Everyone's a little bit racist...

[DubaiSis]

But if you're ordering lunch for a large group of people, asking for any dietary restrictions isn't too far out of line. If you're ordering sandwiches for 30 and someone asks for a salad instead, that's pretty easy to work around. Or to have some meat-free. To expect a custom order (no mayonnaise, extra mustard and really I never eat white bread) is just being annoying. But as the picky person, sometimes you just have to be prepared to go without. None of the employees in question are going to wither away if they had to skip one meal.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If I had Indians at lunch, I wouldn't have the faintest clue what they eat or don't eat. It's not my job to know the food preferences of every ethnic group and religion on the planet. I simply don't give a rat's ass. I would most likely have a meatless option just because there are MANY reasons people don't eat meat. Someone I worked with thought I was a vegetarian. No, not in the least, I just 1) don't want to order a steak at lunch and 2) don't want to choke down the dried out tasteless chicken breast that's in oh so very many of the lunch options at the places we ate most often. I'd rather eat no meat than bleah meat.

To ask only a certain ethnic group what they want is not only racist, it's ignorant to the rest of the attendees who don't get a choice. This is pretty much the definition of the "what happens when we assume" phrase.

It's also pretty ignorant to lump all Indians into one group. Hindus have very different dietary rules than Muslims, which are different from Sikhs, which are different from Jains, etc. India is very different from region to region.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

It's also pretty ignorant to lump all Indians into one group. Hindus have very different dietary rules than Muslims, which are different from Sikhs, which are different from Jains, etc. India is very different from region to region.

I think 33girl was simply responding based on what SoCalGirl said:

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl

Here's another "racist/prejudice or not scenario".

All day meetings are being planned at work. The admin in charge of ordering food responds to an email to call out if certain attendees need vegetarian meals. All the names are Indian.

And quite frankly, I don't know all of the dietary restrictions of every group/region in India. Heck, I didn't even know there were specific differences based on such things. It's not anyone's job to know. I don't think that's ignorance. Ignorant would be assuming that every Indian person eats in exactly the same way. Or that every American living in Arkansas eats the same way. Or that every Christian eats the same way.

The point is, everyone has preferences, and some people are pickier than others and/or they have things that they simply can't eat. And if you know you have dietary restrictions, you either a) let someone know ahead of time, or b) suck it up and bring your own food. But the last thing you do is complain when someone provides you with food that you don't like (unless you made specific requests ahead of time).

[naraht]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

And quite frankly, I don't know all of the dietary restrictions of every group/region in India. Heck, I didn't even know there were specific differences based on such things. It's not anyone's job to know. I don't think that's ignorance. Ignorant would be assuming that every Indian person eats in exactly the same way. Or that every American living in Arkansas eats the same way. Or that every Christian eats the same way.

I agree with the above, but a couple of points. First, I believe that you can separate religious dietary needs from personal dietary needs and secondly most places that do catering, will have a vegetarian option.

Oddly enough, the only religion that I know of (and I've had coworkers from a wide variety of South Asian founded religions) that has restrictions on what plants can be eaten is Judaism. This falls into two areas, first the restrictions on grains during passover (so even the vegetarian wraps don't work there) and second, "Orlah" which is the prohibition on eating tree fruit from the first three years of production. (Leviticus 19:23) (And Orlah doesn't really apply outside the Land of Israel)

[AGDee]

I don't see why personal dietary needs would be less important than religious dietary needs. Many personal dietary needs are medically based- allergies, Crohn's Disease, lactose intolerance, Celiac's Disease.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I think 33girl was simply responding based on what SoCalGirl said:

I wasn't directing that at 33girl. I was agreeing with her point that making assumptions is dumb.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I don't see why personal dietary needs would be less important than religious dietary needs. Many personal dietary needs are medically based- allergies, Crohn's Disease, lactose intolerance, Celiac's Disease.

That's another reason you need to just have a sandwich bar with things that people can mix and match and if someone wants to eat nothing but green peppers, no harm no foul.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Oh...this is an "is this racist" thread. Okay...

Ha!

Originally Posted by 33girl

That's another reason you need to just have a sandwich bar with things that people can mix and match and if someone wants to eat nothing but green peppers, no harm no foul.

And you'd piss off an entirety of West Indian/Caribbean people - having worked with many Carribean students, co-workers and acquaintances, cold meals are not acceptable. Most say it upsets their stomach. I thought it was just a few people being picky, but I realize almost EVERY WI I've met in a social setting with food rarely touch cold food (salads, sandwiches) or cold finger foods (raw veggies with dip, for example). I organized a 3-day conference and had about 30 students (out of say, 100ish) who would refuse to eat the sandwiches and potato salad offered. The next day we offered a hot pasta dish in addition to the sandwiches. Some were OK with that but others either brought their own food from home or went out to buy food.

Many of my former WI coworkers brought their lunches from home for lunch meetings unless they were sure the food was hot, and also send their children to school with hot lunches, making sure there are accommodations for their foods to be heated.