Another topic I seldom hear mention of--slips. I do not mean the type of "slip" where
a committed vegetarian decides to one day eat a steak, I'm referring more to accidents.
Like when you think something contains no meat or meat broth but find later it does.
This is not an uncommon occurrence if one is not vigilant. The most frequent venues
I have this problem with are pot-luck style dinners and cafeterias. I work in a hospital
that has a lunchroom cafeteria with a "hot bar", salad bar and a grill. Often times
items on the hot-bar are not readily identifiable, and they are never labeled. I recall
once spooning some scalloped potatoes onto my plate. I pushed them around a bit and
didn't see anything meatlike. Later, I could see they contained baconbits. Some vegetarians
would have discarded the whole thing, I just picked them out and pushed them to the side
of my plate. The soups in the hospital cafeteria are another potential pitfall. It's hard to
tell exactly whats in there! And again, no labels. I think it would be a great service to
vegetarians everywhere if food items were more clearly marked as to their contents.
People with allergies would probably appreciate it too.
