Is it unreasonable to expect special food for vegetarians at fast food restaurants?

well one would expect them to strive for increased revenue. since vegetarians are a potential (and sizeable) customer group, one would expect them to offer vegetarian food in accordance with their greed.

I’m vegetarian. I don’t expect fast food places to cater to my choice. But places where I can get a good vegie choice (e.g. Chipotle) will get me as their customer. It’s their choice.

I’m a vegetarian and I agree with you.
It would be nice (for me) if they did, but that’s like going to a steak house and expecting them to have some nice tofu for you. Not all places cater to all people.

Well, the line is not quite so clear. For example, I am not veggie, but I find I often want to eat a veggie meal.

Also, by not marketing those options, you lose a whole potential customer base, which is why more and more restaurants are electing to add vegetarian options.

I don’t really care if fast food restaurants do, because they are not healthy for anyone, and I wish they would just go away altogether.

They’re only doing it for the money, they could care less what vegetarians want.

I realize why the fast food places do offer the vegetarian options, what I’m more concerned about in this question is how vegetarians just automatically expect everyone to cater to them.

I don’t expect anyone to design a menu for me – restaurant or individual. I think your premise is flawed.

(I merely choose where to eat based on whether or not they have a vegetarian option that I want. I suppose that creates a financial incentive for them to design a menu that I like, but I hardly think that counts as “demanding” an option. When eating at someone’s house, I eat side dishes if the main dish is a meat.)

@syz I agree with you. I choose a restaurant based on what they serve, I don’t walk into any random Taco Bell and demand a pizza because I’m italian, I go to Pizza Hut.

The customer is always right. Sometimes I go to a Chinese restaurant and then want a nice steak and surprisingly they will tell me they don’t have any. The last time I went to the rodeo, they weren’t playing even one aria from Carmen. I went to the museum on Saturday and I was shocked they didn’t have a waterslide!

@J0E: Come on, why would you act like “vegetarians” believe this when you have a thread full of vegetarians who just said they don’t?

Some vegetarians expect to be catered to, it’s true. Similarly, last weekend I went to a dinner party where a woman showed up who was lactose intolerant. She expected the hosts to design a separate menu for her!

This isn’t about being a vegetarian or being lactose intolerant. Some people are jerks who expect to be catered to. So yeah, sometimes those jerks will be vegetarians, but—here’s the important part!—not all vegetarians are jerks. I swear.

@J0E Why the hostility towards vegetarians? You’ve just had 2 vegetarians in 2 minutes tell you that they don’t except it. Perhaps it’s time to change your view of vegetarians?

There is always the salad and several side dishes w. no meat. You can eat the way you want anywhere. without causing a rumpus.

Sometimes I will call a restaurant ahead of time to check the menu. And when I dine at friends’ homes, I eat what I can, without any discussion.

You shouldn’t expect any fast food place to carry vegetarian alternatives, just as I wouldn’t go to a Japanese place and expect them to have hamburgers for me.

no. everyone should be catered to at all times, and if they’re not, well, that place of business should be sued and ridiculed.~

just a salad…..just a salad….

@Likeradar I’m not being hostile, this question is based off something I heard a vegetarian friend say. I just thought it was kind of rude to expect such treatment.

In my defense, 2 vegetarians is hardly enough to base any judgment on.

@Sarcasm That is exactly what I am getting at.

It depends on the restaurant, if you are talking about a small local burger joint, then it may make sense for them just to make burgers and not offer a vegetarian option. If, on the other hand, you are talking about a huge national chain, then that is a corporation for whom it makes more financial sense to offer vegetarian options. They have a financial incentive to offer something for everyone. Finally, if they have a monopoly position on a toll road service area, then they probably should serve vegetarian options since they are being given a special privilege by the state to provide food for all travelers.

@J0E And one vegetarian saying so makes it enough to base a judgment on?

@Likeradar I’m not making any judgment on vegetarians as a whole.

I don’t expect fast food to carry a veg alternative, but it would be nice if the ones that already serve salads would leave the cheese off, put it on the side and they can serve vegans, and me for that matter. I hate cheese on salad.

There are plenty of times when vegetarians end up at fast food places not because that’s their restaurant of choice, but because they’re with a group and don’t want to impose on everyone else the hassle of finding a vegie-friendly place. I can’t count how many times I’ve found myself eating fries for lunch with a bunch of work colleagues. If those places had a vegie option, they would have sold more than fries. But again, my expectations aren’t the issue.

it’s a private business, they don’t have to cater to anyone what so ever. would it be reasonable to insist a Vegan resturant serve me a steak because I’m a meat eater and I don’t want to impose? no, absolutely not.

