How Do You Cope With Society’s Take on Vegetarians?
One of the biggest problems that vegetarians face is trying to get their friends and family to understand their decision to go meatless. So, unless you are lucky enough to live in one of the rare communities where vegetarianism is common, you may sometimes feel a bit ostracized and otherwise uncomfortable around certain groups of people. This is particularly true if you are eating at a restaurant with some friends or colleagues, as finding a vegetarian choice on the menu can sometimes be a challenge. For these reasons and more, it is always interesting to see how our fellow vegetarians handle feeling as if they are outcasts.
According to BusinessWeek, one vegetarian found a unique way to share his frustrations while also reaching out to other vegetarians through his business. Daniel Berman, who is a real estate broker in the San Francisco Bay area, recently launched a new blog on his website at VeggieReeltor.com on which he wrote an “Open Letter to My Fellow Vegetarians.” It said, in part:
“Why would it matter that you, as a vegetarian, have a real estate agent who is also a vegetarian? Simply stated, it’s a matter of shared values, an approach to life and a way of relating to others. If you’ve been a vegetarian (or vegan) for any length of time, you know what I mean.”
He went on to say, “I believe there is a need for people with my perspective, values and sensibilities, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to offer an alternative…”
Berman isn’t the only one who is publicly sharing his views. The San Francisco Chronicle also recently reported that 5-year-old Beatrice McCartney, who is the daughter of Paul McCartney and vegetarian Heather Mills, was shunned while vacationing in the south of France because of her views.
Apparently, the little girl was lecturing other guests about the foods they were choosing to eat. Said Mills, “Beatrice questions everybody who eats animals. When we were in the south of France, there was a buffet for kids, and by the end of the week no one would sit near us because she would go over and say, ‘Why are you eating that cow’s bottom?’ or ‘Oh, look at that little shrimp with little eyes.”
It’s good to see young vegetarians feeling so passionate about eating healthy and observing the rights of animals.