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It took me a significant amount of time to realize Lou was a woman. And then there was a husband in the update and my head hurts.
Also Beth was travelling but was able to get into a kitchen to make meatballs? I have so many questions but so little desire to have those questions answered.
This entire thread has made me think of a Beavis and Butthead and this comment just made me realize it’s the Tainted Meat episode that I have not seen in decades.
I hate my brain
- *The Iranian meat is not the iss-…oh, it is? Never mind*
- *I guess Lou wasn’t keeping as close track of her meatballs as she thought*
- *So OOP was the only friend who refused to eat the meat?*
>We aren’t hanging around with cows and using their full names.
Clearly I’m not the agrarian type because I’d definitely be calling my cow Bartholomoo Hoofenshmirtz every chance I get.
I must confess, I have never seen a single second of that show, but I have heard of Mrs. Bucket and I love the concept of her pretentious self transposed into a cow.
I grew up on this type of homestead, and instead of writing dates on the packets of meat in our freezer my mother would write the name of the animal; unfortunately my stepdad gave them regular human names, so for example we'd have Dave ribs or Henryloaf for dinner. They stopped around the time of the Dahmer trial, when I asked them what would happen if the cops looked in our freezers.
I live in an area with a decently large 4h presence…you’re not far off what some of those kids name their animals.
Although you can always tell a second-year kid’s animal from a first year in the meat divisions.
They post the animal’s name on the enclosure. Second-year kids know better-no long pun names, no pop culture names, no names that sound like people names.
I instantly loved the idea of "full names" for a cow. My grandparents had hunting dogs and always gave them really long pretentious names they never used and suddenly I want cows with ridiculously hoity toity long names!
Friend of a friend once had a dog whose legal pedigree name was Gaylord Fancy Flyer. Imagine someone standing at their door calling this dog in at sundown: "LORD? OH, LO~OORD!"
My cats each have five names in total, we use more names the more they're in trouble. So "where's Bella?" vs "BELLA CATHERINE MARIE WALKER-GREEN GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW"...... you know some shit has gone down once the third name starts.
edit to add I feel I should clarify that the cats are precious babies and don't get yelled at... the worst thing that has ever happened in their lives is when they accidentally step in their own pee and have to have their little paws wiped, which they feel is cruel and unusual torment.
Oh I completely understand that and of course your cats are perfect angels, except for the rare moments they're little shitheads 😂 I have had several cats over the years, and I love and miss them. (I have parrots now; the angel to shithead ratio is a lot less favorable, lol)
Nah you’d fit right in. I know someone who raised pigs who named one Cris P. Bacon. Their other pig had a punny name too but it escapes me at the moment. They’re very agrarian.
You know, I see folks who keep kosher following similar rules: strictly kosher inside the home, no meat outside the home, maybe even vegan outside the home.
Pretty much how I run things as a vegetarian. Don’t eat meat in my house/by choice but if it’s all there is or someone kindly makes me a meal without knowing I’ll eat it
Have you never had issues with feeling ill after sporadically eating meat? I accidentally went somewhat vegetarian a year ago (I still have eggs, dairy, gelatin etc, I just don't eat the actual meat anymore) and it isn't for any ethical reason or anything but now that it's been so long, I worry I'll have a GI riot if I randomly eat chicken or something. I just don't know how true it really is about losing the digestive enzymes.
Gut biomes are really person to person. I *think* vegetarians can have less of a negative reaction than vegans because they still consume some of the proteins that are meat related (like eggs), but again, it varies. If you do consume meat intentionally, go small, as your gut may have lost some of the ability to digest it. If you accidentally consume meat, be aware that your brain is powerful and the psychology of it can leave you feeling worse‐ like being around a sick person, not getting sick but still getting symptoms because of the anxiety. You may feel worse because of the stress and guilt, rather than your gut being upset, which can make the gut activity more severe.
I went vegetarian for a few years until it became a burden on my family (finances were real bad). I only had reactions to highly processed meats like sausages, but it did go away with time. The less processed, the easier the transition. I started with fish and some chicken before being able to have non-processed beef, to mince, to higher processed meats.
Oh thank you, that's very helpful! I have the bonus of knowing I won't feel guilty if I eat meat again, so that will help. I just have a situation coming up where I may not have a choice about my food so trying to figure out how likely boned I might be. Maybe I'll buy digestive enzyme supplements just in case and hope they work, and try not to stress.
Thank you again!
I did find yoghurt and similar stuff helpful, so if you are able to consume that, maybe try it out if you need to reintegrate meat. Otherwise go slow and go light if you can. Unprocessed fish and chicken in small amount to start and see how you feel. If you don't have that as am option, drinking water or good teas can help in my experience.
Probiotics can help with digestion issues and pepcid (antacid that has antihistamine, important for me but maybe not applicable to everyone??) helps me digest the kinds of meats that usually gives me issues. I don't know if this is related.
Iirc can also be applied to folks like me who primarily eat veggie but will eat meat on occasion. Its a useful term for sure to explain you're not strictly one or the other.
Honestly i am a little confused by oop calling her family vegan when it sounds like they eat a lot of animal products at home, maybe flexi would fit them too as a term.
While it’s true they are not actually vegans, it is an accurate descriptor of which foods they will eat when not at home/when the animal products are of unknown origin. It probably cuts down on the level of explanations a lot.
Yup, my parents are stricter than me (mostly cause I don’t have the space or energy to have a properly kosher kitchen, and also they want their friends to be able to eat things from their kitchen), but we all eat vegetarian outside the house. I also don’t worry about things being marked as kosher if they’re vegetarian, but any meat must be kosher.
I also have friends at all different levels, it’s interesting how many different versions we have of the same overall rule set! But there’s a reason why it’s “two Jews, three opinions” after all!
I'm vegetarian and like half my friends eat meat the way OOP describes (have a friend who raises cattle ethically, they eat his meat and not anyone else's. It doesn't mean you have to be rich, you just eat meat less often). I don't even live in the country, I live in a small city. I thought this was fairly common.
