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Comment by zanny | Hacker News Reader

> won't even try any of these, sight unseen

I don't get this sentiment. I'm not close to vegetarian, but I go out of my way to try to eat less meat and when I'm not at the discretion of others (eating out, eating over at a friends house, etc) I prioritize my favorite meat-free foods, but nobody should be saying "its not meat? No way, never gonna try it, I am a blood thirsty carnivore". Even if you're like me and don't have the time, effort, or circumstance to cut meat out entirely, you should still at least try alternatives when they are presented to you.

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I've noticed people tend to react defensively on certain issues:

* Mention you are dieting, and someone will declare how good their triple chocolate fudge cake is. * Mention you're a vegetarian and they'll talk about how tasty meat is. * Say you can't eat a particular thing (lactose, gluten, sugar, etc) and they'll loudly declare how they don't share your restriction.

I've even noticed the same tendencies in myself, so I think it's some sort of deeply wired social construct. It's not solely restricted to food but is quite common there.

I think this is partially a defense mechanism. Ask yourself -- how have people been hurt in the past that might make them want to react aggressively to these sorts of mentions? I think most people have, at some point in their lives, had someone treat them as morally inferior for their weight or their eating habits. So loudly extolling a positive perception of their experience is a way of creating a wall to preempt an attack on their character from a "superior" dieter/vegetarian/religiously-kosher/whatever type of person.

Of course, this creates a vicious cycle. Just yesterday, someone offered to buy lunch for a friend of mine. He said it would have to be vegan, and the guy lost his temper. Like "how DARE you be one of those pushy types!" When the guy only said something because he was being offered food for himself to eat. Which perpetuates the cycle of distrust and mockery.

I get where the gp is coming from, to me texture is a big issue with foods that I can eat. I'm mostly vegetarian now, (less than half a kilogram of bison a week) but that last step to cutting out beef is difficult, because I just can't stand the texture/flavor of mushrooms, soy or tofu and other 'meat substitutes'.

> I don't get this sentiment.

I almost exclusively eat meat. Just the thought of trying vegetables makes me feel sick to my stomach. Whether that's immoral or not is of secondary concern to me, when the alternative borders on a panic attack. Why that is, I have no idea, but I know other people with the same reaction as me, and it might partially answer your question.

Do you think people with different sexual preference than you also "should still at least try alternatives when they are presented"? When it comes to something as personal as putting food in their own body for their own nutrition and enjoyment, nobody should do anything just because you think so.

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