As a vegetarian dinner was NOT easy!

Well, you must have known that might happen, Katek.

As you say, it was a treat for your FIL, and as it turned out, probably for your DH too. Well done!

Knowing it beforehand and actually seeing it are quite different things. Well done, Katek.

That's when I'm pleased I am partially deaf, Katek, when I can make sure that the meat eaters sit on my right hand side whilst they discuss the merits of different veal dishes.

Does your DH not eat meat usually because you don't, Katek?

I have been vege for about 25 yrs. I could sit by someone eating cooked ham or such but the smell of cooking meat would put me right off.

I also find the smell of fish very off putting. Gone are the days when I could cook a whole ox tongue.

He does Ana, but it's usually strips/diced chicken, pork, turkey that disappears in stir fries, curries. Not normally great big slabs of meat!

I've sat opposite carnivores eating red meat so rare that their lovely roast potatoes and veg are swimming in blood .

I sympathise Katek.

I was baffled by the blue meat? Blue?

The problem sounds similar to omnivores having to sit through a meal with people who go through a big show of not having a fit of the vapours because there is meat on someone else's plate. Tolerance is such an undervalued virtue.

I'm in between . I'm teetering on the brink of being a vegetarian. I find as DH loves steak blue I make a little discreet barricade of condiments or ask the waiter if I can read the menu and continue to do so until it's gone. I have a problem with anything with tentacles and do the same.

Don't you think vegetarians mostly show tolerance towards omnivores every day of their lives thatbags? After all we are still in the minority and virtually every eating place serves meat. We are exposed to it in cafes, restaurants, on the street, in buses, trains, aeroplanes, you name it. How often does a vegetarian 'have a fit of the vapours' about it? I certainly don't although I am not exaggerating when I say that the smell of it makes me feel sick.

I only wish we were accorded the same level of tolerance by people who want to question our choices, poke fun at them, try to catch us out, point out that plants are living things too (yawn) etc etc. Not saying that happens on here, but it is an everyday reality for most vegetarians.

I have just one vegetarian friend and when I eat with her I wouldn't dream of ordering a steak in fact I usually have what she's having and if she comes to my house I cook vegetarian food for all of us. She's a good friend and I wouldn't dream of upsetting her.

I don't eat meat but it doesn't particularly bother me if other people do. Perhaps that's because I enjoyed eating meat and gave up for a number of other reasons, which include animal welfare.

I suppose for vegetarians who actively dislike the taste of meat, it must be much easier for them to go without it, but the downside is that they find it unpleasant to smell meat cooking. That's unfortunate but can't really be helped.

My daughter is a vegetarian but my son and his partner are not. However, they have, of their own volition, cut down greatly on the amount of meat that they eat. I think they would be highly unlikely to have done so if they had sensed any disapproval from us - it may well have had the reverse effect. I'm a non-smoker at the moment but people who make a big show of disapproval - waving their hands around and pulling faces - when they pass someone out in the open smoking a cigarette really make me want to start smoking again.

There are various cooking smells that I find unpleasant. Hot oil that is not fresh can smell horribly greasy - I have entered restaurants only to turn round and leave at once on more than one occasion. I am not keen on fishy smells, I eat fish fried in batter, but not much other fish.

Anyone eating beside me who has chosen something with a strong smell influences the taste of what I am eating - fish is one thing, and shellfish. That is not their fault, so I get on with my own choice. It does improve once I have eaten enough of that to overcome the pong.

Strangely enough the smell of fish doesn't bother me. I also live in a 'mixed' family so have had to practise tolerance and politeness. My family members who do eat meat are very thoughtful, and if we eat out as a large group they usually arrange to sit at one end of the table while the veggies sit at the other. I wouldn't dream of asking them to do this; it's something they have developed of their own accord. And I really do appreciate that kind of thoughtfulness, as I'm sure your friend does Teetime. I always feel very touched when non-vegetarian friends adjust their eating habits for my sake, and make sure I acknowledge it. We usually end up apologising to each other throughout the meal, me urging them to eat what they like and them saying they really don't mind going vegetarian for once! I have some very nice friends

DD is vegetarian (ever since she was 8!) and I generally cook veggie meals for all of us when she's home, no big deal for me.

Eating out isn't a problem either, though sometimes we struggle to find a venue with adequate choices for vegetarians.

We don't eat a lot of meat anyway.

That's good to hear, nightowl. It sounds like an almost perfect arrangement.

It's never occurred to me that my veggie friends or family members might be offended if I eat meat. When my DB and DSIL visit I cook the same veggie meals for everyone - we often have non meat meals anyway. I'm now wondering if I've ever eaten rare steak in the company of a vegetarian. I really can't remember so it can't have been all that big a deal.

Surely people are free to eat and drink what they want?

Of course people are free to eat and drink what they want, but it does not stop a vegetarian feeling queasy seeing raw meat.

I do not have fits of the vapours bags, I have never forced my beliefs on anyone, including my family, in fact I am the most tolerant of vegetarians. I still find it uncomfortable however, not to say distressing, watching large slabs of very raw meat being eaten with relish.

I can't watch one of my son-in-laws eat his idea of a nice steak either, Katek and I am not vegetarian - and now my granddaughter (11) likes hers almost raw too - she says "I like it bloody" ! Yet she usually eats hardly any meat and loves vegetables - eats cherry tomatoes as though they are sweeties, and can consume half a cucumber at a go. Strange.

Why should it be more distressing seeing slabs of meat being eaten than seeing strips of chicken, pork, turkey, etc., being eaten? It is all mat after all, whichever way it's cooked.

It's the sight of blood, Eloethan.

I have two son-in-laws (sons-in-law?) One likes his steaks just about raw, the other prefers them incinerated. I have given up cooking steak for either of them, I never get them right.

Hearing vegetarians complain about people eating meat makes me feel something akin to queasy, so we're quits on that one. Really. I'm not just saying that to get back at anyone.

I guess I'll just have to put up with it, just as some people will have to out up with the sight of others eating meat or of blood on a plate.

But egalitarianism of freedom of speech means I can mention my 'queasiness' too, right?

I can see it being an issue for women for the sight of blood to be a problem. I can sympathise about that. Must've been hellish at certain times all through one's productive years.