As a vegetarian, I’m used to a little drama when I order food. But at Subway? You know, Subway, that has Jarrod, urging us away from Big Macs? Whatever.
Against my better judgment — as it’s never been exactly smooth at the Subway nearest where I work on Saturday — I decided to pass over Taco Bell and Burger King and “Eat fresh” for lunch.
The line was to the door, full of big guys in matching t-shirts from the Fire Fighting program at the local training academy. I waited, and waited, and waited some more as each one ordered a double meat special with extra meat and a side of meat. There was a moment of entertainment when one of the Butthead-like kids making sandwiches forgot about one he was toasting and smoke poured from the oven. Twenty guys went for the fire extinguisher at the same time.
When I finally got my turn to order, it was from a sandwich maker recently returned from break, who put out her cigarette and popped in some gum just before donning her plastic gloves to smoosh meat, meat, meat into bread.
She asked what I wanted, knife poised to slash into whatever bread I chose, but I said first, “Could I get you to change your gloves?” She stared at me. The 15 people behind me in line paused in their conversations. “For what reason?” she finally barked. For what reason? How about because the nice customer lady asked you to?
As I debated on the quickest way to tell her I didn’t want beef blood and salami grease all in my veggie delight, she figured it out. “You a vegetarian?” she asked. I said yes, and she waved her finger at Butthead, and said, “You have to talk to him.” I looked at him, busy burning someone else’s meat sub on a meat roll, back at her, said thanks, and walked out. I went to Burger King, where I ordered a B.K. Veggie without so much as one eye batted.
So here’s my question. Does Subway really mean it when they say they are vegetarian-friendly? Yes, they offer a veggie patty sandwich, but do they train their employees on what to do in case someone wants to eat one?
I know many of you are thinking that if I want to be a pain in the ass and spoil everyone’s party by not eating meat, I have it coming. As I said before, whatever. But did you happen to catch the study from the University of Rochester Medical Center that shows pregnant women who eat a lot of modern beef are lowering their male children’s sperm count?
…among the 51 men whose mothers were the highest beef eaters, almost 18 percent had sperm counts classified by the World Health Organization as “sub-fertile” (20 mill/ml or lower). By comparison, sperm concentrations were 24 percent higher for men whose mothers ate less beef, and only about 5 percent had sperm counts that could be classified as sub-fertile.
Mothers who reported eating an average of more than one meal a day of beef were referred to as “high beef consumers.” The average number of beef meals was 4.3 per week. Researchers also examined the mothers’ consumption of other meats (pork, lamb or veal), as well as fish, chicken, soy products and vegetables, but did not observe a significant association between sperm count and these other foods.
I’m just saying.
I understand what your point is, however:
I eat a certain way due to insulin resistance/gluten intolerance. I bring my lunch to work in a cooler.I don’t expect normal restaurants to understand how to deal with my needs, so I do it myself.
Did the person that prepared your BK Veggie change their gloves just curious because you didn’t mention that in the article.
YOU ARE THE EXACT REASON EVERYONE HATES VEGATARIANS. YOUR STUPID WHINY DEMANDS ANNOY THE CRAP OUT OF US. IF IT WERE UP TO ME, I WOULD HAVE PRIED OPEN YOUR CRAPHOLE AND FORCED A BURGER DOWN YOUR MOUTH. THIS IS AMERICA. WE EAT MEAT, POTATOS AND MORE MEAT. IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, LEAVE. NO ONE WANTS YOU OR YOUR STUPID HIPPY KIND HERE SO GO STAND IN LINE TO VOTE FOR HILLARY OR SOMETHIGN AND EAT SOME REAL FOOD.
JUST ON A SIDE NOTE, I WORK AT A RESTARAUNT AND ANYTIME ANYONE ORDERS THE VEGATARIAN PLATE, I PUT EXTRA LARD AND HAM JUICE IN IT, AND IF I CAN, I WILL EVEN SPIT RIGHT ON A CHUNK OF MEAT AND GRIND IT UP SO THEY CANT TELL.
EVERY TIME YOU THINK YOU ARE EATING VEGATARIAN, YOU ARE PROBABLY EATING MY SPIT MEAT. GO DIE, YOU FILTHY MOONBAT KOOK.
The reason no one likes vegetarians is the attitude, such as the one displayed by the writer.
Americans love their meat, and we don’t take kindly to being insulted.
You make it sound like the woman who was helping you was unclean because she had just touched meat. This is the same thing as the muslims not selling pork except you are the one causing problems and being a pain in the ass.
I have to agree with the above poster, you are a complete retard and your kind should move away from this great nation of meat eaters.
To the vegetarian poster: I have a question. Why do you not give the same benefit of the doubt you extend to our animal friends to vegetables? Plants are shown to be responsive to stimulus. That’s a scientific fact. So how do you know that plants dont have “feelings” our senses are dull to? Have you ever heard of brominated diphenyl ether? Did you know that plants high in un/saturated fats can be loaded with it?
