Re: [Debconf-team] Food [Re: Registration questions]
Daniel Kahn Gillmor dijo [Thu, Feb 05, 2015 at 11:25:37AM -0500]:
> >> While I am in the group that sometimes wished they could eat the
> >> vegetarian dish, because it looked tastier, or because they wanted to
> >> skip meat one day, I really don't agree with your proposal.
>
> Can you think of a better way to frame it so that we can avoid the
> every-meal-has-meat baseline assumption that the current framing
> implies?
That is not implied and has (almost) never been the case.
Eating meat every day twice a day would most likely be considered too
much for almost everybody. But OTOH defaulting to no meat would also
be considered excessive for many people.
What we should try to cater to is having a reasonably healthy and
varied menu. Being it in Germany, I'm sure I am not alone to expect
some sausages and breaded meats. Not every day, not at every meal, but
surely so.
I seriously doubt we have to offer an "I always need M34T" option. But
(and bear in mind I was a vegetarian for 20 years) truth is "default"
means "meat is OK".
> Right, what i was proposing was the people who have no dietary
> restrictions should be OK with getting a meal that is (as a baseline)
> lacto-ovo vegetarian; those who have a restriction that requires them to
> eat meat could identify themselves so that they could be sure to have
> meat.
>
> The people who are providing us with food will need guidance about what
> to prepare in any case; being clear to them about the needs and desires
> of the group will help them to help feed us sensibly.
When I travel, I always want to get a taste of the way locals eat —
Not necessarily fancy cuisine, just normal food.
I would even believe that, at least for the impression an unknowing
outsider has about Germany, that many people would end up registering
for "always meat", to get something closer to what they
expect. Defaulting to ovo-lacto might then mean increased meat
consumption!
(Of course, no way to test my hypothesis without involving real people)
> > I'm also in favour to book more vegetarian menus, and offer meat only
> > to the first 60-80% of carnivore people (as first served basis), which
> > could help me, tincho and many others to have a mixed diet.
>
> Hm, i think i would say it as "offer vegetarian meals to the first
> 20%-40% of omnivores (as a first-served basis)", since that's what's
> usually missing from these arrangements. I hope that we can actually
> offer meat to 100% of the strict carnivores in attendance, or else
> they'll be very hungry. ;)
>
> And yes, i think this makes sense (though i'm not sure how you come up
> with the right ratio; maybe based on the expressed preferences, as
> suggested above).
>
> So i'm amending my earlier proposal to this:
>
> Dietary restrictions:
> - Not applicable
> - No dietary restrictions <<Default>>
> - Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian (dairy and eggs OK)
> - Vegan (strict vegetarian)
> - Meat required at every meal
> - Other (contact <registration@debconf.org> ASAP)
>
> Is that OK with people?
>
> Thanks for engaging constructively with this!
I think this is right(er), although still pointless IMO. I do not
believe (most) people expect to eat meat at every meal. I think it
would be easier to agree with our caterer to provide meat for
approximately half of the days. I don't think it'd be seen as too
little, and I think you would approve of the idea of setting a
hard-maximum on served meat! :)
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