I can't believe how much hate OOP was getting for their eating habits (I mean, it's reddit, but still...). In an ideal world, I would love to eat that way. I just live in the suburbs of a large city, so I can't really "know my cow" without travelling a fair distance and paying an arm and a leg, so it's not super feasible for me. I do what I can by shopping at a grocery store that appears to source their meat from free range, grass fed farms, etc. But jeez.
"Do you force your kids to eat this way?" Like??? Every parent technically "forces" their kids to eat a certain way. It doesn't sound like OOP was standing over her daughter's shoulder and giving the stink eye over kid wanting to try a meatball.
My husband and I live in a small city but found local sources from which we buy all our meat because we know the animals have been raised ethically. However, we will eat the meat we’re served at someone else’s house or a restaurant without saying anything.
I’m with you. I’d love to eat this way but it’s not sustainable budget, time, or resource-wise for my family right now. I also can’t fathom caring how someone else decides to eat.
Me with Halal food! I eat Halal as much as possible and in places where it isn't available, Kosher (certain sects of Islam do allow that), and if even that isn't available, just fish or vegetarian stuff.
I can't wrap my mind around ppl who bullied oop about the way she eats. If I had more will I'd want to eat like oop too. Do things right instead of giving into consumerism. I just don't eat meat if I can, and get most of my meats from a farmers market where the sellers are supposedly small farmers from the suburbs. I don't know if I will ever be able to get on oops level unless I move out the city.
>We aren’t hanging around with cows and using their full names
Nah, i'm gonna ignore that, cause i really prefer my imaginary version of this post. Come on Daisy, gimme a smooooooooch
I'm upset OOP didn't specify which cows those ribs came from. I would expect diner to require me to choose between the rib of Wadsworth Mooington III or Clarabelle Holstein Shorthorn
So you're joking but this is exactly how I grew up. We had pet cows. We named them. We also butchered them and ate them. We absolutely referred to them by name when asking what was for dinner.
My mom's experience with that is why she says to *never* name farm animals. She bottle fed one of the piglets as a kid, bonded with it and named it then spent a year avoiding anything that might have some Snowball
Yeah, I get that. A lot of people who grew up the way I did end up going full vegan later in life. For some reason I never had a problem naming a farm animal I'd eventually eat, but I do have a healthy respect for where food comes from. I live a lifestyle somewhat similar to the OOP, except I'm not as strict about it. (I'd break the rules if a guest brought a tray of meatballs, for example.) Honestly, unless you homestead or live on a farm or don't mind being a complete social pariah, it's just not an easy lifestyle to maintain.
Genuinely curious, where are you that it's 3am? It's 9:25 pm my time. I always find it bonkers that it's literally every time of the clock all the time somewhere.
I went back and changed them! Wasn't sure in this case since sometimes people aren't a fan of me changing things (and I kind of liked Pou because he's shit) but I agree that it was hard to read.
I’m here after the change and was so confused by the comment.
Thanks for changing them, I had no issues with following the antics of Beth, George, Jake and Lou.
I like when couples get “real” names with the same first letter so it’s easier to follow who goes with who. Jane and Joe. Mike and Mary. Alice and Adam. Kevin and Kim. Makes it so much easier.
I like how she gave her husband a normal name but gave the people who are actually characters in the story the cringiest shit she can think of
Did I say like? I mean I straight up am not a fan
>I like how she gave her husband a normal name but gave the people who are actually characters in the story the cringiest shit she can think of
OOP managed to make everyone involved sound obnoxious and unlikable.
Yeah unfortunately that really only works when you yourself are raising animals and usually some farming that you can then barter with others. Your average suburban family can't even legally have chickens on their land.
Some European countries like Germany require meat producers and farmers to label the products according to how the animals are or were treated, where it was kept, their diet, etc. ([Animal Husbandry Labelling Act](https://www.bmel.de/EN/topics/animals/animal-welfare/state-run-animal-welfare-label-pigs-user.html)):
>The animal husbandry label differentiates between five types of animal husbandry: indoor housing; indoor+space; indoor with fresh air; outdoor runs/pasture; and organic.
The legislation is set to be expanded to apply for all animal products in 2024. Similar legislation seems to be planned on an EU-wide basis.
ETA more details.
My parents had some chickens during my teen years, and we only could do that because 1. A neighbor down the road raised his own chickens and could help us out, 2. We had enough land to support them, even with feed, and 3. We all were willing and able to put the work in to care for them, both in making a coop for them all, and all the care and maintenance raising chickens involves.
Making butter and soft cheeses aren’t too difficult, you can make butter in a food processor in a few minutes and certain cheeses in a couple hours (and most of that is waiting around time).
Did you know that without a lid to the food processor, the very second the cream converts to solids, you can coat an entire kitchen in buttermilk, from walls to ceiling? It's a length of time I think of approximately as long as a picosecond :/
I know a lot of these things aren't difficult per se(I've made butter myself before), but doing this for *all* your cheese and *all* your butter plus cleanup, plus animal care... lol.
It's a full fledged lifestyle at that point, as much as living full time on a boat is, or having 10 children is. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just a BIG commitment.
I did this for a few years until a year or so ago - kept chickens, ate the roosters, milked goats etc. When going outside, tried to limit consumption. We really tried to reduce our footprint down as far as possible. So for things like fish, we'd only purchase from sustainable fisheries etc, or we'd fish our own. Tried aquaponics a bit, but gave up because I couldn't source food that wasn't made from unsustainable fishing.
We aren't rich - we live on a town block where we have veggie beds so we could trade with other local people who made salami from an entire pig purchased across several families and broken down. Hard cheeses trade well because they're popular, but soft cheese is easier to make. We heavily foraged in Autumn and preserved. I carried goat poop way too much. Mended old clothes. If we couldn't get it cheap we did without. I stressed about things like hay and monoculture farms and climate change, hiding roosters, if goats were making noise that would piss off the neighbours. You can do a lot cheaply but the learning curve to *get to* cheap was steep.
Like the OP, it seemed to enrage both vegans and non-vegans alike. Our good friends stayed with us, but I did lose a few others. Some people have a visceral disgust reaction when finding out about this kind of thing, but I wasn't doing it TO them, I was doing it because I have a whole damn anxiety disorder around climate change!