It is a matter of supply and demand. If enough people wanted vegetarian dishes then they would get them. McDonald’s had a veggie burger at one time. It was a disaster. I would imagine that fast food restaurants in India have vegetarian choices.

I’m a veg and have been since 1990. I don’t expect fast foods, or any other restaurant to have to accommodate my diet. It just seems like good business sense to do so in many parts of the country. I don’t know of many vegetarians who are that demanding either. My question to you, @J0E, is what do you have against vegetarians?

I’d say its totaly fair to not have a vegi option a restaurants menu is a choice made by the establishment…most places cater for vegetarians as there’s quite a few of the buggers around and if they didn’t the’yd be missing out on revenue…in my opinion people can serve what they like..no ones forcing anyone to eat there that doesn’t want to…However I don’t feel vegetarians shouldnt kick up a fuss if they arnt catered for as its entirely their choice to not to eat meat…if i decide to eat only i dunno nuts or something i cant walk into any restaurant and expect them to cater to my whim when they are trying to make money best way they can

Really, the question is what exactly did your “vegetarian friend” say that has you thinking all vegetarians have an attitude? Is this really about expecting vegetarian food at all restaurants, or is it about lamenting the general lack of good vegetarian options? I live in a town where I can’t get a good meal of any kind, and I complain about it. It took me a long time to find a place to get a decent steak, and I complained about that too. Why shouldn’t vegetarians complain when they don’t have options? It also makes sense to tell the manager at the restaurant, maybe they would feature some vegetarian choices if they knew how many patrons wanted them.

@AstroChuck Nothing.

I agree with you only because usually vegetarians are all about all natural… and well, they shouldn’t be at a fast food place anyway.

@wickedbetty I, for one, am absolutely not about “all natural”. Many vegetarians aren’t vegetarians for their health, they just don’t want animals to die for their meal. Personally, my compassion doesn’t extend to chemical additives and refined foods.

actually to add to this topic ,,i worked in a few kitchens and always cooked chips and veg option in a different pan or fryer but over 5 establishments I am the only person to do this…are vegetarians aware that most of their veggi food is cooked in meat fat or a pan that has previously held meat?

@noodle_poodle Oh, yes, I always assume that’s the case. In fact, I’m surprised to hear that you were so considerate.

I’m not horrified at the idea of some animal matter getting into me. As I said, I just don’t want my meals to be the cause of some animal getting whacked.

I thought being a vegetarian was about being healthy? Why would they want to eat at a fast food restaurant?
And to answer the question, no.

My sister has been vegan for 20 years, because of cruelty to animal reasons. Only in the last 2 or 3 years did she start getting concerned about organic and stuff like that. My aunt is lacto-ovo, but again does not eat meat for humane reasons, she doesn’t cae much about health, she’ll eat ice cream for lunch and smoke a pack a day. My dad is close to vegetarian for health reasons, but cheats with meat on holidays. Even so, I don’t think we worry about organic at a fast food anyway. Plenty of meat eaters also care about organic and free range, etc.

Since I can’t stand vegetarians, absolutely it is unreasonable.

@Parrappa Way to generalize.
@Facade Many people are vegetarians for reasons other than health. For me personally, its about not wanting to support animal abuse.

Here is the specific quote that triggered this question: “It’s so unfair that vegetarians are undercatered for in most places.”

I think if restaurants in general made better vegetables it would be a welcome change to vegetarians and meat eaters. Even if a vegetarian has to wind up just getting three “sides” it should be tasty. Here in the south they boil green beans until they are falling apart—yuck. Forget about that they put pork in with the green beans. The last time I ordered steamed green beans at Outback they came with melting butter on them…I think that is deceptive. At Firebird, I think it was, I ordered cooked Spinach and it was greasy with oil. It is so annoying. Stuffed mushrooms, also way more fat than necessary. I guess now I am just complaining about the restaurant industry in general.

@JOE I suppose my question to you is this: What does it hurt to expect vegetarian options at restaurants?

And just an FYI to be completely apparent here. I am a meat-eater and don’t really ‘understand’ the vegetarian reasoning as I have a different cultural belief system. However I just don’t see how it hurts anything unless they are forcing you to eat those vegetarian meals.. which they aren’t.

