I have been a strict vegetarian for nearly three decades now and there is a simple mantra I always try to keep to; no product of slaughter. Technically I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian, so milk, cheese (if it doesn't contain rennet), yoghurt (if it doesn't contain gelatine) and eggs are OK. While I have conscientiously kept to the principles of vegetarianism over the years, there are times when a certain amount of pragmatism in the use of the no product of slaughter test is the best, if not the only, course available. I don't mean tucking into a chicken legs, just because that is the only thing on offer (in those cases you have to go hungry), or 'accidentally' eating non-vegetarian foods by not bothering to check, it is just that, in the real world, there there is a point where you have to decide on a fundamentalist or pragmatic form of vegetarianism. You come to realise that there are some things that cannot be changed and sometimes there is only so much you can know about the food you are consuming.
Eating out, for example, always poses problems. There is, on the whole, a paucity of vegetarian options on many menus and, still, a scarcity of dedicated vegetarian restaurants in most towns. This is exacerbated by a general lack of knowledge in the catering trade. I was in a restaurant recently where the two vegetarian dishes offered both contained parmesan cheese, which is definitely not vegetarian because it contains rennet. The waiter was quite confused that I would want the dish without any cheese, which was actually the main constituent. How many 'meat free' burgers have I eaten that were cooked on the same griddle, with the same utensils as the steak someone else ordered? Probably quite a few. How many times have I ordered the mushroom soup which, unbeknown to me, the chef actually used chicken stock for? Again, probably more often than I realised at the time. It can be almost impossible to find out if a dessert is vegetarian or not so you have to use your own discretion. This means avoiding mousses and jelly, for example, but it can still be a guessing game as very few restaurants will bother to mark desserts with a green 'V'. As a pragmatic vegetarian you realise that you do you best, ask questions and read menus carefully, but, inevitably, things will slip through.
Trying to find out if alcoholic drinks are veggie friendly or not is also hard. Take Magners draft cider as an example. The idea that it is not vegetarian seems to be confirmed by an email on the website veggiewines.co.uk that refers to an 'animal product' in the drink. However, this email is a few years old, and what is the 'animal product' being referred to? It may well be finings, which are, for the pragmatic vegetarian, probably OK as they are used in manufacture but there should not be any left in the final product. However, finings are noted as a concern by the Vegetarian Society. The issue is further confused as Magner's own website about their pear cider specifically states that it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Why the pear version would be vegan but the apple version not vegetarian is confusing. It seems that Bulmers cider is not vegetarian friendly as it uses cochineal for colouring, so maybe the same is true for Magners. Quite how this can be confirmed though I don't know, as alcoholic drinks do not have the same requirements for displaying their ingredients as other foodstuffs and recipes are usually a closely guarded secret.
The pragmatic vegetarian gets to know which products to avoid while knowing that that list can never be complete. Sweets are regarded with suspicion as animal products are often used. You also become an habitual ingredient list reader. I have been know to forage through bins at dinner parties to find out if the gateau offered for dessert is vegetarian or not. But, however careful you are, you can still be caught out. For instance, I recently started eating a yoghurt from a multipack, safe in the knowledge that I had already checked the last pot I had and it was veggie friendly. You get to recognise the consistency of food that has animal products in it and after the first spoonful I was suspicious. Imagine my surprise to find that certain flavours of yoghurt in the multipack had gelatine in them, while others did not.
Some choices are easy with or without pragmatism added to your diet. Today there is far more vegetarian food available on the high street than ever before. Supermarkets label suitable products and there is a large range to choose from. There is no need to search out a health food shop to get vegetarian cheese (i.e. without rennet) anymore. Things have come a long way in the last 5 - 10 years and this has made the life of the vegetarian a lot easier. Sometimes, however, despite your pragmatism, you just have to go hungry. You're in a foreign country with little vegetarian food available. Do you secretly seek out meat? No. You make do and, if necessary, miss out meals. In such circumstances I always find breakfast is the most likely place to find suitable sustenance. Breads, cereals, eggs, cheeses. You may find enough to keep you going all day.
Of course, you could go the fundamentalist route and take your own supplies with you everywhere, refuse food at social gatherings unless you can interrogate the cook and investigate every morsel that may pass your lips with a fervent zeal, but using a little pragmatism in your vegetarian diet can go a long way towards making day to day choices easier. Indeed, without it, you may loose out on a lot.