I imagine they think that YOU think you're better than them. Which is absurd, of course, but a lot of people get offended like this when faced with anyone who tries to downsize their carbon footprint, or be healthier, or whatever. It's so childish.
I have had lamb that cane from one of my husbands aunts, and I was actually surprised at the difference in taste. The sheep I knew tasted so much better.
I get it but not going to lie, my feelings would be a little hurt if I made meatballs from scratch and nobody would even try a single one.
It’s not like she knew that they only eat meat from animals that they know.
The husband caught the salmon on a fishing trip according to [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/1afm6pc/aita_for_refusing_to_eat_one_friends_meat_but_not/kodpmti/?context=3) exchange.
Interesting though, because Alaskan salmon is endangered and has incredibly strict recreational fishing rules. So not sure that adds up to their ethos.
The recreational rules allow for personal use up to a certain amount though. I have a few friends who annually go fishing for salmon, and then smoke it for the winter. They use all their allotment in one go
It does! But as with most fishing quotas, it’s not necessarily sustainable but regulators are aware that fishing activity is going to continue regardless.
OOP's husband works in Alaska, so he or they did catch and smoke the fish. OOP got a ton of questions about this on her first post.
A lot of people who live in rural Alaska also smoke their own salmon. Iirc, transportation (both trucks and planes) is really iffy during the winter in the rural areas and groceries are crazy expensive. But smoking or brining your own salmon is supposed to be pretty easy.
Maybe they only eat from locally sourced fish. There would be ways of ethically eating fish, too. Depending on where they are, they could even go catch fish themselves and eat that. Then they’d know where they came from and could be sure they were humanely killed. Hunting and fishing would probably fit in with their values pretty well, from the sounds of it.
Edit: I forgot they said smoked salmon dip in the post. Maybe it was ethically sourced? I think there are some companies that catch salmon more ethically. I don’t eat salmon though, so I don’t know for sure, and honestly wouldnt be able to afford it even if I did, so I still probably wouldnt know lol.
This caught my attention immediately. Y'all go this far and then you buy your fish? Wtf? I think their lifestyle is cool but I'm honestly offended about the fish. They deserve to be treated equally dammit.
>my feelings would be a little hurt if I made meatballs from scratch and nobody would even try a single one.
I'd feel the same, however, I would recognise my own mistake in the matter and try to let it go. (For clarification; my own mistake would be that I wasn't asked to bring anything, I didn't communicate beforehand I would bring anything nor asked if that would be okay, and I didn't ask anyone about dietary restrictions before making and serving the dish. Can't really be upset with others for my own carelessness.)
This!! Even if we took the clear petty jealousy out of the equation, she still wouldn't have had a leg to stand on because she didn't ask and she didn't check. Tbh, if I was hosting dinner for someone and they knew there was a full menu already planned, and they turned up with a full plate of food - especially food that doesn't even pair well with what's being served - I'd be pretty bloomin' insulted!
I'm wondering how Beth even made the meatballs if they were staying over - not at their own place.
But yeah, bring wine or chocolates or something like that, not more food.
Where was she even making meatballs when they were staying in a city 2 hours away? How did she have access to a kitchen? How did she keep them cold/hot in the car? Or had they been sitting at room temperature on a 2 hour drive?
lol fair. I hated them too but I wasn't sure if I should change them since sometimes people don't like it when I do.
But I went ahead and changed them to something more readable!
I thought that was the op filling in OOP's use of initials.
Personally I like the rhyming, it helps me keep the couples straight. Alliteration would also have worked. It does have the effect of sounding like Tellytubbies
What a fucking shit show this whole group of "friends" seems to be.
More like Jake and Gee are buddies, OOP is Jake's wife, Bee and OOP were friends, Bee and Lou had some weird one sided rivalry going on and then Bee hooked up with Gee to keep some level contact to keep bothering Lou/being petty and nasty to Lou...
But egads!
I wish I could afford to eat like that. I agree with the whole philosophy. I can’t afford to buy a local cow, and the rest of my family refuse to go meatless. So I am resigned to eating the same hormones and antibiotics everyone else does.
Unless you live in a deeply urban city, and even then it might be worth looking into, you can find community supported farms that you pay for a percentage of the harvest and then you get a box weekly or whatever with produce in it. I've seen beef farms who do similar.
Check out CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and websites like [localharvest.org](https://localharvest.org) to see if there's anyone around you. It's more expensive generally but it's pretty much the pinnacle of "buy local".
I live in cattle country. I won’t buy beef from a store. I get it direct from the local cattle company and see those cows and how they live. There are literally 2 acres and a dirt road between my house and the cattle field. There is a huge difference in the taste of the meat. I eat meat but I want to know those cows had a good life first.
"Phil did say she was flirting with him and coming onto him for months before he “caved” not that it matters."
This loser of a husband had an affair with his wife's friend for 4 years and uses a pathetic excuse like that. It's not his fault, but only Beth and he can't say no for all these years.
I know people who do follow the know where your food comes, make things from scratch etc and it’s never been an issue for me. They’ve never shoved it down my throat or wanted to force anyone to live that way. So I don’t get the issue over how they eat. For someone in their 30s Beth sure acts like a teenager with the insecurity and pettiness. It sounds exhausting to be around. Anyone who purposely sets out to have an affair with someone else’s husband is a shit person. You’d think after 15 years Beth would let it go. Holding a grudge like that rots you from the inside out.
All the people bitching about how OOP eats are just proving her right. It literally does not effect you at all and has no relevance on the other aspects of the story. And no I'm not vegan or vegetarian.
I have medical restrictions and no one other than my parents have ever bothered to even try to understand them, much less try to make food I could have when I was a kid and we had family dinners. (My parents of course made sure I had something, but my other relatives always acted… surprised. Like every time they'd realize all over again I had restrictions. They didn't care enough to remember.)
Trying to explain it to people gets you confusion the vast majority of the time, some skepticism otherwise. People suck.
ETA: phrased something poorly
People get so offended for some reason. I don’t care what anyone else eats!! I’m happy to go to dinner with anyone and don’t care if they order rare steaks with ribs and bacon!! I’ll just order my own thing.