My view on restaurants is this, they can serve whatever they want and however they want. I can’t tell Microsoft or AT&T how to run their business, why should a restaurant be any different. I’m the one with the choice, no one is forcing me to eat the food they offer. In fact, I respect restaurants more when they refuse to change their menus. Burger King is my favorite fast food becuase they want to make big greasy burgers and by god that’s what they do. If I didn’t want that I would choose somewhere else.

Restaurants change their menus to attract a bigger audience of people. They make more money this way. More vegetarians in the world, add vegetarian options. Makes business sense.

@RedPowerLady Right, I understand that, it is smart and the places that offer those options are great but they shouldn’t be expected to.

@J0E- Sorry to disappoint you but Burger King offers the BK Veggie on the menu.

@AstroChuck I know, they also offer the 1160 calorie triple Whopper.

Isn’t that cannabilism, to serve vegetarians?

@ i guess its often the fact that you could never complain about not being able to order a bacon sandwich at a vegetarian cafe and yet vegetarians expect a vegi option at a burger king….i have seen minimal evidence of this idiocy but still i will agree it does exist…...its part if that odd ilk of…black comedians can make white people jokes but you sure dont see any white comedians making a living off black people jokes ,.....its just life and the way society works at present

@noodle_poodle Your logic is flawed, burger king is not a meat eaters restaurant that is designed to provide options for people who have moral and health-related objections to eating vegetables. In fact, most people who aren’t vegetarians do eat vegetables. Burger King is a large chain restaurant that, along with other of its ilk are often easier to find/get to than a strictly vegetarian restaurant. They also, as I and others have noted, have good business reasons to include vegetarian fare, which they do. They just do it poorly, but that should come as no surprise since they do burgers poorly too.

@gussnarp Blasphemy!

I think it is unreasonable of anyone to expect to be accommodated in all respects anywhere they go. It is amazing to me that people can make individual choices that set them apart and then expect to be treated as if everyone else were the same as they. If you want something that doesn’t suit the majority, go where the majority doesn’t go.

Why wouldn’t a vegetarian want to help restaurants that cater to vegetarians stay in business instead of giving the profits to a meat-based establishment?

@gussnarp sigh your not pointing out the flaw in my logic at all there

@noodle_poodle OK, let me rephrase. Burger King is a ubiquitous restaurant that wants to serve everyone, and at which some people just assume that anyone (say a friend that is going to lunch with them) wouldn’t mind eating. A vegetarian restaurant serves an underserved niche market who might otherwise not be able to find the kind of food they want. Complaining about the lack of vegetarian options at BK is simply not comparable to complaining about a lack of meat options at a vegetarian restaurant. I might also add that I have been to a lot of vegetarian friendly restaurants, and they all served meat. Purely vegetarian restaurants are very rare indeed. But if you don’t see the flaw in your reasoning already, this probably won’t help.

Save a plant, eat a cow.

well i could argue but frankly i cant be arsed…eat where ever you like it all gets fried in animal fat and fag ash any ways

I don’t expect fast food places to have vegetarian food. I prefer to go eat where they do have some. But I don’t expect them, it would be nice if there was. But no.

I am not a vegetarian but I often eat a lettuce, tomato and french fry sandwich for lunch.
You can get that pretty much everywhere you go. And I know I should skip the fries, but if you just eat a couple in your sandwich, it satisfies the need for grease in a less harmful fashion!!!

@rooeytoo – Do they call them french fries in Aussieland? I always imagined they called them chips as they do in the UK.

Joe, this was a good premise for a discussion and all, but you’re last two questions have consisted of you telling people what they believe, then telling them why they shouldn’t believe it.

@Ivan What? I asked a question and then wrote my view, the rest of the thread I spent defending and describing it. Your way off on my previous question, I think you should reread it.

I think you’re mistaking me answering my own question for “telling people what to believe”.

@AstroChuck – yep they are called chips, but I translated it so all the yanks would know what I am talking about!

I wonder what southerners think about being called Yanks? Now that is way off subject.

@J0E

I can’t believe you believe giraffes are purple, that’s really stupid.

@Ivan I have read this (and my previous) question up and down, where am I doing this?

@J0E

I had forgotten about a couple of your questions, I was referring to this one and the ‘g-d’ one.

