Difference between revisions of "Dining Out"

Revision as of 02:39, 7 July 2023

In this day and age, Vegan products are very commonly found, both in supermarkets and at restaurants. In most restaurants these days, at least in more urban and developed areas, it's very common to find places that have at least one solid dedicated vegan option (instead of just fries and salads), usually in the form of Impossible/Beyond burgers, though many places also integrate vegan eggs, pancakes, ice creams and milkshakes, bacon egg and cheeses, and so many more.

This is a huge change from just ten years ago, where the best vegan options at most restaurants were just side dishes. Seeing this explosion in Vegan options at restaurants shows that people who want to decrease their cosumption of animal producs is a growing and significant enough market. It's sort of at the point where it's a little weird if a place doesn't have any Vegan options. Even major chains like Burger King and Wendy's are joining in on it, and this could lead to a huge shift in people's eating habits.

Unless you're absolutely starving to death, we advise against eating at a place that doesn't have any Vegan options. Even if you're just getting a baked potato or two slices of toast, any money you spend there helps them keep their doors open, ostensibly telling them that it's fine to keep serving meat, invoking an opportunity cost where a restaurant with a few Vegan options aren't getting that money and this no profit incentive to invest in more Vegan products.

It's strange, because it really isn't all that hard to put an Impossible or Beyond burger on their menus, and their refusal to do so likely stems from an irrational distaste for Veganism, or based on ignorance, thinking that Vegan products aren't profitable enough to put on their menus. Laggards will always be with us, but we also have to make sure we aren't enabling them either.

It's important to note though that mileage varies in terms of the significance of buying vegan at otherwise non-Vegan places; the more invested in Veganism the company is, the more of an effect your purchase there has. The most significant places you can buy from are 100% Vegan establishments if those are available to you, since you may be the one keeping them in business, which allows Vegans to find new places to eat and bring their non-Vegan friends, as well as for non-Vegans who are looking to try Vegan food as a way to cut down or even transition to Veganism. If not, it's more significant to buy at place that clearly have a significant amount of resources dedicated to Vegan options, which would be signified by things like a fairly large and extensive Vegan menu (There are also some restaurants that have a menu just for Vegan options, often the regular menu replaced with Vegan versions), Vegan products being advertised as a selling point of the establishment, and having dedicated equipment to prepare Vegan products.

After this there's a large drop in significance; Buying from your local diner that has a Beyond Burger on their menu isn't going to have a very large effect (maybe not no effect, but it's usually only very slight), since pretty much the only reason why they have a Beyond Burger is not because they care about Vegans, but because they don't want to potentially lose out on business from a group of friends looking for a place to eat, but have a Vegan tagging along with them. If the Beyond Burgers actually do sell a lot at these places, there's a chance they'll add more Vegan options to the menu, but this is extremely unlikely, since Vegans are better off eating at Vegan restaurants, or restaurants that are dedicated to serving Vegans instead of just not wanting to lose out on business.

If you need something quick and cheap in a pinch, Taco Bell is a pretty good option, just get a black bean burrito without cheese for a buck (and it's actually good for you).

Though it might be pretty hard if you don't live in a city or rich suburb, it's always good to support full Vegan places whenever possible. They sometimes have a hard time staying in business, so supporting them would help other Veg-curious folks try the place out by keeping the place running, especially if you're writing online reviews, whether it's on Google, Yelp, or HappyCow.

Places with no good Vegan options

Even though nowadays (in developed areas) it's typical for dining establishments to have at least a few decent Vegan meals that aren't just side dishes, there are of course laggards that still insist on not putting anything even as basic as a Beyond Burger with Daiya cheeze on their menus, even though it would cost them very little, with the only decent Vegan options being side dishes (such as french fries, potatoes, salads), if even that. We can only guess why they don't bother, it could be due to stubbornness, opposition to Veganism, or simply just not believing it to be profitable.

It should be obvious that you shouldn't go to one of these establishments for the aforementioned reasons, and they won't get the message that they're falling behind other restaurants. If you're going out with friends who aren't Vegans, it should be easy to find another place for you all to go with a simple check on HappyCow, which will cause the restaurant without any Vegan options to lose out on some business. If you want to take it a step further, you can email them directly telling them about your concerns, and the reason why you and your friends didn't go there to eat was due to them not having any reliable Vegan options for you.

Here is an example of an email you can send to one of these establishments:

Hello X diner,

When deciding on a place to for my friends and me to eat, we decided against eating at your establishment due to your lack of Vegan options. It is unacceptable in this day and age to not have any reliable options available for Vegans that aren't just side-dishes, especially considering how cheap and easy it would be to do so, and how so many other restaurants have them available. If you refuse to address this problem, we will just continue eating at other places that actually do have Vegan options on their menus. I hope you consider adding options, such as a Beyond Burger with Daiya American Cheeze, or perhaps a tofu scramble for breakfast. Both of these would not cost a lot to add to the menu, and would make my friends and me more likely to visit your establishment in the future.

Thank you.

Of course tailor it to your liking and add details that are relevant to the restaurant at hand. Just be sure to point out the problem of their lack of Vegan options, and how if they don't address it, they will never get the business of you and your friends.