As a rule, unless you are eating in a vegetarian restaurant the food is probably being prepared in the same environment as meat dishes. You either have to accept that or not patronize those restaurants. I frequently tell my friends, if you want to make sure the food you are eating is 100% vegetarian, the only way to ensure that is to prepare it yourself.

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Yeah, it would seem a bit odd for a vegetarian to patronize KFC anyways. What a weird concept. Why would they even attempt to make a vegetarian option and then cook it in the same oil? It completely defeats the purpose. As if possible, this makes me like them even less. It's like pretending to give a damn.

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I understand vegetarianism as a moral choice. But if the eating of meat is immoral, you probably oughtn't be eating at KFC anyhow. And rejecting food because it "may have" come into contact with meat particles is just treating meat as some kind of mystical taboo. Which is all well and good, if you're Leviticus, but come on.

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This is kind of silly, really. How far do some vegetarians want to take this?

If you're in a room where meat is being prepared and/or served, you're inhaling microscopic meat particles in various forms. And even if you scrupulously avoid any place where meat might be, you're still consuming tiny insects and microorganisms unless you breathe through a filter....

Sheesh.

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It's the same thing with folks who don't eat pork. I've hung out with many non-pork eaters before and some of them seem to think that because they order a dish that contains no pork it's all good. They managed to hold on to this belief even after I pointed out to them on several occasions that the cooks were using the same skillet to fry their burgers that they used to fry the bacon for my BLT.

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I'm with Mark on this one.

If an individual or restaurant tries to accommodate your eating preferences you should acknowledge that effort, not complain about it.

This makes them sound like whining small children. Too bad they never learned how to get along with people.You have to 'give a little' sometimes.

A second possibility is it is a game of one-upmanship. A 'holier than thou' syndrome.

I can't decide which is worse.

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Aren't there "levels" of vegetarianism out there?
*No red meat (chicken and fish are ok)
*No meat from animals that feel pain (fish are ok)
*No meat at all, but get protein from soy.
*No vegetables unless is it locally grown and organic.
*No vegetables unless it is locally grown, organic, fair-trade, shade-grown, conflict-free, carbon-neutral, cruelty-free, bird-friendly, dolphin-safe, and not tested on animals.
*Just plain crazy and holier-than-thou.

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Charming as ever. Not a single vegetarian has piped in this
thread about KFC "doing it wrong" yet the "vegetarians need to stfu
and get over it" crowd are already out in force. When was the last
time a vegetarian imposed on YOU?

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I try my best to avoid all animal products for ethical reasons, and because of that, would never go into a KFC to begin with. I'm not sure who they are trying to appeal to with this sandwich. Meat-eaters are going to get real chicken, and any vegetarian worth their salt wouldn't step foot inside a place like that to begin with.

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I'm a vegetarian and I often get the BK Veggie at Burger King because of two reasons. 1 I need something quick to eat with protein (a bowl of iceberg lettuce doesn't cut it) when I'm on a road trip. Or two, I'm going out to lunch with a bunch of coworkers. It is a lot easier to get a bunch of guys to go to Burger King than it is to get them to a vegetarian restaurant. Vegetarians don't just hide in a corner with other veggies, so having a real vegetarian option at KFC would be great so I can go with my friends and coworkers to lunch and we can all go away happy.

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My husband and I are vegetarians and have been for many years. We often go to restaurants with friends that we would otherwise never patronize because many of our friends are not vegetarians.

I do agree with other posters that sometimes one has to "bend a little" in order to get along with others.

I understand that unless a restaurant is "kosher" [STRICT separation of all milk vs. meat cooking and serving items], it is ALWAYS possible for some sort of "cross contamination" where a pan used for meat one meal is used for veggie dishes during the next round of cooking.......

I think it would be a better practice hygene-wise for KFC to have one fryer dedicated for non-meat uses, but I am not counting on it.......

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1. "when is the last time a vegetarian ever imposed on you?" says Mike Wallace. No vegetarian friend of mine has EVER cooked me a steak but I've frequently had to incorporate additional vegetarian meals into menus to accommodate them. If someone is cooking for you, you eat it and be quiet (unless it's going to kill you).

2. Marygrace, meat eaters are not going to go to KFC to eat 'real' chicken. Although not vegetarian, I pretty much won't eat chicken anywhere unless I've bought it myself and know how it's sourced.

3. I've known plenty of vegetarians who have drunk beer and NEVER EVER inquired as to whether or not it's been fined with isinglass. The fish which dies to fine your beer has no less place on this planet than a cow.

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@alex: Not cooking you a steak is imposing on you? You know bloody well I was referring to the oft-referenced comments about vegetarians stuffing their beliefs down omnivore's throats. Don't be a git.
In line with the rest of your statements, however, I regularly throw cookouts for friends, and I do provide meat for the omnis. Furthermore, in addition to veggie burgers, etc, I grill corn and provide additional veg sides (salads, chips and salsa, etc). That said, even without that, none of my omni friends and acquaintances have bitched about their meals lacking meat when none was provided. Food is food even with there's no cow in it.
And finally, you now know one vegetarian who does check into isinglass (and gelatin) in his beer and wine.

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Wow, an article warning vegans/vegetarians about how KFC's cooking their veggie food -- letting them make up their own minds about whether to eat it or not -- and some of the first comments are from people COMPLAINING ABOUT VEGETARIANS, calling them "whining small children"? That's trollish behaviour if I ever saw it. Seriously, that's rude.

For myself, I end up at KFC every once in a while with meat-eating friends who love the place, and I always have a good meal there. Corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, and their terrific biscuits? No meat needed. And if it's a KFC/Taco Bell, you're in business!

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@alex: Thank you for piping in. I've got vegan friends that tell me that they are vegan for "moral and ethical reasons". More often than not, they say right after that, "but don't let that stop you from cooking for me." But there are those times that really stand out in my head in meeting strict, militant vegans that believe that it is truly immoral and unethical to eat anything but local, organic vegetables and that I'm ruining the planet with my current ominivore ways. Killing a chicken for a meal is akin to killing someone's baby and eating that too.

Those ones are in the minority, but are so far out of norm that they clearly stand out in my head.

... and this isn't a vegan blog that would be read frequently by those with these views, so we probably WON'T be hearing from them here...

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never eat at a non-vegetarian resturant if you are vegetarian as there can not help but be cross contamination,i have in the past found fish pieces in my french fries and there is always at lest death juice on all vegtable in a corpse serving resturant

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Animals eat meat. If they could talk, they'd tell us we're crazy no to.

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I'd eat a KFC "vegetarian" sandwich if I didn't have any other choice and I wanted a non-meat selection. But then, I'm only a sometime vegetarian, allergic to beef (but not so acutely allergic that mere contact with a beef product will make me ill) and usually preferring vegetarian dishes to fish, fish to poultry, and any meat (lamb or pork, usually) to beef or veal. I recognize that humans need a little bit of meat in their diets to get some amino acids and vitamins. That needed "little bit" is less than an ounce of animal flesh per week. I'm not about to go feeling guilty because my biology requires that little bit.

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Choke on it veggies!!!

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Pardon my ignorance, but what the hell is isinglass?

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