SC - Re: dietary restrictions (longish)

[Liam Fisher]

>Habit is still choice.  Most people are presented with so many arguments 
>for
>_not_ following their chosen way that they could not possibly have not 
>thought about it.

Well, what I was saying is that they could just eat that way
beacause that's how food was when they grew up.  It's the same
as the procedure you have getting up in the morning, some things
are just habit and humans are creatures of habit.

>Where could you possibly have got the notion that I was imposing anything 
>on
>anyone?  I was asking for gentleness, not actually for myself in this
>instance, but for other people who are scolded for preferring not to eat an
>item, regardless of the reason.
>I feel it more strongly here, because those of us who do not follow the
>Pesach restrictions get shouted at for buying flour in the shops at 
>present.

We're talking different arenas here, I'm referring in context to
an SCA feast. I'm not working outside of that context either,
either you notify the event staff ahead of time with your
restrictions so they can plan the menu a bit better (as I did
when I made an orthodox friendly mincemeat by omiting the pork for
a friend that I KNEW had an issue with it) or you can eat the
stuff that you can eat at that feast period with no theatrics.

>  If I won't eat animal products because it's Holy Week and I can't eat
>grains and legumes because the rest of the country bans them for that week,
>I'm going to starve.

You could stock them when they aren't banned.

>But that doesn't mean in any way that I would tell
>Jewish friends who had me around to dinner that they couldn't serve meat
>while I was there.  I would probably limit my visits to those Jews who are
>religious, though - they seem to understand my choice to fast, even though
>we don't share the same religion.  So I was merely attempting to illustrate
>the feelings of someone from a minority group who has a difficulty with the
>norms of the majority.  I have an Italian friend who has the same 
>difficulty
>eating donkey, when everyone else seems to think it's normal.

Like I said before, I work in the context of an SCA feast when I
talk about most things on this list.  Hell, personally, I normally
don't eat red meat, can't eat shellfish, and hate Yams.  I don't
have any religious restrictions, being raised as I was, but I eat
more Amishlike about of habit and upbringing.  I have friends who
are strict Vegans or have major dietary issues either because of
lifestyle choices or medical restrictions, and I cook for them
all just fine.  And then sometimes I have to remember what day'
of the week it is ti make sure I have fish on the table.

>I have _never_ asked for special dishes at an event.  I haven't even asked
>people not to serve armoured turnips, even though I loathe them.

There are several foods I very much dislike, but I still know how
to prepare and cook them.

>Many long-term vegetarians have lost their enzymes for meat digestion and
>are therefore effectively allergic to meat.  Is it really fair to harass
>them about an allergy?

Yeah, and they're usually the same ones with Iron deficiencies
and other health issues, but I won't go into that here.  And if
they start slow on the meat consumption again the enzymes will
come back.

The vegetarians that I harass are those who come to events and
don't tell anyone about their restrictions and then complain
loudly if a remove doesn't include a vegan dish or more than one.
(which is usually not a problem in Ras' feasts)

I even had one lady make herself throw up because she found out
after the feast that the rice had been cooked in chicken broth...
and then she proceeded to jump on my case because she found out
I was part of the kitchen crew.  So then I proceeded to tell
her just how many animal lives were lost in producing the bottle
of wine she was waving around.

I have no problem with people's dietary restrictions.  I just
don't want them in my face, especially if they don't notify
anyone that they have this problem.

>>Hey, if you don't eat you don't eat, no skin off of my head.  Keep
>>the reasons to yourself unless people get pushy, just so long as
>>you don't kill yourself in the process.
>>
>
>This is the first time I had ever mentioned to anyone that I actually
>fasted.  I felt the discussion merited some explanation.

Yeah, but I'm tyring to keep the context to an SCA feast.  I fast
outside of the SCA in my mundane life, but it doesn't influence
an SCA feast.

>I know, but it's still my choice.  And asking the reason why X might be
>considered part of N food group by a certain religion doesn't have to
>trigger everyone else's responses to that religion in general.

People believe what they will believe and act how they will act.

>I think no animal products for the whole of Holy Week counts pretty highly,
>when you think that people can eat all sorts of things after dark in
>Ramadan.

Yeah, but you can eat whatever else you want and you can make a
pretty sizable meal just about anywhere in the world if you don't use animal 
products.

>Not the ones I know.  In my acquaintance, no-one over the age of 5 is
>allowed to do more than wash their mouth out with water - and some won't
>even consciously swallow their own saliva.

Depends on the kind of fasting.


>Had a similar experience to the lady who had ham in her soup just recently.
>One of the chicken dishes I served at the demo/class just recently had wine
>in it, and someone turned up just at the last minute (at least, to the best
>of my information), who was Palestinian and didn't realise there was wine 
>in
>it (and it was Friday).  He very civilly turned the whole thing into a 
>joke,
>but I'm not sure he meant it.  My guess is that he didn't think about the
>possibility of there being wine, because he would never use it himself...

I have accidentially done this with my camp cooking to a friend of mine at 
War.  He'll bug me about what's in stuff now because he knows
that I might not remember to warn him and just say "sure, have some..."


Cadoc
- -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Cadoc MacDairi, Mountain Confederation, ACG
Shire of Abhainn Ciach Ghlaiss

C'thuhlu loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Be they boiled or baked or fried,
barbequed or on the side.
C'thulhu loves the little children of the world



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