‘Why is it that vegetarians think restaurants should cater just to them, that’s stupid.’
‘Why do some atheists refuse to spell out the word god, as if they hate even saying the word, that’s stupid.’

Maybe it would help if you could give me a specific example.

“what I’m more concerned about in this question is how vegetarians just automatically expect everyone to cater to them.”

“I guess what I was trying to get at was why some atheists write it, like even just spelling the word out disgusts them.”

I’m directing people to what I was getting at with the question, I’m not calling anyone names or making judgments. If anything I am guilty of using blanket statements such as ‘atheists’ and ‘vegetarians’ but I didn’t tell anyone what to believe.

Stop nitpicking.

I didn’t say you were telling people what to believe, I said you were telling people what they do believe. Let them tell you what they believe.

Someone got on me for wording a question badly, that I was leading the answers. I think people are smart enough to figure it out. In fact I know they are, because the answers were fine, the particular person was just offended by the question I think.

@rooeytoo thanks for the translation, I appreciate you thinking of us ‘American’ speakers

@YARNLADY – No worries Matey!

Matey?

sort of a diminutive or familiar version of Mate.

or a left over from talk like a pirate day!!!

Well, there isn’t anything I have to say that hasn’t already been said. I am not a vegetarian who expects restaurants to cater to me. I did, however, once walk out of a restaurant that had previously had a vegetarian option which they then removed from the menu. I do not expect to be catered to any more than I imagine a kosher person expects to be catered to. I have noticed that restaurants tend to be inconvenienced when someone with dietary restrictions whether by choice or by need request a modification to a dish. I have a good friend who cannot eat dairy or eggs or else she will get violently ill. Well, cheese, eggs and butter lurk damn near everywhere. Is it unreasonable to expect a restaurant to modify a dish for her?

Also, @J0E, not all vegetarians are like that. In fact, most of the vegetarians I know, myself included, try to be as non-confrontational as possible about food choices. I catch a lot of hell for not eating meat for multiple reasons. If I go to a restaurant where there are a lot of meatless dishes, I can order one without it being strange or people asking me why I’m eating that. The vegetarian you know who expects restaurants to serve many veggie dishes is a complainer and an idiot. People with allergies don’t complain, we certainly have no right to.

On an unrelated note, my boyfriend always orders a meatless appetizer so that we can share. One time, the nachos came with bacon bits and he was heartbroken because I had been so excited about them. :)

@KatawaGrey Good point, the menu helps you choose, and when it is changed you should simply leave

@KatawaGrey Just because I said “vegetarians” doesn’t mean I’m talking about every single vegetarian on the face of the Earth, it’s just a manner of speaking.

i think it’s the restaurants’ decision. as a vegetarian of like 5 or so years, i don’t expect restaurants to serve vegetarian meals. if they don’t have anything meatless, i just get a salad, which is usually available, or i ask for a dish but without the meat.
the other day i ordered a chicken/tomato/basil sandwich without the chicken. i got a strange look from the waitress, but they were fine with it, and i liked it.
though it’d definitely be awesome if more restaurants offered more vegetarian meals – just as someone who drinks coffee would want all restaurants to offer it – but it’s not my main concern.

Here is the famous (or infamous) scene with a young Jack Nicholson (1970) at a diner. He is trying to order an omelet and dry whole wheat toast.

Five Easy PIeces diner scene

@J0E: Well, then perhaps you should have said what you meant. Generalizations could get you in a lot of trouble in the future.

@gailcalled I know we were supposed to see Nicholson as the hero of the scene, fighting for his rights, the rebel against conformity. I always felt sorry for the waitress and thought he was kind of a jerk. <;P

@galileogirl: I agree, particularly in context of the entire movie. It was almost forty years ago, however, and being able to order dry toast in a diner did not seem unreasonable. But I do still remember the scene, for all its lack of subtlety.

I don’t think most vegetarians “expect” fast food restaurants or any other type of restaurant to serve vegetarian food. But restaurants that do, are mindful of catering to a wider audience and therefore have a potential to make more money and are more likely to have more satisfied customers. Not all people that choose vegetarian food option are vegetarians. Some people prefer the veg option because it is more healthy. Just because it’s fast, doesn’t mean it has to be made with animal products or be unhealthy. The new smart entreprenuers of the future will be the folks that are able to make fast food (and other restaurant food) delicous, healthy, sustainable and affordable. That’s a win-win situation for everyone.