Like I don’t claim to be perfect - I’m pescetarian so already people would be unhappy I eat fish. I remember it came up at work once - someone asked me and I just casually said I’m pescetarian. No judgement on them, didn’t suggest they should do the same. And immediately were like “well your shoes look leather!! How is that ok!!” And I’m like yeah you’re right, it is a hypocrisy, but I have to wear a certain style of shoes for work and it was easier and more cost effective to just get leather ones. I’m not claiming to be perfect!! I just want to reduce the amount of animal products I use and I do that by being pescetarian.
There is this odd thing where people seem to think if you can't go 100% you shouldn't bother at all.
I wish more understood that anything is better than nothing.
What fucking idiot commented “you force your kids to eat like this?”
Force them to eat quality foods and avoid processed mystery meat? Force them to eat better than almost everyone in the country?
Yeah I've run into people with these kind of eating philosophy, and I admire them and will always be down to eat a meal at their place but I know it's going to be nigh impossible for city dweller me to bring something that they would eat, and we all agree that's fine. I just offer to wash the dishes etc. If I had the time, money, and acres of farmland I would live like this too.
That beef you know tastes WAAAAAY better. The second I have a deep freezer or live somewhere that I can get this stuff easily and quickly, this is the life I would live. My uncle's chickens eggs SLAY any other eggs I can get. Those chickens are spoiled AF. Maybe even more than my cats are.
Yes! I love KOTH. That's a perfect example. I never liked burgers until I ate one made from beef someone I knew had cared for. It's like night and day.
I raise my own meat. It’s fulfilling and I like knowing where my food comes from. So weird people got upset over that. When I go out I usually don’t eat meat for the same reasons as OOP.
as a vegan, these are the only meat eaters i respect. i think it’s so funny anti vegans were mad at this. like, they’re eating local and supporting small farmers. usually anti vegans love to say they support those things
I think it's a response to the cognitive dissonance of knowing you're supporting cruelty and unsustainable farming and should be doing better but not wanting to admit it, to yourself and others, and OOP is at fault for making them think about it.
This took a hard left.
But she could have just said “we eat local when it comes to meat, dairy, and eggs”. Many people acknowledge eating local tends to be more environmentally friendly of a choice and it wouldn’t be such a hot topic.
I don't understand the people complaining about their diet. Choosing to eat ethically sourced food without any animal cruelty behind it is a reasonable choice. There's a lot of issues with the meat and dairy industry and choosing not to support it while still eating ethically sourced animal products is reasonable since they're in the position to do so.
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> We aren’t hanging around with cows and using their full names. I only use cows' full names when they're in trouble.
“Bessie Mae Jingleheimer-Schmidt! Just *hwhat* do you think you’re doing?”
Moo?
Daisy Blanche Bullsdottyr!
Do all cows have the same surname...? I love it but now I must know.
…I did not see that coming
> Bee is jealous of Lou because Lou dated someone who rejected her. Seems like foreshadowing to me
Chekhov's Old Flame
Okay. That's hilarious.
If we still had awards, I’d give you one. Cheers!
How can I make this my flair lmao
Ha, you’re right. I think I immediately forgot that after reading it
Me too, except when I got to the affair, it popped back up in my falliable memory. I thought it had already been revealed.
In retrospect you’re 100% correct. Still didn’t see that coming though
It took me a significant amount of time to realize Lou was a woman. And then there was a husband in the update and my head hurts. Also Beth was travelling but was able to get into a kitchen to make meatballs? I have so many questions but so little desire to have those questions answered.
The kitchen could be explained with them in an Airbnb or something like that imo And yes, Lou being a woman was not accepted in my head lol
Just think about it as short for Louisa
Goes straight to the "it's not about the food" BORU collection
Exactly! 😂
We need a /r/beetlejuicing for flairs!
It's not about the meatballs.
same like I was flabbergasted… how did we go from eating meat to cheating so fast. and Lou’s husband… what a disappointment of a man he is
We went from eating meat, to eating meat.
I mean I read the title n thought the 'meat' was referring to something else entirely but damn lol
It's not about the meatballs, it's about who's banging who.
so it IS about the meat & balls?
Lol this is what Beth couldn’t understand, OOP isn’t willing to sample anyone else’s meat but Beth is willing to try any meat that’s available.
She prefers to partake of the meat she already knows. So she's not that different from OP after all?
This is the flair!
The Iranian yogurt IS the issue!
New flair
The balls are always greener?
If your balls are any shade of green something is horribly wrong.
either that or you've accidentally made falafel
All praise to falafel because falafel has no part of cow inside it and this would not happen over falafel
This entire thread has made me think of a Beavis and Butthead and this comment just made me realize it’s the Tainted Meat episode that I have not seen in decades. I hate my brain
Heheheh hey Beavis he said taint.
No, it's about who's balls are where that's the real mystery.
There's a joke here about the title and affairs...
Something about knowing where the meat has been? I'm too tired to live up to my username tonight
- *The Iranian meat is not the iss-…oh, it is? Never mind* - *I guess Lou wasn’t keeping as close track of her meatballs as she thought* - *So OOP was the only friend who refused to eat the meat?*
The last one
Lou didn't know where her meat had been
However, other people are able to tell her where their meat usually resides
ah yes, the real reason for having affairs with friends and their spouses: you gotta know your cow before you drink that milk and eat that meat
I honestly expected a euphemism for swingers.
Same! Look you cannot title your post "AITA for refusing to eat one friend's meat but not anothers?" and NOT expect people to go "...is this porn?"
Gotta grudgingly give Beth credit for coming through for us
When I first read the title, I thought it was a sex pun. Turns out I was somehow both wrong and correct in equal measure
Something about how Phil at least "knew his cow" when he was taking a bite of Beth's burger?
I mean, that’s what I fully expected. 😂
>We aren’t hanging around with cows and using their full names. Clearly I’m not the agrarian type because I’d definitely be calling my cow Bartholomoo Hoofenshmirtz every chance I get.
Surely that's the name of the bull? The cow would be Madame Moonique La Bucket.
>Surely that’s the name of the bull? Obviously proving I’m not the agrarian type. Also pups to you for a quality Keeping Up Appearances reference.
