Saturday, October 3, 2009

How Strict is Strict?

"You know there was egg in that Vegetable Curry Pad Thai you just ate, right?"

Carnivores just love to catch us with statements like this. They say it with a sense of pride and accomplishment, like they've just brought you back down to earth to suffer with the rest of the chicken wing eating masses.

Whenever I find myself in a situation like this, it does happen - not often - but it does happen, I almost always immediately picture the character 'Silas' from the movie 'The DaVinci Code'. You know the one - an insanely strict catholic who is constantly whipping himself and digging all sorts of objects into his flesh.

Should I feel like that for inadvertently eating a product that I'm morally against and quite frankly repulsed by? The answer should be a big 'No'. I feel a little bad and it strengthens my resolve to avoid this situation in the future but by no means do I consider myself a killer of innocent animals. After all, I didn't walk up to a street-meat stand, order a big ol' greasy sausage, eat it then put my hand to my mouth, and shout, all wide-eyed, "Oh my god! I just ate the flesh of an innocent living being!"

I believe when it comes to eating out and putting your faith in the hands of some stranger, you take the chance of inadvertently eating something you didn't expect to. If you notice after it's too late you should merely take note, use it as a wisdom-gaining experience and remember not to order the same dish next time.

Please, when a situation like this happens to you, don't bring out the whip and draw the blood. But, don't stay silent. Inform others of what to look out for. Also, take note of what questions you can and should ask next time.

Now, if you've been duped into eating something that those around you know you are strongly against, I suppose your reaction should be quite different. Then again, if you have friends like that, you may want to reconsider who you hang out with!

In saying that we vegans should stick together and provide as much information to each other as possible, it would be great to hear from you on situations where animal products were inadvertently consumed.

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