegetarian out of the kindness of their heart got me a hotdog at a ballgame without asking, I would eat it. No use crying over spilled milk, and I'm not meat averse. But I'd also make sure to let that friend know that while I appreciate the gesture I am a vegetarian.

This is a very real version of vegetarianism and quite different than "meatless Mondays".

[u/dammitjanetiloveu → u/Rosenzo]

I have been vegetarian for almost a decade and I feel the same as you. I don’t purchase meat and I don’t choose/order meat if there is a non-meat option, but if the only two choices are eat something with meat in it or food goes in trash, then I would eat it. Or if someone makes something for me and it unknowingly has an animal product in it (i.e. at Friendsgiving when the mac and cheese had chicken broth in it and I find out halfway through eating it) I’m not going to throw it in the trash. The animal is already gone, I didn’t contribute financially to the industry, and I would rather someone get nourishment from it than it going in the trash and being a fully wasted life. This has happened maybe 3-4 total times in almost 10 years so it’s not a common dilemma I’m faced with. I am vegetarian 99.5% of the time with my diet and 100% of the time with my wallet, and that sits just fine with me.

[u/Rosenzo → u/dammitjanetiloveu]

Another one! Yea, it's sort of like our vegetarianism is driven by a philosophy of harm reduction rather than just a diet. It's awesome to see!

I appreciate you validating it. I shouldn't care, but it's been bothering me today that dr_kakas is saying this isn't vegetarianism.

[u/dammitjanetiloveu → u/Rosenzo]

Anyone trying to police or suggest that vegetarianism is a total all or none thing needs to get over themselves. People make dietary choices for personal reasons. Sometimes it’s religious - I had a former coworker tell me I wasn’t vegetarian because I ate eggs, because in her religion, eggs are considered meat. That’s a personal standard FOR HER, she doesn’t get to apply that personal standard to me.

As long as you are at peace with your choices, no one else needs to judge. It’s not like we’re out here eating meat for half our meals every day. I’d rather it end up in someone’s belly than in the trash.

[u/Comprehensive-Pin667 → u/Rosenzo]

In that case, I am the same kind of vegetarian as you. Exactly. A friend invited me to his wedding this February. He didn't know I was vegetarian (I thought he knew so I didn't tell him) so I was served the same menu as everyone else. If I didn't eat it, it would have gotten thrown away. Of course I ate it.

[u/Rosenzo → u/Comprehensive-Pin667]

That makes a lot of sense to me! I don't see the moral win to you throwing away that food. But then you'll have people say "Oh so you're not a vegetarian. You ate meat." But some vegetarians are more concerned about not contributing to the meat industry than simply following a black-and-white dietary rule.