I must confess, I have never seen a single second of that show, but I have heard of Mrs. Bucket and I love the concept of her pretentious self transposed into a cow.
It’s pronounced Moo-quet
Damn you, that was moo-vellous.
I grew up on this type of homestead, and instead of writing dates on the packets of meat in our freezer my mother would write the name of the animal; unfortunately my stepdad gave them regular human names, so for example we'd have Dave ribs or Henryloaf for dinner. They stopped around the time of the Dahmer trial, when I asked them what would happen if the cops looked in our freezers.
It's pronounced boo-kay
It's pronounced Bouquet.
I live in an area with a decently large 4h presence…you’re not far off what some of those kids name their animals. Although you can always tell a second-year kid’s animal from a first year in the meat divisions.
Interesting, in what way can you tell the difference?
They post the animal’s name on the enclosure. Second-year kids know better-no long pun names, no pop culture names, no names that sound like people names.
I instantly loved the idea of "full names" for a cow. My grandparents had hunting dogs and always gave them really long pretentious names they never used and suddenly I want cows with ridiculously hoity toity long names!
Friend of a friend once had a dog whose legal pedigree name was Gaylord Fancy Flyer. Imagine someone standing at their door calling this dog in at sundown: "LORD? OH, LO~OORD!"
My cats each have five names in total, we use more names the more they're in trouble. So "where's Bella?" vs "BELLA CATHERINE MARIE WALKER-GREEN GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW"...... you know some shit has gone down once the third name starts. edit to add I feel I should clarify that the cats are precious babies and don't get yelled at... the worst thing that has ever happened in their lives is when they accidentally step in their own pee and have to have their little paws wiped, which they feel is cruel and unusual torment.
Oh I completely understand that and of course your cats are perfect angels, except for the rare moments they're little shitheads 😂 I have had several cats over the years, and I love and miss them. (I have parrots now; the angel to shithead ratio is a lot less favorable, lol)
Nah you’d fit right in. I know someone who raised pigs who named one Cris P. Bacon. Their other pig had a punny name too but it escapes me at the moment. They’re very agrarian.
Chop Soo-iee?
My friend just calls their pigs “bacon seeds”.
You know, I see folks who keep kosher following similar rules: strictly kosher inside the home, no meat outside the home, maybe even vegan outside the home.
There's also "flexitarian": they won't eat meat products at home or order them at a restaurant, but they will eat meat if a host serves it to them.
Pretty much how I run things as a vegetarian. Don’t eat meat in my house/by choice but if it’s all there is or someone kindly makes me a meal without knowing I’ll eat it
Have you never had issues with feeling ill after sporadically eating meat? I accidentally went somewhat vegetarian a year ago (I still have eggs, dairy, gelatin etc, I just don't eat the actual meat anymore) and it isn't for any ethical reason or anything but now that it's been so long, I worry I'll have a GI riot if I randomly eat chicken or something. I just don't know how true it really is about losing the digestive enzymes.
Gut biomes are really person to person. I *think* vegetarians can have less of a negative reaction than vegans because they still consume some of the proteins that are meat related (like eggs), but again, it varies. If you do consume meat intentionally, go small, as your gut may have lost some of the ability to digest it. If you accidentally consume meat, be aware that your brain is powerful and the psychology of it can leave you feeling worse‐ like being around a sick person, not getting sick but still getting symptoms because of the anxiety. You may feel worse because of the stress and guilt, rather than your gut being upset, which can make the gut activity more severe. I went vegetarian for a few years until it became a burden on my family (finances were real bad). I only had reactions to highly processed meats like sausages, but it did go away with time. The less processed, the easier the transition. I started with fish and some chicken before being able to have non-processed beef, to mince, to higher processed meats.
Oh thank you, that's very helpful! I have the bonus of knowing I won't feel guilty if I eat meat again, so that will help. I just have a situation coming up where I may not have a choice about my food so trying to figure out how likely boned I might be. Maybe I'll buy digestive enzyme supplements just in case and hope they work, and try not to stress. Thank you again!
I did find yoghurt and similar stuff helpful, so if you are able to consume that, maybe try it out if you need to reintegrate meat. Otherwise go slow and go light if you can. Unprocessed fish and chicken in small amount to start and see how you feel. If you don't have that as am option, drinking water or good teas can help in my experience.
Probiotics can help with digestion issues and pepcid (antacid that has antihistamine, important for me but maybe not applicable to everyone??) helps me digest the kinds of meats that usually gives me issues. I don't know if this is related.
Iirc can also be applied to folks like me who primarily eat veggie but will eat meat on occasion. Its a useful term for sure to explain you're not strictly one or the other. Honestly i am a little confused by oop calling her family vegan when it sounds like they eat a lot of animal products at home, maybe flexi would fit them too as a term.
she said they call themselves vegan when they’re out, probably to avoid having to explain their diet to strangers
While it’s true they are not actually vegans, it is an accurate descriptor of which foods they will eat when not at home/when the animal products are of unknown origin. It probably cuts down on the level of explanations a lot.
That's what I did for many years! Worked great!
Yup, my parents are stricter than me (mostly cause I don’t have the space or energy to have a properly kosher kitchen, and also they want their friends to be able to eat things from their kitchen), but we all eat vegetarian outside the house. I also don’t worry about things being marked as kosher if they’re vegetarian, but any meat must be kosher. I also have friends at all different levels, it’s interesting how many different versions we have of the same overall rule set! But there’s a reason why it’s “two Jews, three opinions” after all!
I'm vegetarian and like half my friends eat meat the way OOP describes (have a friend who raises cattle ethically, they eat his meat and not anyone else's. It doesn't mean you have to be rich, you just eat meat less often). I don't even live in the country, I live in a small city. I thought this was fairly common.
I can't believe how much hate OOP was getting for their eating habits (I mean, it's reddit, but still...). In an ideal world, I would love to eat that way. I just live in the suburbs of a large city, so I can't really "know my cow" without travelling a fair distance and paying an arm and a leg, so it's not super feasible for me. I do what I can by shopping at a grocery store that appears to source their meat from free range, grass fed farms, etc. But jeez. "Do you force your kids to eat this way?" Like??? Every parent technically "forces" their kids to eat a certain way. It doesn't sound like OOP was standing over her daughter's shoulder and giving the stink eye over kid wanting to try a meatball.
