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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Two Dilemmas

Here are two situations that I encountered recently. What would you do in each?

1) A coworker, who knows you love Indian food and "don't eat meat", brings a couple of frozen dinners for you to try. Both contain dairy as a main ingredient.

2) You attend a clothes swap party, where participants bring old clothing items to either swap or donate to charity. You try on a sweater -- it fits you beautifully. BUT, it's cashmere.

I'd love to hear some comments, then I'll share my thoughts.

5 comments:

Cate said...

1) my allergy gives me an easy out here, BUT I don't think there is any harm in thanks but no thanks. "oh, that looks fantastic too bad there is dairy in it."

2) I think you know where I stand on wool. the vast majority of fiber farmers are good to their animals and shear in a humane manner. BUT if you feel strongly - skip the cashmere! actuallt, the little guy is wearing a cashmere diaper cover right now. SO soft! and SO much better for the environment than dosposables!

Anonymous said...

1) I'd say something like, "Wow - that was so thoughtful of you! I really like Indian food but I'm actually vegan, which means I don't eat dairy or meat. My friend/relative/etc. ______ isn't, though, and I bet ______ would love to try this. Would you mind if I gave them to him/her?"

The dairy was made to order specifically for those meals, which were purchased new. I draw the line there.

2) I don't have an issue with used animal fibers. No animals are harmed by you wearing the sweater; any money went to the company a long time ago. In fact, I wear almost all used clothing, which I think is much better for the environment and animals in general than buying new.

lonna said...

I agree with the other comments.

1) I would explain that I don't eat dairy. I would definitely let them now how much I appreciate the thought, but I just couldn't eat dairy at this point.

2) I, personally, couldn't wear an animal product at this point. But I have no problem with vegans who wear used animal clothing. When I first went vegan 10 years ago, I kept all of my already bought leather shoes. Then I realized that I wasn't wearing them because I didn't want an animal's skin on my feet. It was the same way with my wool coat. Eventually I just didn't feel comfortable. But I don't think that's true for a lot of other vegans, and I can see taking the sweater. Again, it's better for the environment and the animal industry was not making a profit.

Melissa said...

I wouldn't take the sweater, but that's just me. I'm totally fine with vegans who take used clothing that contains animal fibers. Better to reuse than waste...especially from an animal.

Anonymous said...

i am amazed at the consistency of the answers. i would not eat the indian, though would find some way to give a special thank you to the co-worker, who sounds extra thoughtful (and for the same reason, likely to understand and not hold your refusal against you or vegans in general).
you can always leave the cashmere for other swappers, but i come down in the "used is ok" camp as well.
hope the problems did not cause you too much angst. keep blogging, i appreciate your posts.

lowell veggie