Is It Okay Trying to Convert Others to Better Diet? Two opinions.
by Natali Michaely and Dorthe Hansen
"But yes",
finds LIFE! author Natali Michaely
I like everything except dogmas. So when it comes to nutrition, I'm Göttingen – somewhere in the middle. I love creative veggie cuisine, but I don't feel like "only side dishes, please". Slippery carrots? Thanks, no – as long as I have teeth, I want to use them. Because for me food is pleasure that makes life lovable. And when the smell of red cabbage wafts from the canteen, I want the beef roulade with it. These are memories of my grandmother, who made me ribs on the last day of the holiday, which I gnawed at with delight. Of course, I know about the misery of the animals that end up on our plates after a life without sun and dignity, and I would never eat meat just because it "somehow" belongs to it. Fat leg of lamb or turkey cooked to death for eight hours? Easter or Christmas go well without me.
A freshly baked blueberry muffin as a celebration of everyday life
After this digression back to the question: Is it allowed to teach friends about nutrition? I think so. Because when it comes to this subject, many behave … well, a little strange. And if she lost 15 kilos from all the unhappy or false beliefs of a no-carb diet. I envy her stamina, she looks bombshell. But there is also the other side: she is more unstable than before, panicked to gain weight again, and if she licks out the salad bowl from hunger, then I tell her what I think. That she shouldn't forget life for sheer self-mortification. And that a freshly baked blueberry muffin is not a failure, but a small celebration of everyday life.
Of course, you have to be careful with the way you bring that up. But when you know someone well, you know what they can take and in what way. In fact, my girlfriend looked a little piqued at first, but then said: "You know, I'm glad you told me that. I didn't realize that I had changed so much."
Clarification is necessary in some situations
Another example is the boyfriend I once had. He was a vegetarian because of the animals and his unclean skin. Instead of meat, he liked to eat cheese. We spent a whole vacation in Switzerland with raclette and cheese fondue, his acne bloomed like a crumble cake. "I don't understand," he said. "I eat well." "PLEASE?" I exclaimed, and again I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I told him about cow's milk intolerance and about calves that are separated from their mother immediately after birth, just so that their milk can end up in his stomach as Appenzeller. Yes, and then there's my ex-husband. He only buys organic and believes that it makes him a better person. He's also allowed to do that. But if he asks me to do the same, because of our son, I have to say something about it. Clearly: organic is the better choice. But it's not the nutritional non plus ultra, just a focus on ethically correct ingredients.
I can cook for it. Will our son later remember his father's organic salami or my Georgian chicken – not organic, but from the butcher I trust at the weekly market – which conjured red cheeks on a cold, wet autumn evening, it was so soul-caressing? I hope the latter. Don't get me wrong: I like that the food world is round and colorful and I don't demonize anyone if they eat differently than I do. But when I see that he or she is not doing well with it or that he rises above others, I open my mouth for clarification and fruitful discussion. My friends are worth it to me.
"Well",
thinks Natali's colleague Dorthe Hansen
People who deal with me would never describe me as a person who holds back. No way! I can hardly bear not to contribute my opinion. As if something in me was struggling until it was finally on the table. And there we are: at the table. I'm very different there. A lamb. I ask in a friendly way how it tastes, the pork strips or the salmon fillet, and I am happy to provide information about my vegetable dish. But if someone asks why I eat vegetarian, I answer in a mock conspiratorial tone: "Let's not talk about it while we eat." Hihi. Because of course these are very unsavory reasons that have changed my view of nutrition – and they have been known for decades.
Chicken to the crime scene – people need traditions
So if I was between two or three forks of fried potatoes, ratatouille or – yes! – Most people don't like what I think of animal transports or what happens in slaughterhouses, in the oceans or in aquafarms. It is as if only then did they realize that the piece of meat on the plate in front of them was once an animal. Yikes Oh dear How sad. I know that because I explained my motives in detail for a long time, back when I first became a vegetarian and even went vegan. Then there were always the following sentences: "But people always eat meat", "I'm blood group 0, we need animal protein", "You don't even know what you're missing", "Do you sleep on down pillows?", " The animal is already dead ".
My all-time favorite phrase is, of course, "I don't eat that much meat." They all have it and even believe it. A friend of mine brought it up in the following way: "We hardly eat meat anymore, so actually not at all." Leaned down to the oven where a chicken was stewing and said: "Sunday evening, 'Tatort‘, lemon chicken. We always do that. " I didn't say: 50 chickens a year. Instead: "People just need traditions."
Many people don't care about the condition of the animals
Then his wife came into the kitchen, an avowed Buddhist. I would have been upset before. I stopped promoting animal-free diets many years ago. And that's how it happened: One of my closest friends introduced me to her group of colleagues, said my name and said: "She's a vegan." It's been so long since the term "vegan" was not used, so it raised questions. My question to her afterwards was: "What was that supposed to mean?" Your answer: "It's a good way to start a conversation." I don't hope she will do the same with people who have irritable bowel syndrome, for example. Today everyone knows what vegan means. Very few have ever tried it, and yet the form of nutrition is so present that it is suitable for comedy programs. Vegans are considered dogmatic, arrogant and humorous.
I can confirm the latter: I never understand the joke. Here comes one: What do you call a group of demonstrating vegans? Vegetable casserole! Now. Of course, it doesn't help that a guy like Attila Hildmann stands for vegans – a man, a cook, an athlete, an idiot. Jesus Christ, but the vegetables can't help that! What I also don't understand: Does the climate crisis really need to be used to think about meat production and consumption? Do you have to be presented with a few official scandals in slaughterhouses to complain about the condition of the staff – and to think about the really poor pigs there? It is to despair. That everyone knows. That so many don't give a shit. I just don't want to talk about it anymore.
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