'My vegan sister-in-law demands I stop eating meat when she visits - it's ridiculous'

A woman preparing vegetables
-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)


Having vegetarian or vegan family members might mean accommodating them when they visit - but you shouldn't have to switch up your own lifestyle to keep them happy.

People embark on dietary changes for a variety of different reasons. Some people cut out certain foods to lose weight or because they've discovered they have an intolerance, while some of the most common reasons for people turning to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle include concerns over animal welfare and the environment.

Whatever you choose to eat is up to you, but you shouldn't try and force others to live the same way as you do - especially if they're already doing what they can to accommodate you during mealtimes.

This is the situation one woman has found herself in after she was told by her brother and his wife that she should stop eating meat and other animal products when they come to visit because her sister-in-law is vegan.

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In a post on Reddit, the woman explained that while her brother isn't vegan, he does follow a plant-based diet in his home with his wife and only has animal products when he's visiting someone else or having lunch alone.

Whenever the couple visit the woman, she makes her sister-in-law vegan-friendly versions of the meals she cooks for herself and her brother, and for years this seemed to be a perfectly fine arrangement - until her sister-in-law began "complaining" that the woman and her brother were eating meat in front of her.

The woman wrote: "Recently she has been pressing me to stop using animal products while she's here. For example I made a chicken and veggie stir fry recently and I used eggs and chicken. For hers I left out the eggs and used fried tofu instead. She complained that my brother and I had chicken and egg on our plate and that I didn't keep the meal entirely vegan for everyone.

"Another time I made mini pies and hers was all vegan while mine and my brother's was not. She told me if I could make her a separate version I should accommodate her enough not to serve anything animal related while she's there."

The woman told her sister-in-law she won't accommodate her request as she can "cook whatever she likes" in her own home, but her brother's wife insisted she was "being a bad host". And even though her brother said his wife "can't force" her to ditch the meat, even he argued she should be "more willing to go without" every now and again.

Commenters on the post largely agreed with the meat eater. Many said respect isn't a one way street so if the sister-in-law expects her lifestyle choices to be respected, she should do the same to others.

One person said: "You are respecting her choices, she is not only NOT respecting your choices, she's actively trying to make you put her wants before your own."

And another added: "You are quite a considerate host, making separate meals for her. She may be vegan, but she doesn't get to impose that on you. That would be like saying she has to eat meat if you visit her. She's being overly entitled and needs to get over herself."