Things You Should Never Say to a Vegetarian

"Just try a little bite..."
Offering meat or animal parts of any kind to a vegetarian is likely to make the vegetarian feel quite uncomfortable. This includes "little pieces" of meat such as bits of real bacon on top of a salad.

If you are ever in a situation where you are unsure whether you should offer a certain food to a vegetarian, remember the following rule. If a food were offered to you that contained human meat or human derived parts of any kind, would you be offended (or worse)? Many vegetarians feel the same way about non-human animal meat or animal-derived ingredients as you would feel about eating any part of another sentient human animal.

All sentient animals feel pain and have the ability to experience suffering. Many people empathize and choose not to engage in behavior, such as eating animals, that perpetuates this pain and suffering.

"Do you get enough protein?"
Do you? Unless you know exactly how much protein a person of a given size and activity level is supposed to get each day, then you do not know whether you are getting the correct amount of protein. You may be consuming too much or too little protein as a meat-eater, both of which can cause health problems.

It is a fallacy that meat is the only (or best) way to consume protein. There are a lot of vegetarian foods that have substantial amounts of protein, such as beans, nuts, and grains. Think of the everyday foods you probably eat that contain fair amounts of protein: peanut butter; spaghetti; refried beans; and many cereals.

"I'm so sorry I'm eating this steak in front of you."
Admittedly, the person who says such a thing is probably trying to be polite and sympathize with the vegetarian's feelings. The intention may be good, but the way it is likely to make the vegetarian feel is anything but good.

In response to such an apology for eating meat, the vegetarian may feel awkward about making you feel bad. Many vegetarians have come to a personal choice not to eat meat that works for them, but they are not evangelical vegetarians. You are free (within reason) to choose to do what makes you feel good about yourself and the world.

Which brings us to another problem with this type of apology. If you were truly sorry for eating meat, you would choose to be vegetarian or at least not eat meat in front of a vegetarian. Please do not apologize unless you really mean it. And, if you do really mean it, consider changing your actions to match your words.