Posted to LJ on 5/5

To my fellow vegetarians/vegans: Does it bother you when someone asks, "How do you get your protein?" I just find it irritating when someone I hardly know seems to expect me to give an extemporaneous presentation of my diet.

So why isn't that question considered rude? I could understand if it was asked during a discussion on health and diet, but not when it's in response to something like, "No, thank you. I don't eat meat." Not that I go around telling everyone I'm a vegetarian at every chance I get. I usually don't even bother unless someone continually offers me dead animal to eat or wants to take me out to a steak house.

Occasionally someone will ask and seem genuinely concerned about my health, but it's not the norm. And even though it's sweet that they care, I (as well as most serious vegetarians and vegans) probably have better nutrition than they do simply because I take the time to read up on the vitamins and nutrients I might be missing. Most of the general population don't look into anything more than how much fat or carbs are in their food (dear god, I don't even want to start on low carb diets...), if that. I don't even have a problem with people doing that as long as they don't question my diet when their own in questionable.

I don't think other people have any business asking about my diet unless they're genuinely interested in learning about nutrition. I don't go around asking people I barely know how they get their folic acid or omega 3. Of course, next time someone asks me how I get my protein, I might just do that.

Then there's the infamous, "So what do you eat?"

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