A friend of mine, a meat eater, never buys meat at the grocery store; nor does he always choose the meat dishes at a restaurant. He recalls friends gasping, “Oh, I didn’t know you were vegetarian!” after he ordered a veggie burger instead of the beef option. But this guy is not a vegetarian. Whilst he chooses to cut down his meat consumption for health, environmental and animal welfare reasons, for him, meat is something that he doesn’t want to remove completely from his lifestyle. So whilst he might buy Linda McCartney sausages for his weekly groceries, that doesn’t mean he won’t order a lamb kebab on the weekends: he eats vegetarian without actually being vegetarian. I know many fellow plant-based eaters out there will roll their eyes when reading this, but for many veggies it isn’t just the act of eating animal flesh that we find abhorrent. It is more so the fact that some meat eaters can’t comprehend a meal without chicken or fish: you either eat meat or you don’t, there’s no in between. It isn’t entirely their fault for having such an all-or-nothing mindset when it comes to food choices. It just takes one look at the average restaurant menu to see the vegetarian/meat-eater divide that society has constructed. If you eat meat, then why would you choose from the so-called ‘vegetarian option’?
Well, health-oriented fast food chain Pret A Manger has made an attempt to answer this question. After conducting a voting poll on how the chain can improve their veggie options, they were confronted by over 10,000 responses asking for more vegan and vegetarian ranges. Upon realising how many customers valued having more vegan and vegetarian-friendly options, Pret A Manger have launched the ‘Not Just for Veggies’ campaign in order to help people “enjoy more vegetarian food without being preachy, or alienating customers”. This campaign includes the opening of veggie-only pop up stores around London, with brand new food ranges aimed towards vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike.
New options include a mushroom and avocado sushi salad; beetroot, squash and feta superbowl; macaroni cheese with kale and cauliflower, and a falafel and red pepper hot wrap amongst many more. My personal favourite was a chef’s daily special I stumbled upon in one of the Nottingham chains: the avocado and chipotle chickpea wrap – which was mirroring the avocado and chipotle chicken flatbread they have available. The variety is not only an eye opener for the most passionate bacon fanatics, but it is also a breath of fresh air for veggies who are sick of only having an egg and cress sandwich or cheese toastie to choose from. Why should a meat eater choose from the vegetarian option from time to time? Because it’s delicious, that’s why.
Edited by Naomi Upton
Sources:
http://www.pret.co.uk/en-gb/not-just-for-veggieshttp://www.pret.co.uk/en-gb/ceo-blog-not-just-for-veggieshttp://www.pret.co.uk/en-gb/the-great-vegetarian-debate
Image sources:
http://www.meatfreemondays.com/pret-a-manger-weighs-up-two-meat-free-moves/
http://blog.mann-ivanov-ferber.ru/category/mif-zdorovoe-pitanie/page/2/