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Vegan Bacon Drives Family Apart And Leaves Woman Conflicted Whether She Should Apologize
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Vegan Bacon Drives Family Apart And Leaves Woman Conflicted Whether She Should Apologize

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Even if you get along perfectly with your partner, it doesn’t mean that you’ll hit it off with their family.

Reddit user Background_Egg7703 thought she had found common ground with her boyfriend’s relatives. However, after she went vegan, a conflict arose with his stepdad during one dinner over their diets. It quickly blew out of proportion, putting stress on their relationship.

In a post on the subreddit ‘Am I the [Jerk]?‘ she shared that it got to a point where she no longer knows who is to blame for all of this. Her story illustrates just how important it is to try and stay empathetic towards the people around you.

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    This woman went vegan and everything seemed fine until one dinner with her in-laws

    Image credits:  Mariana Medvedeva (not the actual photo)

    During it, she and her stepdad-in-law got into an argument in front of everyone about meat eating

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    Image credits: Cocobols (not the actual photo)

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    Image credits:  cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

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    Image credits: jm_video (not the actual photo)

    Image credits: Background_Egg7703

    Sometimes it seems that vegans and meat eaters have an inherent contempt for one another

    Dr. Matt Ruby is a professor at La Trobe University who specializes in the psychology of food choices. He thinks that situations like this one are somewhat common.

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    “Some people on both sides are very determined to take things personally,” Ruby told Insider.

    Recently, the term “vegan” has itself been subject to controversy, as more people opting out of animal products choose to identify as “plant-based” instead to avoid stigma and cultural baggage attached to veganism.

    Part of the reason why these conversations are so confrontational is that there is a lot of politics involved.

    According to Ruby, food choices reflect not only deep divides in culture and ethics but also shared anxieties about our collective future and identities.

    Both sides usually argue that their way is the most natural way for humans to eat

    A common argument for (or against) meat-eating is based on how humans evolved, and whether we were meant to be herbivores or omnivores based on our biology and physiology.

    When most people argue about dietary choices, they tend to focus on basic principles known as the 4 Ns — natural, normal, necessary, and nice. This means that omnivores look for evidence that meat-eating is ancestrally or biologically appropriate for humans, that it’s important and accepted in our culture, that we need meat (or plant-based) diets for optimal health, and that it’s just plain enjoyable and giving it up would be unpleasant.

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    In reality, there is no concrete evidence that either a plant-based or omnivorous diet is superior to the other. Most nutritionists and medical experts agree that a balanced diet of mainly whole foods is a healthy way to eat, whether or not that includes some animal products.

    While red meat and processed meat have been scrutinized for their role in chronic disease, poultry, seafood, and cheese are generally regarded as fine, as long as they’re consumed in moderation.

    It’s important to note that a natural, or ancestral, approach to dieting isn’t necessarily the ideal either.

    “I don’t find that particularly helpful — natural doesn’t mean better,” Ruby said. “Earthquakes are natural, black plague was natural.”

    Beyond personal preference, however, what we eat does matter for how we perceive ourselves, and how we want other people to perceive us; our diet is a component of our identity.

    Hopefully, Background_Egg7703 and her step-dad-in-law as well as the rest of us find a way to sit peacefully at the table.

    As people started reacting to the woman’s story, she joined the discussion in the comments section

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    Many said that she did nothing wrong

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    But some believe that everyone involved could’ve handled things better

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    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

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    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

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    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Rokas Laurinavičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

    Mantas Kačerauskas

    Mantas Kačerauskas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

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    As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, I indulge in the joy of curating delightful content, from adorable pet photos to hilarious memes, all while nurturing my wanderlust and continuously seeking new adventures and interests—sometimes thrilling, sometimes daunting, but always exciting!

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    Mantas Kačerauskas

    Mantas Kačerauskas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    As a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, I indulge in the joy of curating delightful content, from adorable pet photos to hilarious memes, all while nurturing my wanderlust and continuously seeking new adventures and interests—sometimes thrilling, sometimes daunting, but always exciting!

    What do you think ?
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    POST
    Zedrapazia
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was full on ready to say NTA, it's ridiculous to make such a fuss about vegan food (I myself don't particularly like it, but when with a vegan friend I'll eat it nonetheless), but she's not truthfully translating the German words right. Leichenteile is not body parts (that would be Körperteile), it would mean corpse pieces, and Leiche is also not just body, but corpse. Overall, the word tone is therefore much more aggressive and the used language also more judgemental, so I can see why the in-laws found this a bit unappealing. I still think the whole thing is blown out of proportion, but I'd have gotten annoyed too if I ate some meat and someone comes around to tell me I'm devouring corpse pieces.