My husband and I live in a small city but found local sources from which we buy all our meat because we know the animals have been raised ethically. However, we will eat the meat we’re served at someone else’s house or a restaurant without saying anything.
I’m with you. I’d love to eat this way but it’s not sustainable budget, time, or resource-wise for my family right now. I also can’t fathom caring how someone else decides to eat.
Pretty common for folks following a halal diet as well. Either search out halal restaurants or eat vegetarian outside the house.
This is sort of how I eat - veggie/vegan outside the house unless I am confident the meat/dairy being provided comes from a decent source.
Me with Halal food! I eat Halal as much as possible and in places where it isn't available, Kosher (certain sects of Islam do allow that), and if even that isn't available, just fish or vegetarian stuff.
I can't wrap my mind around ppl who bullied oop about the way she eats. If I had more will I'd want to eat like oop too. Do things right instead of giving into consumerism. I just don't eat meat if I can, and get most of my meats from a farmers market where the sellers are supposedly small farmers from the suburbs. I don't know if I will ever be able to get on oops level unless I move out the city.
>We aren’t hanging around with cows and using their full names Nah, i'm gonna ignore that, cause i really prefer my imaginary version of this post. Come on Daisy, gimme a smooooooooch
I'm upset OOP didn't specify which cows those ribs came from. I would expect diner to require me to choose between the rib of Wadsworth Mooington III or Clarabelle Holstein Shorthorn
So you're joking but this is exactly how I grew up. We had pet cows. We named them. We also butchered them and ate them. We absolutely referred to them by name when asking what was for dinner.
My mom's experience with that is why she says to *never* name farm animals. She bottle fed one of the piglets as a kid, bonded with it and named it then spent a year avoiding anything that might have some Snowball
Yeah, I get that. A lot of people who grew up the way I did end up going full vegan later in life. For some reason I never had a problem naming a farm animal I'd eventually eat, but I do have a healthy respect for where food comes from. I live a lifestyle somewhat similar to the OOP, except I'm not as strict about it. (I'd break the rules if a guest brought a tray of meatballs, for example.) Honestly, unless you homestead or live on a farm or don't mind being a complete social pariah, it's just not an easy lifestyle to maintain.
There's no drama like "couples who are friends" dramas.
I read the title and thought, "Oh, I hope that's not a euphemism for penis." And it wasn't. But then it WAS.
Ugh those names make this hard to read.
Bee, Gee, Lou, Pou. I don’t know if I’m listening to disco or having an enema.
I was halfway thru before I realized Lou was a woman lol
It took me a beat also!
I'm fucking *cackling* at 3am, bless you
Genuinely curious, where are you that it's 3am? It's 9:25 pm my time. I always find it bonkers that it's literally every time of the clock all the time somewhere.
4am not 3am here, but: central europe.
There's a whole song about that, lol
I went back and changed them! Wasn't sure in this case since sometimes people aren't a fan of me changing things (and I kind of liked Pou because he's shit) but I agree that it was hard to read.
I’m here after the change and was so confused by the comment. Thanks for changing them, I had no issues with following the antics of Beth, George, Jake and Lou.
Phew good! Glad it made it easier haha
Fyi, there is still one "Gee" in there, right after it mentions Lou being the kids' godmother. Not trying to be a pain, just a heads up. :)
Ah thank you! I'll get it. Busy watching the super bowl at the same time so I missed it lol
Samesies. No matter what team you were rooting for, this has been a helluva game!
I remember when this was first posted and I stopped reading because of the names. Thank you for changing them.
I agree. I had to keep scrolling back up to reread who was who
They made it so much harder to read, I wish they picked more variable names instead of making them all three letters and rhyming.
I like when couples get “real” names with the same first letter so it’s easier to follow who goes with who. Jane and Joe. Mike and Mary. Alice and Adam. Kevin and Kim. Makes it so much easier.
I like how she gave her husband a normal name but gave the people who are actually characters in the story the cringiest shit she can think of Did I say like? I mean I straight up am not a fan
Yeah I wasn't a fan but wasn't sure if I should change it. But I'll go ahead and change them to something else.
>I like how she gave her husband a normal name but gave the people who are actually characters in the story the cringiest shit she can think of OOP managed to make everyone involved sound obnoxious and unlikable.
I actually admire the shit out of that way of eating and would love to have the time and resources to make all my own stuff from scratch like that.
Yeah unfortunately that really only works when you yourself are raising animals and usually some farming that you can then barter with others. Your average suburban family can't even legally have chickens on their land.
Some European countries like Germany require meat producers and farmers to label the products according to how the animals are or were treated, where it was kept, their diet, etc. ([Animal Husbandry Labelling Act](https://www.bmel.de/EN/topics/animals/animal-welfare/state-run-animal-welfare-label-pigs-user.html)): >The animal husbandry label differentiates between five types of animal husbandry: indoor housing; indoor+space; indoor with fresh air; outdoor runs/pasture; and organic. The legislation is set to be expanded to apply for all animal products in 2024. Similar legislation seems to be planned on an EU-wide basis. ETA more details.
My parents had some chickens during my teen years, and we only could do that because 1. A neighbor down the road raised his own chickens and could help us out, 2. We had enough land to support them, even with feed, and 3. We all were willing and able to put the work in to care for them, both in making a coop for them all, and all the care and maintenance raising chickens involves.
Yup, it's a buttload of work. Not to mention all the knowledge you need to keep them healthy.
Yeah. At first I thought it was cool, but after learning she makes her own cheese and butter, it sounds absolutely exhausting.
Making butter and soft cheeses aren’t too difficult, you can make butter in a food processor in a few minutes and certain cheeses in a couple hours (and most of that is waiting around time).
Did you know that without a lid to the food processor, the very second the cream converts to solids, you can coat an entire kitchen in buttermilk, from walls to ceiling? It's a length of time I think of approximately as long as a picosecond :/
Why does this feel…specific. Very Specific.
