Hi! This is a question for vegans & vegetarians...?!
Hi! This is a question for vegans & vegetarians...?
I have been reading the difference between the Vegans & Vegetarians. When i was reading one friend's answer, I got a doubt. Please clarify this.
When i went to a Subway, i saw how the Sub-way people prepare the sandwiches over there.
They prepare both the meatless and with meat sandwiches at the same time that means, they r touching bread, cheese, meat & all the vegetables with the same gloves at the same time.
They do not make ur sandwich separately because you r a vegetarian OR they do not use separate gloves for cheese & vegtbls.
what i want to ask is:: (1) IS IT OK TO U, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE TOUCHING MEAT & VGTBLS, CHEESE AT THE SAME TIME?
(2) If you r not allowed to eat meat (or whatever the reason may b), then how can you eat the food that was touched by the hands that were in meat?
(3) Is it OK to u if they use the same knife to cut ur sandwich which was just used to cut a meat sandwich?
I really appreciate your answers.
Answers:
I have sat on the fence with this issue quite a bit myself, especially with having worked in several food places in my lifetime. It is gross, and because I do not eat meat, I certainly would not want to eat something that touched meat.
After reading some thoughts from various vegan and vegetarian organizations, I started to think differently on the concept. The following thoughts are from Peta, an organization that many dislike, but if they aren’t strict enough on veganism, than I don’t know who is.
:)
I read articles that said, “Animal safety is more important than personal purity.” In short, it is more important to show corporations like subway (and others that specifically offer ve*an foods that there is indeed a market for those foods, then it is to fret because something that touched animal parts touched my food, and therefore, got into my body.
Supply and demand would dictate that the more vegans who come out and support those choices, the more cruelty-free choices will be made available. The important thing is that no animals are being used or harmed to create your sandwich.
It is still difficult to eat such a thing; I have tossed it around in my head several times. You may have to go through your own neurotic ritual when you take it home (like cutting at least an inch off where the sandwich it cut, but many vegans find it ok to eat the sandwich.
In the end, it is up to you, but I am veg because I care about animals, and because I am trying to lead a life that does not harm others, so I agree with Peta’s logic on this issue. Mind you, this is NOT the same as ordering a pepperoni pizza and picking the meat off, nor is it the same as taking a bite of your brother’s mashed potatoes sitting in steak blood.
I also would not eat at a fast-food burger joint, even if they offered the vegan Happy Meal, simply because their existence is specifically to destroy animals, but I will eat Subway on occasion. If they cut roast beef and I saw them going toward my sandwich, I would ask for a different knife.
If you ask for different materials, many places are nice about it. Pappa Johns pizza always assumes we have dairy allergies and they smile as they make sure our pizza is cut with different cutters.
:)
Good luck on your search.
I'm okay with it. I'm vegan and I try not to make a big deal of it. I don't make people make me seperate meals or make exceptions. I just decline it. I think that's being ignorant and waste-ful. I respect everyone elses desicions when it comes to food as much as I hope they respect mine.
Recent science proves that if you don't eat meat you will die 5 years before your time. Because you can not get the proper nutrition.
i'm not vegan so i don't mind the cheese, but the meat.... well that is why i don't eat at subway. i noticed that a while back. that's why i stopped going. i actually asked and they said that they have policy or something..
that was in chicago.
They HATE me at Subway, I ask them to change gloves and wipe off the knife. My Subway is never busy so I dont have the problem of them touching someone else's sandwich while preparing mine. BUT, I did have that problem in Arizona, and they really couldnt stand me there.
You could see the look on their faces when I would come in, it was like that line in "the Devil Wears Prada":
" alright everybody, gird your loins!"
i used to work at subway and i was asked several times to change gloves before i would begin making their sandwhich for this very reason. it was not a problem at all. and we would also cut our bread before anything went onto it. therefore, it would not touch any meat or cheese.
there's a big difference between vegans and vegetarians.
vegans don't eat any products from animals- therefore, they cant even eat subway sandwiches... unless it's 100% whole-grain and doesn't include egg (chickens). and the cheese comes from milk. so yeah.
and vegetarians basically eat anything but meat, so it doesn't matter.
1. It's not ok to me because I'm a very strict vegetarian. It's illogical, I know, but to me it's like the gloves and knives touching dead humans.
2. I wouldn't.
3. No, I find it pretty disgusting.
By the way, somebody else said that cheese is vegetarian. That's not entirely true; most cheeses use animal rennet to set them, which is extracted from the stomach of calves.