    Mary Lou
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    More over the word for dead animal corpse in German is "Kadaver". The words "Leiche" or "Leichenteile" are only ever used for human bodys. In other word's: OP used a wrong word on purpose making it sound like FIL was basically a cannibal. I got lots of vegan friends and I got to say if they felt the need to guilt trip me like that, I'd be pissed off too.

    Load More Replies...
    sturmwesen
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    While DIL seems like a handfull OP seems unnecessary confrontational. Leichenteile suggests a lot of guilt tripping and a holier than thou attitude. A simple "we wanted vegan options you can either eat them or eat the non vegan option, we wont force you" would be enough.

    DC
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    ... you can get sick of being the polite one in a purposefully hostile environment. There is that type of meat eater who takes the burden of making every place they attend hostile to any vegetarian or even vegan, who tells the same old unfunny jokes that haven't changed since 30 years, and declares every vegan food even hardly resembling anything that may be made out of meat "unnecessary" - "Why make vegan sausage? There already IS sausage!". They spill their wisdoms about any and every option we get, but, although hating strawberries, never take objection that another kind of strawberry icecream is introduced. Being polite among them, at some point, evolves into self-denial. They have it coming at times, like SFIL here.

    Load More Replies...
    PFD
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When you get into a values-based disagreement with someone and then choose to use the most laden language, of course it's going to escalate, and that's on you. You might think it's just accurate language, but that's (in the logical sense) question-begging. It's like someone referring to killing unborn children in an abortion debate - it reflects what they think is the reality but obviously makes it clear you think the other person's choices are foul. Of course that's likely to cause offence and it's disingenuous to be upset when it does. And that goes double if the person you're talking to is an a*****e already looking for a reason to be offended. It's not about whether *they're* an a*****e, that's not something you can control.

    Load More Comments
    Zedrapazia
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was full on ready to say NTA, it's ridiculous to make such a fuss about vegan food (I myself don't particularly like it, but when with a vegan friend I'll eat it nonetheless), but she's not truthfully translating the German words right. Leichenteile is not body parts (that would be Körperteile), it would mean corpse pieces, and Leiche is also not just body, but corpse. Overall, the word tone is therefore much more aggressive and the used language also more judgemental, so I can see why the in-laws found this a bit unappealing. I still think the whole thing is blown out of proportion, but I'd have gotten annoyed too if I ate some meat and someone comes around to tell me I'm devouring corpse pieces.

    Mary Lou
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    More over the word for dead animal corpse in German is "Kadaver". The words "Leiche" or "Leichenteile" are only ever used for human bodys. In other word's: OP used a wrong word on purpose making it sound like FIL was basically a cannibal. I got lots of vegan friends and I got to say if they felt the need to guilt trip me like that, I'd be pissed off too.

    Load More Replies...
    sturmwesen
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    While DIL seems like a handfull OP seems unnecessary confrontational. Leichenteile suggests a lot of guilt tripping and a holier than thou attitude. A simple "we wanted vegan options you can either eat them or eat the non vegan option, we wont force you" would be enough.

    DC
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    ... you can get sick of being the polite one in a purposefully hostile environment. There is that type of meat eater who takes the burden of making every place they attend hostile to any vegetarian or even vegan, who tells the same old unfunny jokes that haven't changed since 30 years, and declares every vegan food even hardly resembling anything that may be made out of meat "unnecessary" - "Why make vegan sausage? There already IS sausage!". They spill their wisdoms about any and every option we get, but, although hating strawberries, never take objection that another kind of strawberry icecream is introduced. Being polite among them, at some point, evolves into self-denial. They have it coming at times, like SFIL here.

    Load More Replies...
    PFD
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When you get into a values-based disagreement with someone and then choose to use the most laden language, of course it's going to escalate, and that's on you. You might think it's just accurate language, but that's (in the logical sense) question-begging. It's like someone referring to killing unborn children in an abortion debate - it reflects what they think is the reality but obviously makes it clear you think the other person's choices are foul. Of course that's likely to cause offence and it's disingenuous to be upset when it does. And that goes double if the person you're talking to is an a*****e already looking for a reason to be offended. It's not about whether *they're* an a*****e, that's not something you can control.

    Load More Comments
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