While there are many issues that can make for some tumultuous family discussions, one that may not be the first most of us would name comes down to a difference in dietary choices.
Although we can probably point to thousands of families that have little trouble preparing vegetarian or vegan options for a given family member, the clash between meat eaters and those with plant-based diets remains a persistent source of family drama for others.
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And as we’re about to see in today’s story, that drama is sure to come to a head when someone on either side of that debate tries to impose their ideals on the other.
To give some context for his dilemma, one dad explained that he has a large freezer in his garage that’s purely used for storing the meat of the deer he hunts.
As he wrote in a Reddit post , his reasons for hunting are entirely practical and he sees it as a cost-effective way to keep his freezer stocked and his grocery bill down.
He also mentions that he only has to do this once a year to get everything he needs.
And while this living situation seems to largely work for his family, it’s become a little more complicated since his 15-year-old son decided to become a vegetarian six months ago.
According to the dad, that’s not because of any grief his son is getting from his parents, since both have adjusted to preparing meatless meals twice a week and keeping the meat separate from other ingredients for the other meals so he can enjoy them too.
But while this arrangement has gone on without any complaints from the son, he’s recently made it clear that he has no love for that meat fridge.
After the dad pulled out the meat he needed for the week, the son apparently came in and unplugged the freezer.
And since he made the decision to do this in the summer, it didn’t take long before the meat rotted and fouled up the whole unit.
As the dad put it, “The freezer kept the smell in for a while so by the time we finally noticed everything was completely putrid.”
And once the man brought this up to his son, it was clear that it was no accident.
As he wrote, “He proudly said that he had unplugged it on purpose and now we would have to be meat free.”
Although this came out of nowhere for the dad as he thought he had been accommodating, his main issue is that he didn’t see his son as having any right to ruin all that meat and raise his family’s grocery bill without any discussion.
So the dad feels that an appropriate punishment would be to have the son dispose of all the ruined meat and either sanitize the freezer or replace it if it’s impossible to get that smell out.
However, the son seems to think it’s cruel to make him interact with meat, leaving the dad to wonder if the punishment is as appropriate as he thinks.
And Reddit pretty resoundingly agreed that it was and that the son not only acted unreasonably, but counter to his own interests.
As one user said , “I’m a vegetarian myself and I’d argue what he’s done is worse because the deer have now died for no reason. Plus it’s not okay for him to intentionally ruin the family’s groceries and waste money.”
In the words of another who is also a vegetarian, “Actually what [the dad] is doing (hunting deer) is beneficial to the health of the deer population, in addition to honoring their sacrifice by using the meat.”
h/t: Reddit | temptemptemp772
