G.Kaur Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 To all you vegetarians out there, what do you do when you are at other people's (vegetarians) houses and they serve you food that you find questionable, meaning that the biscuits or the chocolates or other food that they serve you might contain egg, gelatine or other animal ingredients? Should one ask if the food contains egg or other animal ingredients, or do you just have faith in your fellow vegetarians and just assume there's no animal ingredients in the food? I'm asking because I was offered some candy at vegetarian friend's house, I asked her if there was gelatine in it and she said no, then I took the bag and read the ingredients list and it had gelatine in it. She got quite embarrassed and I got kinda embarrassed too, but then again I just asked her and it showed that she didn't check the ingredients list. I've also tried it in the Gurdwara and at other people's houses and I'd like to know where you as a vegetarian think we should draw the line? I think it's important not to hurt other people regarding their food, but is it our farj to ask or should you assume that there are no animal ingredients in the food? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SURYADEV Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 If your offered food that you find questionable, politely refuse saying that the doctor has banned certain types of food for you ie sugary, fatty or salty. Typical stuff that desi's offer to guests. mention something about some exoticly named greco-latin disese. However this plan will fall to pieces if you then go and have a glass of coke to satisfy your daily fix!! lol 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.Kaur Posted June 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 LOL @ your comment about Coca-Cola. Btw I'm not an addict (yet!) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SURYADEV Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 (edited) denial. admit your addiction in public and you are half cured. well thats what AA taught me. Or you can just say that its some devi's day and you are fasting!! Edited June 18, 2011 by SURYADEV 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.Kaur Posted June 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 Lol Me fasting? You must be nuts. I can't fast for an hour, let alone a whole day! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdsingh80 Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 If your offered food that you find questionable, politely refuse saying that the doctor has banned certain types of food for you ie sugary, fatty or salty. Typical stuff that desi's offer to guests. mention something about some exoticly named greco-latin disese. However this plan will fall to pieces if you then go and have a glass of coke to satisfy your daily fix!! lol Your teaching G.Kaur to Lie? I don't think it is good to lie about illness just tell the truth that I am Pure Vegan politely 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.Kaur Posted June 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 I'm not vegan, I'm vegetarian. My topic is not about being polite, I would like to know if we should have faith in our fellow vegetarians and just assume there's no animal ingredients in the food they give you? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdsingh80 Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 I'm not vegan, I'm vegetarian. My topic is not about being polite, I would like to know if we should have faith in our fellow vegetarians and just assume there's no animal ingredients in the food they give you? I don't find any reason not to trust your fellow Vegetarian to whom you know very well,the case you mentioned could be result of mistake and it can happen with anyone 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsingh101 Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 (edited) Truth is you can't trust others to be fastidious as you yourself might be. Some people aren't that way inclined to go that extra mile to find out about ingredients. I've even see sweets with gelatine being given away in Gurdwaras. I don't think it is intentionally done but in the way some students study enough to just get by whilst others go an extra mile and dig deep into a subject, humans will exhibit different levels of attention to detail in different domains. As I said, it is unrealistic to expect other people to be as focused on this as you might be. Some people just naturally plod along without paying too much attention, some people go into microscopic detail about things. A dishonest 'get out card' in an emergency is to tell people that you've just taken some tablets for something and are prohibited to eat for a while. Edited June 18, 2011 by dalsingh101 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.Kaur Posted June 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 I'm not looking for excuses on how to avoid certain food, because avoiding food is not the problem. I'm asking here because I spoke to 2 of my friends about this, a muslim and an amritdhari. My muslim friend said that in Islam you're not allowed to ask another muslim if they have checked the food, because by going to another muslim's house you shouldn't question the food they made for you. My amritdhari friend said that you should always ask because you don't know how much other people focus on the ingredients and just because you do, you can't expect others to do the same. So I'm asking from a Sikh point of view, if there is any? Thanks for the replies btw. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsingh101 Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 (edited) Well I read something regarding this in Prem Sumarag but the view seems to be one that most orthodox people would vehemently oppose today. Edited June 18, 2011 by dalsingh101 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.Kaur Posted June 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Well I read something regarding this in Prem Sumarag but the view seems to be one that most orthodox people would vehemently oppose today. Care to elaborate? