Samen aan de eettafel: Interacties tussen vegetariërs en vleeseters

Although a vegetarian diet is normalizing and explicit negative reactions are less common than they used to be, vegetarians are still questioned about their diet when they eat with non-vegetarians. Based on fifteen interviews with meat avoiders in and around Almere, we define four strategies that vegetarians use to deal with these questions and potential resistance. The interviews highlight that both the context in which vegetarians are questioned and the vegetarian’s state of mind determine which strategy is used. A comparison with strategies found by others highlights that vegetarians often choose a non-confrontational strategy. This means that the emotional labor in the interaction is largely performed by the vegetarian. We call for continued work on normalizing a vegetarian diet so that the burden of the struggle can be shared more fairly and eating together becomes more pleasurable.