People make all kinds of lifestyle choices. Some of them we understand, others we agree with, some we neither understand or support, but in general, most folks take a “live and let eat” mentality.
OP’s daughter recently decided to throw off her Midwestern background and choose a vegan diet. Her family was supportive, adjusting their budget and cooking and eating vegan dishes with her much of the time.
Dad here, old fart, loves his daughter to pieces but I’m struggling to see eye to eye with my teenager and wife on this one.
We’ve always been a meat eating family, we live in the rural Midwest and bacon for breakfast is pretty much a given. This year my 14 y/o daughter decided to go vegan, and I jumped onto her support team with enthusiasm.
We learned how to substitute ingredients, cook new things, try new things, I adjusted our budget to include more expensive vegan substitutes for her, etc.
The trouble began when OP’s daughter saw him cooking bacon and putting the skillet in the dishwasher. She erupted about the pan being contaminated.
None of this has been a problem for me until recently. She saw me cook bacon in a pan and exploded in anger.
She said that was HER pan for vegan food.
I was completely floored and said, kiddo this here is a family pan, older than you, it’s not YOUR pan.
So, he bought her new pans, thinking that would be the end of the story.
She asked me to purchase her a pan that she can solely use for vegan food. I didn’t want her to feel weird about food, so I said sure, and ordered her a few colored ones that are only for her.
The reason they’re colored is so it helps me remember that I’m not to touch them unless I’m cooking vegan.
Of course it wasn’t. She can’t stop thinking about the meat in the kitchen and fridge, and about how it’s all contaminated. She wants the entire house to go vegan.
That wasn’t good enough. Now apparently the dishwasher is ‘contaminated’ with animal product, and the fridge has ‘bacon grease fingers’ on it (because I eat bacon and then touch the fridge) and she’s asked me and her mom to completely stop eating meat at home.
I don’t mean I literally touch the fridge with greasy bacon hands, because I wash my hands, but it’s clearly enough that it upsets my daughter.
OP is against it. His wife thinks they should humor her.
Frankly I’m on team heck no, her mom is much more amenable and strongly wants me to consider taking our daughter up on the request.
My wife’s reasoning is that both our parents live close so we can eat meat products there, and that she doesn’t want our daughter to feel uncomfortable in the kitchen.
My daughter says she is fine with cheese and butter in the fridge, but it’s specifically meat products that make her feel sick.
Now I’m sorry for her, but I feel like she just needs to adapt and live side by side, because I’m not going to stop eating bacon in my own house.
Where does Reddit fall? Let’s find out!
The top comment has a suggestion for the daughter…
This person agrees, and says it might teach her another lesson.
They say that OP is paying the bills, after all.
It might be a cliche, but it’s true.
This commenter encourages OP to enjoy his bacon.
Like I said at the beginning, make whatever choice you want.
But don’t expect others to make it, too.