I think they doth protest too loudly. Hey, meat eaters, what’s the matter? Feeling guilty because every pound of flesh you consume consumed 9,000 gallons of water? I eat meat, but I would never slam a vegetarian for not eating it. However, I will slam a meat-eater who lowers the general level of civility on this Web site by resorting to juvenile insults instead of well-reasoned arguments presented coherently. Must be all the hormones in all that meat you guys are consuming that makes you stoopid.
Chill, Buck.
These are clearly “satire” posts — little digs by other veggie and vegan posters amusing themselves by poking fun at the silly carnivores.
Even among meat-eaters, nobody cold really be quite as stupid, vicious, vile, and inept as these posters (”vegatarians?” “potatos?” “restaraunt?”) and still manage to operate a computer, even though the software has become more idiot-proof over time.
Course, if I’m wrong, the problem will, in the long run, be self-correcting. They’ll die prematurely of heart disease or some such, and you can dance (or spit, if you prefer) on their graves.
Smartalek: From where do you get your B-12? I’ll certainly agree that people eat too much meat. But there is *no* hard and fast evidence to say that a strict meatless diet is any more healthful for you than including small amounts of meat in your diet. I also noticed you ignore the statistic (National Heart Association) that says vegetarians are 3X more likely to go completely insane than meat eaters even though vegetarians live (on average) 7 years longer. And those sharp teeth up front… what are those for? ;)
I ate a subway for the first time in long time and made the same request.
Please change your meaty gloves for my veggie sandwich. No problem, she changed her gloves, cut the bread put a few things on it and passed it on to the next meaty gloved server.
STOP!! Same request. A little bent but whatever. No changee no eatee.
Ok, but even if I WERE a veggie, I don’t think I’d request a subway employee to change their miserable plastic gloves; too much trouble for me to even bother asking, and then for them to have to stop, remove the old gloves, put new ones on and begin again, I dunno, that’s just too much. Oh, and what if they DID accidentally handle your (beginning) of a sandwich with the meaty gloves? Would they then have to start all over? Overkill kills your argument, veggie.
Trish, as vegetarians, we have had exactly the same experience at Subway.
Whenever possible, we do prepare our own food. However, when we travel, Subway is often the only veggie-friendly option.
We have been verbally abused by Subway employees (and customers in line) for asking for new gloves AND a clean knife (they try to use the same knife to cut meaty and veggie sandwiches in half).
And some of the rude comments to your post prove that being vegetarian and grossed out by meat slime is still subject to ridicule.
More and more restaurants are offering vegetarian options and grocery stores are even stocking more organic and vegetarian fare. People are waking up and the future is going green.
Thanks for validating our Subway experience! We posted this on our newsletter (www,rainbowzine.com) because we know from experience it is true!
Hopefully, those of us who have been practicing vegetarianism will live a healthier and longer life and thus have the last laugh!
Why are you vegetrians so ignohant? I liek meat and it will make you smart with vitamins. One day I had a double whooper with cheese and I likes it. I didn’t have any vege tables on it. So you shouldn’t eat vege tables. I went to the potty sooner with the double whopper with cheese than vege tables and that is a proven fact. Thanks.
Ugh… I just had the self-same issue at my local subway. They almost never change their damned gloves and today they didn’t even wash the filthy knife covered in ranch dressing that they were going to use on my sub.
I hope that, like the one commenter suggested, the posts here really are just parodies of non-vegetarians, but the reaction I got suggests that this attitude is more prevalent than you’d figure.
Well, your problem is eating fast food. It’s all horrible, unhealthy, meat infested blood sucking corporate bullshit. That’s your first lesson in veg 101. ESPECIALLY not burger king!!! oh god oh god gross. By purchasing a ‘veggie vomit sandwich’ from burger king, you are supporting all the things that most vegetarians are or should be against.
Ummm, the person at subway didn’t act all pissy because you were a vegetarian. She/he was pissed because you were making his/her job harder and if you are in need of special accommodations you should not walk into a subway with 20 hungry people who do not need special accommodations. Vegetarianism does not come before common courtesy. There is nothing wrong with being a vegetarian. There is something wrong with pissing 20 people off plus the employees who hate their jobs.
I worked at subway as a vegetarian, and must say that I never had any problems over here getting people to change gloves, and of course Ive never had a problem changing my gloves. Im laughing at the guy who said “THIS IS AMERICA WE EAT MEAT. IF YOU DONT LIKE IT. LEAVE”. I thought America was the land of the free, land of individual liberty. such as the liberty to choose to have your sandwich made with/ without meat. I cant even believe the ignorance of some people, its not like you were forcing your vegetarianism on anybody else, but just asking for respect of your choices. Some very bizzar responses, i must say.
Wow! The ignorance of some people is amazing. Some of these people are actually saying that the writer of this post should leave the country, or even die simply because she chooses not to eat meat like 5 million others in the country. Why should you care what other people do? Do you really have such a miserable life that all you can do with your time is patronize others? Besides, when you are in retail the customer IS always right, even if you don’t understand or agree. It is completely unacceptable to even ask why: why do you want me to change my gloves? I certainly know that there are times when people are hard to get along with and just can’t help but be picky and find something to complain about. This is not that situation. I work at Subway and will change my gloves and even wash the knife if a customer requests so. I do this because I understand. You guys should seriously consider seeing a phyciatrist because you obviously need help.