Dear lord, creator of kale, cashews and avocados...give me strength!!
So here's a little story:
I was talking to a friend about how a few vegan restaurants are closing down and how sad this was. We're in a time where more vegan restaurants are needed, not less!
Unbeknownst to me was that a friend of hers, a mere passer-by in the conversation, was listening and was obviously NOT vegan which was made evident by the next thing that came out of her mouth:
"Vegan restaurants are closing because they don't cater to people who eat meat. They need to cater to them too! Our restaurants have vegan options for you, you should have meat options for us! Those restaurants are closing, because they are losing customers because we can't eat at your restaurant"
Now, you must understand, I was originally talking to a friend who is not vegan, but is very much open to the idea of transitioning and was very sympathetic to my current news. But being suddenly flash-bombed by this new person's comment which can mildly be described as incredibly ridiculous (ok, there is no mild way), caught me completely off guard and I admit I was at a loss for words for a good 3 seconds and my mind tried to comprehend this backwards logic.
Once my mind stopped buffering and I was able to get a hold of my thoughts, I did mention that they CAN eat at our restaurants. They CAN eat plant-based foods. But we *CAN'T eat meat, so it makes no sense to say we don't cater to them.
*Just to insert here, I got a lot of back lash from holier-than-though vegans who said I should watch my language and say we 'choose not to' eat meat rather than we 'can't' eat it. Because we technically CAN eat it, but we make a conscious choice not too. Unless you're allergic.
Listen people: potay-toes, potah-toes. We all know what I mean. And quite frankly, nit-picking on choice of words if just the kind of militant vegan malarkey that non-vegans hate us for. And F.Y.I, if you've ever accidentally eaten meat or dairy after years of being vegan can play hell on your digestive system. So can I eat it? No, I CAN NOT! It will make me sick!
My very clear, and obviously logical response set, she insisted that I was wrong and business are closing because they need to cater to everyone and they don't get enough business. That a vegan restaurant should have a meat dish option or those who want to eat meat.
I repeated that the theory was unsound and didn't make sense, and then she started rambling on numbers and math about what happens when 6 people go to a restaurant, 1 is vegan, a priest, a rabbi and a hooker walk into a bar, two cars are going in opposite directions at 80 miles an hour and someone has a package standing over a bridge...I dunno...honestly I stopped listening and she just started sounding like those adults on Charlie Brown where all you hear is muffled trumpet noise. Nothing out of her mouth made sense.
Now, since she was a friend of my friend, we were in an enclosed space, her voice was reaching dangerous decibels levels and the then tension was building to the point that I felt any sudden movement or retort on my behalf was going to cause this girl to explode like Katie-Ka-Boom (bonus points if you know who that is).
At the end, I just stared at her like I was looking at some oddity at a Ripley's museum where you think "How the hell does this weird and messed-up thing exist?" then regret ever buying a ticket to go in and start to look at the world in an eerie new light. My best choice was to shrug and say something along the lines of "Damn, I hope this weather clears up"
She might have thought she won this round, but honestly, I felt it was for my own well-being to step back and not allow myself to be pulled into this black-hole of nonsense.
Of course there is much to be argued against her point of view. Vegan restaurants should cater to flesh-eaters? It's like going into an Indian restaurant and demanding they have guacamole on the menu for those who are on a strict Hass diet. Or going into a Japanese restaurant looking for a wax specialist and then the whole industry dismantles because they couldn't accommodate the massive clientele and their desperate need for Brazilians!
The point is, I don't think she's ever hear of a market niche. And people need to understand that there is a huge demographic in the vegan market niche. Not just for food, but for everything else! (hence why I opened a vegan shop) And they are going to need to accept that there is a demand for it, as it should be. And not to be afraid of a little 'faux' chicken or soy milk.
And to put to rest the reason WHY the restaurants are closing? Leases were up, and the new rents are too high. So unfortunately, small business like those are going away, but hopefully not forever. And it's not just vegan restaurants. There are hundreds, thousands of restaurants all over that go out of business for so many reasons. This is not an exclusive experience.
Meanwhile, business like Planta keep growing exponentially into high end sectors bringing in masses of new business without having to offer a single piece of animal product anywhere in their establishments.
Well, the point of my post was...what was my point? Not sure. It might have just been a rant. But hopefully you can find some points in here to put up in a debate with the next yahoo who thinks Sushi restaurants need to offer bikini waxes.