Woman defended after being branded 'offensive' for taking own vegan food to BBQ

It's not easy being vegan (presumably). There are just some places it's hard to get plant-based options, like at a barbecue. One woman, who said she had been vegan for three years, did hope her uncle would have some options for her to eat at his barbecue but was told it wouldn't be the case.

So what do you do in that situation? Rather than do a no-show or just munch on carrot sticks – because, well, who wants to go hungry at the function - the woman decided to make her own food.

Posting on Reddit, the 25-year-old asked on the Am I the A*****e subreddit if she was in the wrong to separately prepare her food at the party.

The woman's family said she was being rude by bringing her own food (Kathrin Ziegler/Getty Images)

She wrote on the thread: "My family knows [I'm vegan] and while they don’t always get it, they’ve mostly been respectful.

"Last weekend, my uncle hosted a big family BBQ. I asked ahead of time if there would be any vegan options. He kind of laughed it off and said 'there’ll be salad'.

"Not wanting to make a fuss, I brought my own prepped vegan burger and some sides. I even brought enough to share in case anyone wanted to try it. I didn’t ask anyone to cook it for me, I grilled it myself on a clean bit of the BBQ and didn’t touch any of the meat."

Sadly for the poster, she was told it was 'extremely offensive.'

"Later that night, my aunt told me that I had embarrassed my uncle, by acting like his food wasn’t good enough," she added. "She said it was rude to bring my own food and made it seem like I was too good for everyone else’s cooking."

The woman had added that she had also offered her food to everyone but several family members 'gave the cold shoulder' and told her she was being 'dramatic'.

Over on Reddit though, most people said she wasn't the a*****e.

The woman had offered her vegan food to everyone as well (Guido Mieth/Getty Images)

One person wrote: "What’s really offensive is making guests feel unwelcome by only making foods they can’t or won’t eat. If I’m having people over, I make sure I know their dietary restrictions so I can be properly hospitable. Your aunt and uncle are rude."

Another added: "I wouldn't go to any future events that they host. It's unbelievably rude to not accommodate a guest's dietary needs AND THEN chastise them for bringing their own food. My guess is that they aren't actually offended because you brought your own food - they are being hostile to you because you are vegan. Unfortunately that's not an uncommon attitude."

However, other responses were more measured, saying a host may not cater to different diets for fear of inadvertently contaminating their food. But perhaps that's a bit of a generous assessment. Thoughts?