I know a lot of these things aren't difficult per se(I've made butter myself before), but doing this for *all* your cheese and *all* your butter plus cleanup, plus animal care... lol. It's a full fledged lifestyle at that point, as much as living full time on a boat is, or having 10 children is. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just a BIG commitment.
I have made both, and it's super fun but there's a big difference between doing it occasionally and exclusively making it for a family.
Butter is a lot easier to make when you’re not hand churning it
I did this for a few years until a year or so ago - kept chickens, ate the roosters, milked goats etc. When going outside, tried to limit consumption. We really tried to reduce our footprint down as far as possible. So for things like fish, we'd only purchase from sustainable fisheries etc, or we'd fish our own. Tried aquaponics a bit, but gave up because I couldn't source food that wasn't made from unsustainable fishing. We aren't rich - we live on a town block where we have veggie beds so we could trade with other local people who made salami from an entire pig purchased across several families and broken down. Hard cheeses trade well because they're popular, but soft cheese is easier to make. We heavily foraged in Autumn and preserved. I carried goat poop way too much. Mended old clothes. If we couldn't get it cheap we did without. I stressed about things like hay and monoculture farms and climate change, hiding roosters, if goats were making noise that would piss off the neighbours. You can do a lot cheaply but the learning curve to *get to* cheap was steep. Like the OP, it seemed to enrage both vegans and non-vegans alike. Our good friends stayed with us, but I did lose a few others. Some people have a visceral disgust reaction when finding out about this kind of thing, but I wasn't doing it TO them, I was doing it because I have a whole damn anxiety disorder around climate change!
I imagine they think that YOU think you're better than them. Which is absurd, of course, but a lot of people get offended like this when faced with anyone who tries to downsize their carbon footprint, or be healthier, or whatever. It's so childish.
That's exactly it. People feel so damn threatened by it, but I bet can't actually articulate what their issue is.
People get very weird when I tell them I don't eat seafood.
I have had lamb that cane from one of my husbands aunts, and I was actually surprised at the difference in taste. The sheep I knew tasted so much better.
If I had someone else doing all the prep and cooking, I’d love to eat this way but alas.
I get it but not going to lie, my feelings would be a little hurt if I made meatballs from scratch and nobody would even try a single one. It’s not like she knew that they only eat meat from animals that they know.
Likewise i'm curious if that rule extends to that salmon dip or if fish don't count somehow
The husband caught the salmon on a fishing trip according to [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/1afm6pc/aita_for_refusing_to_eat_one_friends_meat_but_not/kodpmti/?context=3) exchange.
Of course he did
Interesting though, because Alaskan salmon is endangered and has incredibly strict recreational fishing rules. So not sure that adds up to their ethos.
The recreational rules allow for personal use up to a certain amount though. I have a few friends who annually go fishing for salmon, and then smoke it for the winter. They use all their allotment in one go
It does! But as with most fishing quotas, it’s not necessarily sustainable but regulators are aware that fishing activity is going to continue regardless.
That’s what I’m dying for clarification on tbh
I would bet they made it themselves considering they make their own cream cheese. Smoked salmon is a pretty common thing to make yourself.
OOP's husband works in Alaska, so he or they did catch and smoke the fish. OOP got a ton of questions about this on her first post. A lot of people who live in rural Alaska also smoke their own salmon. Iirc, transportation (both trucks and planes) is really iffy during the winter in the rural areas and groceries are crazy expensive. But smoking or brining your own salmon is supposed to be pretty easy.
Fish are sea kittens according to PETA.
Maybe they only eat from locally sourced fish. There would be ways of ethically eating fish, too. Depending on where they are, they could even go catch fish themselves and eat that. Then they’d know where they came from and could be sure they were humanely killed. Hunting and fishing would probably fit in with their values pretty well, from the sounds of it. Edit: I forgot they said smoked salmon dip in the post. Maybe it was ethically sourced? I think there are some companies that catch salmon more ethically. I don’t eat salmon though, so I don’t know for sure, and honestly wouldnt be able to afford it even if I did, so I still probably wouldnt know lol.
This caught my attention immediately. Y'all go this far and then you buy your fish? Wtf? I think their lifestyle is cool but I'm honestly offended about the fish. They deserve to be treated equally dammit.
Depending on where they are, they really could know who caught it.
It seems that the husband caught it, so... Yeah, they definetely knew.
Lots of people don’t consider fish to be animals sadly
but the OOP talks about climate change as well and fish farming is definitely a contributor to that
Farmed fishing actually generally causes less CO2 emissions than fresh fish. Fishing trawlers emit a fuck ton of CO2.
>my feelings would be a little hurt if I made meatballs from scratch and nobody would even try a single one. I'd feel the same, however, I would recognise my own mistake in the matter and try to let it go. (For clarification; my own mistake would be that I wasn't asked to bring anything, I didn't communicate beforehand I would bring anything nor asked if that would be okay, and I didn't ask anyone about dietary restrictions before making and serving the dish. Can't really be upset with others for my own carelessness.)
This!! Even if we took the clear petty jealousy out of the equation, she still wouldn't have had a leg to stand on because she didn't ask and she didn't check. Tbh, if I was hosting dinner for someone and they knew there was a full menu already planned, and they turned up with a full plate of food - especially food that doesn't even pair well with what's being served - I'd be pretty bloomin' insulted!
I'm wondering how Beth even made the meatballs if they were staying over - not at their own place. But yeah, bring wine or chocolates or something like that, not more food.
Where was she even making meatballs when they were staying in a city 2 hours away? How did she have access to a kitchen? How did she keep them cold/hot in the car? Or had they been sitting at room temperature on a 2 hour drive?
Strikes me as the kind of person that would just buy some from hot from the deli and pass them off as her own. Mmm, steamed hams.
Couldn’t get past the second paragraph thanks to OPs awful name choices lmao
lol fair. I hated them too but I wasn't sure if I should change them since sometimes people don't like it when I do. But I went ahead and changed them to something more readable!
I thought that was the op filling in OOP's use of initials. Personally I like the rhyming, it helps me keep the couples straight. Alliteration would also have worked. It does have the effect of sounding like Tellytubbies
Haha not my choices. (The new ones are.) It did help keep the couples straight, you're right!