People who only eat Kosher cannot have meat, (cheese, etc..) touch their food. This is the "traditional" definition. Vegans/Vegetarians who don't want meat to touch their food is only personal preference.
I work at a restaruant and we have a policy to wash our hands, change gloves, and use a special set of tools to use when we get a vegetarian/vegan order. It really only takes about an extra 30 secs out of our day, and really every restaruant is just there to satisfy the customer. If there is ever an issue on this just claim that you have an alergy to cheese or something and then they will be forced to change their gloves or whatever
No. For that matter, if i will request non-veg resturants to at least wash their utensils, knives, hands after they touch meat and before they prepare veg food.
This is also for hygiene purposes. Can anyone accept the fact that a knife is used repeatedly (without washing)?
Further, some people are allergic to eggs, fish etc.
If the resturant(s) are not willing to accomodate, I just bring my dollar somewhere else where they appreciate it more.
its simple, I just dont eat at subway or any other fast food place
1) IS IT OK TO U, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE TOUCHING MEAT & VGTBLS, CHEESE AT THE SAME TIME?
-No it's not ok to me, which is is why I don't really go to Subway.
(2) If you r not allowed to eat meat (or whatever the reason may b), then how can you eat the food that was touched by the hands that were in meat?
-I'm a allowed to eat whatever I want, but animal products are not food for me, just as your kitty cat is not food for me.
(3) Is it OK to u if they use the same knife to cut ur sandwich which was just used to cut a meat sandwich?
- See above, you essentially asked the same question three times. No, no, no.
I haven't eaten at subway in quite a while.
Not because of gloves or knives, but
because I don't like the idea of eggs
being in their bread. I'm not saying that
they use eggs but I don't know. I prefer
to err on the side of caution because
I was always sensitive to eggs growing
up. Since I am vegan now, they probably
would make me sick.
The glove and knife thing is a bit trivial to
me because it's almost impossible to
be 100% vegan because of the trace
animal elements found in so many
vegan convenience foods. Unless you
make all food at home you're sure to
ingest a trace of an animal product
anyway at some point and time.
I know other vegans who don't have a
problem with subway. They're not
concerned with how vegan the bread
is or how sterile the employees and
tools are. The strictness of veganism
varies from vegan to vegan.
Some have a " don't ask, don't tell policy"
when it comes to unlabeled food.
I don't like how they use the same gloves etc. I have had subway only once and asked the lady to use clean gloves and she had no problems and the sandwich was yum! I guess dining out it is a bit hard- things like that are going to happen so I just try to make do, but yes when there is an option of course I would prefer better hygiene practices. People in the food industry are actually supposed to use different cutting boards / knives etc anyway for different foods- to stop cross contamination (not for vegetarian reasons but for health reasons).
I eat it anyways. I will never see what happends in the kitchen at restaurants. I can never be sure they are telling the truth when they say stuff isn't made with chicken broth. I just let all the cross contamination stuff slide. Life is too short to be hysterical about small things. I am sure the glue on my envelopes that I lick have animal "stuff" in them. It's not worth the effort of glove changing and knife washing. It just would make people hate vegans and vegetarians. I want people to become vegans and vegetarians! I have to make it look easy.
I am the manager of a full-service restaurant in east TX. I am also a vegetarian and a number of my close friends have severe food allergies. I think that if you have any problems you should ask to speak to the manager, they should fix it, with a smile. But the last time I went to subway I got a jalapeno and mayo (yuck!) sandwich on white bread. I don't eat any of those things. You are better off going to a full service restaurant that has a good reputation-or eat at home.
As others have said ask them to change their gloves (first off). Second I always order a 12-inch and ask them to not split it. This way the only knife that touches my bread is the one that is only used to slice open the bread. I also make it a point to not show up during a rush and have never had anyone give me a problem with this.
BTW, at most Subway's they have one person that handles the meat & cheese and another person that handles only veggies. That helps avoid cross-contamination to start with. If I get *ANY* hint of cross-contamination about to occur I scream
And unless things have changed recently none of the cheese is vegetarian so I avoid it. They do have ONE vegan bread choice, the Italian bread!
it doesn't matter to me. I'm a veggitarian have been for about a year now. im 15 and i love being a veggitarian. i also love eatting at subway. so does that give you a good answer?
Shalom. I think that one of the reasons for the gloves is because that is supposed to more sanitary for the handling of food. But if they are making meat and vegan food together it defeats the purpose. You are with in your rights to ask the preparers to change their gloves and not to use the same utensils to prepare your food. If they don't honor your request, lodge a complaint with the management and refuse to eat that place of business.