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaikaara Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 i think its better to ask, and much better to keep one self updated , since its obvious if the other person knows he or she might not have it in the house if they follow a strict vegeterian diet. in indians the most weird things i have seen like talking against meat and eating at mcdonald's who has a case of dishonestly lacing french fries with beef tallow (the usa website does still claim to use the ingredient, i wonder how would they be seggragating their dispatch to india ..) sugar production uses bone powder, leather is again the reason of slaughter..there is a a lot in the pipeline, i had 2 jains pounce on me because i warned them against eating at a doughnut chain in the usa which used fat and eggs in their products, they had issues since why should a meat eater bother about their diet !!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bundha Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Benji, You have setup your own boundries, then you should police those boundries and not rely on others to. It is a matter of personal choice how far you take this. Some will check their food meticulously while others will not, so it is up to you to keep to your personal rules and not rely on others. I would disagree with the muslim, some people do not keep to personal hygiene when preparing food or they use ingredients that you may find objectionable, you do not want to compromise your personal maryadha for the sake of offending someone, in the end you will be judged on your actions, you than cannot say that you were relying on someone else. The easiest way is just to politely refuse the food. Just say you do not want any. Drink the tea and just say you do not want any biscuits or whatever is there. Say you have an upset stomach if they are really persistent. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsingh101 Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 (edited) Care to elaborate? I don't think I will because it wont help you and will just be an interesting historical distraction that goes against mainstream opinion/practice today. Suffice to say that in the end, only you can be your own guard about what you eat and the matter resolves around how much you may be willing to compromise this in the name of social graces (or not wanting to appear rude). I was a strict vegetarian for many years when younger so I certainly know the circumstances you are talking about. The reality is that in today's world many foodstuffs have animal derived products in them, this is never easy to tell at a glance. Given human nature and the great variation in how much people put on 'detail' it would be plain naive to rely on others to be as fastidious as you may (or may not) be. Sorry if I'm repeating myself. Edited June 21, 2011 by dalsingh101 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xylitol Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 you'd need to make a judgement call. does the person seem like they are more observant? in that case, I wouldn't ask. otherwise, i might. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amardeep Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Prem Sumarag says there two kinds of foods you are not allowed to eat: One which has been offered to a demi god and one which is made by someone who has turned his back on the Guru, all else is allowed whether they are hindu or muslim (so the text say). Its in the chapter on taking care of the body 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekhane'ch Jannat Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Pardon me for going off topic but I just read and article about food specifically about butter, animal fats and oil, and i'd like to spread it about. http://www.drcranton.com/nutrition/oiling.htm Traditional punjabi high fat diet may actually be very good for you!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsingh101 Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Prem Sumarag says there two kinds of foods you are not allowed to eat: One which has been offered to a demi god and one which is made by someone who has turned his back on the Guru, all else is allowed whether they are hindu or muslim (so the text say). Its in the chapter on taking care of the body I think that is because it stems from the merchant community who would do lots of traveling in foreign lands on business trips. I don't think it reflects common Khalsa practice. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amardeep Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 maybe.. difficult to asses 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahanpaapi Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) G. Kaur, You should be careful if you are unaware of the ingredients, e.g. Jaikara's reference to bone powder in sugar production. For more details, you may want to watch this movie: Video Edited June 22, 2011 by sevadaar 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaikaara Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 sevadar saab as you rightly pointed thats why we need to keep ourselves updated, i have been thinking to speak to vegeterian religious groups of various panths who could come togather and provide alternatives, if bone powder has no use in sugar extracted from beetroot we could try that. but this requires a sarbat panth project on a large scale. if u look out for the leather industry videos u will feel to hate leather from your heart. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.Kaur Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 G. Kaur, You should be careful if you are unaware of the ingredients, e.g. Jaikara's reference to bone powder in sugar production. For more details, you may want to watch this movie: Video Thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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