I am a yogi who eats steak
How being typecast as a vegetarian is just another form of profiling
I sat on screen awaiting our forcibly scheduled work holiday Zoom party. Approximately twenty of us sat in our virtual purgatory for the commencement of this official holiday “fun.” Scheduling fun, you say? Yes. If everything else can be scheduled…why not fun? As we began, our VP caveated in a true workaholic style,
“…if the fun ends early, we can all go back to work. Sound good?”
No comment. Except…what about the emails?…what about the emails??? (no Hilary reference intended…except those weren’t actually a thing — ha). OK…yes, we have thousands of unanswered work emails. But this holiday party is meant as a time to forget about those for a hot minute, and enjoy each other’s company. The amount of fun is 100% dependent on what games are played, and what interesting information it elicits from our staff. Let us proceed…
A Penchant for Hummus and Chips
Our secretary promptly launched into a virtual game of scavenger hunt. We must quickly find our favorite Trader Ho’s, I mean Joe’s item . Mine? The Trader Joe’s Mediterranean Hummus of course, which might as well be spreadable crack cocaine at a fraction of the cost. Truth! Preach that hummus gospel!
As I held the Hummus to my screen, just as Simba was held high above the plains in The Lion King, I added in a bag of my favorite pepper sea salt chips. Suddenly, a co-worker gasped.
“You eat chips???” he said in shock.
(Sacre-bleu!)
“Yes, I eat chips,” I replied. “And I eat steak too. Why does everyone think I only eat healthy, and that I am a vegetarian?”
The Vegetarian Misnomer
This is a scenario I encounter often. Evidently, I seem to “look like” a vegetarian, whatever that means. My voice exudes calm in my corporate day to day life, or so I’m told. Being outdoors, as well as cultivating a practice of meditation and yoga creates an image of me that my co-workers believe is a perfectly zen being who never eats unhealthy things. So…does this mean I MUST be a vegetarian? Am I the only one encountering this?
This is irritating. God forbid I eat chips, or steak in moderation. I’m fully aware of the horrifying machine that is animal cruelty and am very sensitive to the effect our meat industry has on our environment. For this reason, I only purchase meats that are organically and sustainably sourced. This is a choice I can make, even as a yogi. It is ok to eat meat, responsibly, in moderation. Why should I be shamed for eating meat, or unhealthy snacks like chips?
The Yogi Outcast
Perhaps I am a yogi outcast. Perhaps I should start a support group called “Yogis who eat Steak and Chips.” It might go viral in the U.K. as well, with the nature of ‘chips’ being ‘fries’ across the pond. What a clever tactic. Double the support group outreach and appeal! Fries are the cousin, within the same family of snack baddies, I suppose.
Moral of the story is: a yogi can eat whatever they like in moderation.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an audition for a role as a vegetarian yogi. This is Los Angeles, after all.
