Is a vegetarian diet that hard a concept to understand?

Why not decline an invitation to dinner and save the hostess from a headache ?
DD has been a vegetarian for thirty years and does not give anyone grief, she happily provides meat for us when staying with her.

Jalima1108 Yes, in this country, and it has happened more than once. This is where there is a set meal, not a choice from a menu - usually my husband's work 'do'. Ia gree mutton is not often seen these days although, I gather from TV chefs that it is making a come-back in some areas.

I find it very interesting. I have had many vegetarian friends, and although I eat pretty much everything, I respect their feelings and if/when they visit, I prepare a veggie meal to the best of my ability. The thing about parmesan was new to me. I really didn't know that it contains rennet, and hardly think that it makes me a bad human being. I get the OP's frustration, she has to live with people's ignorance on the matter day in, day out, but I think she might be kinder. After all, it is her choice to be vegetarian, and if it means she needs to explain her diet so many times, well, it is a bit sad that she finds it such a trial.

My brother became vegetarian for convenience's sake when he married his first wife, and brought up their family as vegetarian as well. We had to cook vegetarian when they came to us; likewise we had to eat vegetarian when we went to them. DH used to say, "we cater for their dietary choice, why don't they cater for ours?" By the way, their eldest daughter married a butcher's son!
Sadly his first wife passed away a few years ago; he is now remarried, gave up the vegetarian diet, and is very proud of his new wife's roast dinners!

BlueSapphire - that's easy to answer - People eat who are vegetarians eat a plant based diet for ethical/moral/religious/environmental/health reasons. Why would you expect someone to go against that when they are providing an acceptable alternative that has been prepared for you? You could always decline the invite!

Titian1948, I'm with you on the "is chicken stock OK" front, people often just don't seem to understand...but things are getting better. The good news to hang on to is that people are becoming so much more aware of where their food comes from and what processes have taken place to get it onto their plate.
The vegan trend, which is fabulous (though I'm too set in my ways to follow it) has rather complicated things and caused a bit of backlash, but in the long run it's good that people are thinking about it. People like Nannarose's friend, who don't get arsey when friends make a genuine mistake, are great ambassadors for cruelty-free eating.
Things are not quite as bad as when we were in Germany in the 1980s and when a friend asked us to dinner I said, "by the way, we don't eat meat" and she replied "Oh, that's alright, we're having chicken"

Gosh what a lot of different thoughts about other people's diets
I'm not a vegetarian, but I fully respect the dietary needs or choices of others and can well understand what it is like for those whose diet is not understood or respected by others. There are people who have allergies to some foodstuffs or their children have, if they eat things that they are not able to eat they reactions can range from feeling unwell, to damaging the gut and storing up worse problems for the future to death, this can include dairy. There are people who have religious dietary needs, some are vegetarian for religious reasons, others require halal or kosher and I feel it would be ill-mannered and disrespectful to try and sneak in things that would upset the person if they knew. Would you bit respect the diet that a diabetic friend needed? I would be deeply upset if I discovered for example someone tried to feed me dog meat, and I'm sure many of us would feel revulsion at the very thought of eating our pooch's cousin. I was horrified as I'm sure many of you were when it turned out that some of us has unknowingly been eating horse meat. So if someone does not eat something for whatever reason it is hugely bad manners to knowingly try and get them to eat it. I'm lucky in that I don't have anything I need to avoid for religious or health reasons, well I need to watch dairy and chocolate because if migraines, but there are things that I do not like because if the taste or the texture and I'm always glad that no one who asks if there are things I can't eat has ever tried to get me to eat them.
As long as taste and health or religious reasons are taken into account, there is no reason why an omnivore should expect someone who was veggie or vegan (or eass kosher or halàl) to cook meat for them, you will not suffer from nit having meat at one meal, you can always have a bacon sandwich for brekkie and shepherd's pie at lunchtime so you don't miss out on your meat fix.
When I go and stay with people for a weekend I always have the option if I feel there is something missing from my diet of bring something or popping into a shop when I go for a little walk.
Her majesty the Queen has a list of things that she doesn't eat, I think this includes shellfish which can give one food poisoning, and she can't risk that, and onions and garlic so that she doesn't breathe dunes over the people she meets. I hope that no one who'd invited the queen for a meal would be so illmannered as to disregard her dietary choices. If so why would you disregard the dietary choices of one of her subjects
I see it as good old fashioned good manners to make your guests feel as comfortable and at home as possible. You might skip up and not realise something is unsuitable and the gracious thing to do is to not insist on them eating whatever and be glad that you've learnt something so you know differently for the future. How happier everyone would be if we respected each others choices.

