Vegan Athlete Asks Neighbors To 'Have Empathy' & Not Cook Meat With The Windows Open So They Won't Have To Smell It On Their Runs
Your preferences and beliefs are not your neighbor's responsibility.
Africa Images / Canva Pro Most of us were brought up to never speak about money, religion, or politics — a directive that has come to be seen as out-of-date by many nowadays. But if we are going to keep that list, we might need to add a fourth topic: dietary preferences and restrictions, especially given the request a particularly persnickety person made of her neighbors.
The vegan asked her neighbors not to cook meat with the windows open so she wouldn't have to smell it.
Okay, now we've heard everything. The exact origin of the post is unknown — it appears to have originally been posted to a local community Facebook page in the U.K. and has since been screenshotted in myriad tweets.
But wherever it came from, the consensus seems to be clear: The person who wrote it has a heck of a lot of gumption.
Photo: Hayling Island Official / Facebook
"Just a gentle reminder to please close your windows when cooking meat," the post began, and it only got worse from there.
The vegan said the odor is 'offensive' and ruins their daily runs.
The person who posted the notice identified themselves as "a vegan runner" who goes on runs through the neighborhood several nights each week and that people's cooking habits make it "hard for me."
"When you are cooking with the windows open, the smell of meat can be quite over-powering," they wrote. "Honestly, the odor is offensive."
They then essentially accused their neighbors of not being empathetic because of their cooking and eating habits. "Please have empathy for your #plantbased neighbors by closing windows when cooking meat and only cooking vegetables if possible."
"I do not want to be a stereotype, so I won't go into detail on why cooking animals is offensive," they continued, though it seemed a bit too late for that! "I encourage you to do your research and join the movement with others who are fighting back."
The post has racked up scores of angry and mocking comments, including criticisms from fellow vegans.
There's no arguing that veganism is a valid choice, as are the various issues tied to it. The meat industry and factory farming are rife with animal abuse issues that, aside from being cruel to the animals, present health threats to those who eat the products made from them, too.
Chief among them, for instance, is the increasing public health threat of antibiotic resistance, which is in part due to the widespread overuse of antibiotics on factory farms due to animals' near-constant illness because of the cramped and unhealthy living conditions they're raised in.
These abuses also contribute to issues like flu outbreaks — the 2009 outbreak of H1N1 "swine flu" originated on a factory farm, and the current H5N1 "bird flu" circulating is believed to have made the jump to humans via a worker on a dairy farm. (Thankfully, scientists think there is little threat to humans.)
And that's all before we even get into the environmental impact.
But uhh… this is frankly about the dead-last way to go about winning people over to the cause and getting them to change their diets if actual change is the goal. It goes without saying that demanding people follow your rules in their own homes is ludicrously out of line.
And to say that people online have been less than receptive to this person's post would be an understatement. Comments of the "no thanks, I'll do what I want variety" were pretty much the default.
On Twitter, people were downright gleeful in their mockery, with scores of users posting variations on the theme of brazenly and purposefully cooking meat not just with their windows open but outdoors in the open air, just for spite.
It's no wonder the old saying "fences make good neighbors" has had such enduring appeal. Everyone's entitled to their opinions and beliefs, but asking them to change their cooking habits in case you happen to jog by their windows? Maybe you can find a nice treadmill at a nearby gym instead.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice, and human interest topics.