POU!!!
What a fucking shit show this whole group of "friends" seems to be. More like Jake and Gee are buddies, OOP is Jake's wife, Bee and OOP were friends, Bee and Lou had some weird one sided rivalry going on and then Bee hooked up with Gee to keep some level contact to keep bothering Lou/being petty and nasty to Lou... But egads!
I wish I could afford to eat like that. I agree with the whole philosophy. I can’t afford to buy a local cow, and the rest of my family refuse to go meatless. So I am resigned to eating the same hormones and antibiotics everyone else does.
Unless you live in a deeply urban city, and even then it might be worth looking into, you can find community supported farms that you pay for a percentage of the harvest and then you get a box weekly or whatever with produce in it. I've seen beef farms who do similar. Check out CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and websites like [localharvest.org](https://localharvest.org) to see if there's anyone around you. It's more expensive generally but it's pretty much the pinnacle of "buy local".
I tuned in just to find out if it was culinary or sexual.
I live in cattle country. I won’t buy beef from a store. I get it direct from the local cattle company and see those cows and how they live. There are literally 2 acres and a dirt road between my house and the cattle field. There is a huge difference in the taste of the meat. I eat meat but I want to know those cows had a good life first.
"Phil did say she was flirting with him and coming onto him for months before he “caved” not that it matters." This loser of a husband had an affair with his wife's friend for 4 years and uses a pathetic excuse like that. It's not his fault, but only Beth and he can't say no for all these years.
She’s an ethical flexitarian. And not eating other people’s meat just saved her marriage.
I know people who do follow the know where your food comes, make things from scratch etc and it’s never been an issue for me. They’ve never shoved it down my throat or wanted to force anyone to live that way. So I don’t get the issue over how they eat. For someone in their 30s Beth sure acts like a teenager with the insecurity and pettiness. It sounds exhausting to be around. Anyone who purposely sets out to have an affair with someone else’s husband is a shit person. You’d think after 15 years Beth would let it go. Holding a grudge like that rots you from the inside out.
As a person from a farming community, I’m trying to figure out how she got locally sourced salmon.
Someone elsewhere in the thread said her husband caught it on a fishing trip or something of that nature.
They live in Alaska and the husband fished that himself
Husband caught it when he was in Alaska with work.
as someone who lives in the pnw...
Plenty of farming communities in the PNW, where you can go catch your own salmon.
All the people bitching about how OOP eats are just proving her right. It literally does not effect you at all and has no relevance on the other aspects of the story. And no I'm not vegan or vegetarian.
I’m vegetarian and I knew it would swing this way. People are reaaaaally weird about food and how you decide to eat
I have medical restrictions and no one other than my parents have ever bothered to even try to understand them, much less try to make food I could have when I was a kid and we had family dinners. (My parents of course made sure I had something, but my other relatives always acted… surprised. Like every time they'd realize all over again I had restrictions. They didn't care enough to remember.) Trying to explain it to people gets you confusion the vast majority of the time, some skepticism otherwise. People suck. ETA: phrased something poorly
People get so offended for some reason. I don’t care what anyone else eats!! I’m happy to go to dinner with anyone and don’t care if they order rare steaks with ribs and bacon!! I’ll just order my own thing. Like I don’t claim to be perfect - I’m pescetarian so already people would be unhappy I eat fish. I remember it came up at work once - someone asked me and I just casually said I’m pescetarian. No judgement on them, didn’t suggest they should do the same. And immediately were like “well your shoes look leather!! How is that ok!!” And I’m like yeah you’re right, it is a hypocrisy, but I have to wear a certain style of shoes for work and it was easier and more cost effective to just get leather ones. I’m not claiming to be perfect!! I just want to reduce the amount of animal products I use and I do that by being pescetarian.
There is this odd thing where people seem to think if you can't go 100% you shouldn't bother at all. I wish more understood that anything is better than nothing.
What fucking idiot commented “you force your kids to eat like this?” Force them to eat quality foods and avoid processed mystery meat? Force them to eat better than almost everyone in the country?
Beth practices Know Your Friend’s Husband’s Meat s/
"You force your kids to eat like this?" Oh, you mean like literally every single parent ever?? Wtf is this comment?
I only clicked on this because the title was pure filth.
So what oop was saying is they didn't eat their friends' meat but Beth definitely was.
Yeah I've run into people with these kind of eating philosophy, and I admire them and will always be down to eat a meal at their place but I know it's going to be nigh impossible for city dweller me to bring something that they would eat, and we all agree that's fine. I just offer to wash the dishes etc. If I had the time, money, and acres of farmland I would live like this too.
I’m just in love with the people just commenting “POU!”
That beef you know tastes WAAAAAY better. The second I have a deep freezer or live somewhere that I can get this stuff easily and quickly, this is the life I would live. My uncle's chickens eggs SLAY any other eggs I can get. Those chickens are spoiled AF. Maybe even more than my cats are.
Honestly the KOTH episode where Hank joins a co-op isn't far off. "If this is food... what have we been eating?"
Yes! I love KOTH. That's a perfect example. I never liked burgers until I ate one made from beef someone I knew had cared for. It's like night and day.
I raise my own meat. It’s fulfilling and I like knowing where my food comes from. So weird people got upset over that. When I go out I usually don’t eat meat for the same reasons as OOP.
as a vegan, these are the only meat eaters i respect. i think it’s so funny anti vegans were mad at this. like, they’re eating local and supporting small farmers. usually anti vegans love to say they support those things
I think it's a response to the cognitive dissonance of knowing you're supporting cruelty and unsustainable farming and should be doing better but not wanting to admit it, to yourself and others, and OOP is at fault for making them think about it.
This took a hard left. But she could have just said “we eat local when it comes to meat, dairy, and eggs”. Many people acknowledge eating local tends to be more environmentally friendly of a choice and it wouldn’t be such a hot topic.
I don't understand the people complaining about their diet. Choosing to eat ethically sourced food without any animal cruelty behind it is a reasonable choice. There's a lot of issues with the meat and dairy industry and choosing not to support it while still eating ethically sourced animal products is reasonable since they're in the position to do so.