Well, the queen needn't expect an invite to mine for dinner anytime soon then.
Fussy woman!

Somehow I don't think that is likely to be a problem for her!

The garlic and onions are a reasonable thing to avoid if she is going to be talking to a lot of people - imagine the headlines - " six presidents and four heads of state pass out, overcome by royal breath" and she is an old lady, so if she got food poisoning it could finish her off. There's an idea for rabid republicans - spike her starter with manky prawns!

The list would make interesting reading.

I am now thinking of other heads of state who might baulk at HM having onion/garlic breath! Most probably eat those foods as a matter of course...

She might be better to pile up the garlic in self-defence. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Or just carry a discreet tin of mints.. she must have something in those ugly handbags she always has to carry!

Her majesty the Queen has a list of things that she doesn't eat, I think this includes shellfish which can give one food poisoning, and she can't risk that, and onions and garlic so that she doesn't breathe dunes over the people she meets. I hope that no one who'd invited the queen for a meal would be so illmannered as to disregard her dietary choices. If so why would you disregard the dietary choices of one of her subjects

We're not her subjects - I keep saying that but no-one takes any notice

I don't think she likes soup either - perhaps she thinks she may drip it down one of her posh frocks when entertaining Heads of State.
Do you remember when the Queen Mother got a fish bone stuck in her throat?

If she was meeting President Macron he might be offended if she didn't smell of garlic.

Garlic mushrooms
Boeuf Bourguignon (lots of garlic)
Dauphinoise potatoes (with cream and garlic)
Scottish Sprouts
Bread and butter pudding (I would have to get Prince Charles to make that)

That should send the guests home early.

What is a Scottish Sprout.. is it different from a Brussel Sprout or are they to be called that after 29March.. not sure Scotland will be pleased though

Much, much better than just any old sprout!

It is a Brussels Sprout but grown in Scotland and has had a bit jof frost on it.
Guaranteed to produce methane.

of not jof

Oh... well maybe like my back garden sprouts!

We've just picked the rest of ours today, they are the size of marbles, but may pack a punch

I have one stalk left & 2 cabbages! Need to start off stuff in the greenhouse!

The bees/honey thing bewilders me. Honey is not part of an animal, and no animal is harmed during its processing; on the contrary, without the efforts of a huge army of beekeepers, honey bees would all but die out and many crops would fail. And if the purists don't eat crops pollinated by honey bees (hang on, how do they know where bees have been?) Bees can and do pollinate all soft fruit, all orchard fruits, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, some peas and beans, etc. In other countries, bees pollinate citrus fruit, almonds, cashews.... Our local cider orchard is pollinated by bees, so cider is out too. You'd get very hungry if you avoided all those.

And why, why? Bees take the pollen and nectar as their food, what's wrong with that?

* grannyticktock* that sounds like " veganism gorn mad" ???

As with the sheep mulesing issue, there are unethical practices and environmental concerns when honey is produced on the scale needed to meet human demand.

www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/honey-industry

Titian, I don't think there's any harm in bringing your own food, as long as you let the hosts know first (so they aren't shocked and can plan accordingly). Your op did sound very harsh, though. Ouch!