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In reply to the discussion: I am a vegetarian. You've known me as a vegetarian for 20 years. Please do not invite me [View all]Lorien
(31,935 posts)and soy, and I'm a vegetarian! I also can't handle much in the way of processed foods, or sugary foods. I hate all of the limitations, but many can't be helped. I usually bring my own dishes when I'm invited somewhere for a meal, and then simply explain that I have a bunch of allergies and hate putting anyone out because of them. That's good enough for most people.
Recently I visited my stepmom in South Africa. She's a foodie who loves everything, especially meat (she makes sounds like she's having an orgasm when she eats. It's a little alarming). She hates doing anything for anyone but herself and hates other people's cooking generally (and mine specifically, though she's never had it), so I bought all of my own groceries and made all of my own meals while I visited her, and took her out to several restaurants. Toward the end of my visit she announced that she realized that she could never tolerate having any friends who were picky eaters. She even became enraged with me when we were on safari because I wasn't eating massive quantities of food like she was every evening. I was eating fish and chicken, which I would never do at home, because South Africans generally don't "do" vegetarian meals, but that wasn't enough for her. When I returned to the U.S., despite having paid her way on Safari, she sent me an email saying that I could never come and visit her again because her alone time out on her reserve is too precious to her. I haven't spoken to her since, and she was really my last "family" member. I was very kind and giving to her while I was there. I spent a small fortune bringing bags and bags of items that she wanted from the U.S.-which she said she would reimburse me for, but never has-and yet she still couldn't tolerate my limited diet to such a degree that I'm now "disinvited" from ever visiting again. I don't know why so many people insist on forcing us to consume stuff that we can't or don't want to consume. Why does it even matter to them?