Case 1

A while ago, I happened to be driving home from a conference held in another part of the country , quite far from everything else. I had been driving for some time and felt ravenously hungry , as people are wont to do after wasting their weekend with brainless group dynamics exercises. So quite naturally, I drove to the nearest gas station in search of a decent sandwich

Once inside, I scanned the selection available. Uh-oh, I thought, they all have ham or beef in them. I'm a vegetarian, so I asked the woman behind the counter whether they had any non-meat options.

"Weeelll..." She said, "those ones on the left are filled with sausages. Would you like one?"

Case 2

Three weeks afterwards, I participated in another conference. This time the organiser s had arranged a meal for us, prepared and served by a professional catering manager . I had asked beforehand whether they would prefer me to bring my own food , and was replied along the lines of " Don't worry, Be happy ". The catering manager was informed about my dietary requirements and would act accordingly, the organisers assured me cheerful ly.

Of course, when it actually came to eating, I was left standing before two vats filled with chili con carne and chicken sauce.

"But," I whined, "where is my vegetarian option?"

The catering manager smiled at me and pointed towards the vats. "Vegetarians eat chicken, don't they?" he replied.

Case 3

Another day, another conference, this time a very formal one, with people seated around the table and servants handing us our portions on silver plate s. When it was my turn , I politely declined the offer of smoked salmon and asked for a special vegetarian option, which I had made a point of ordering beforehand.

The waiter's face was perplexed. "Miss, it seems we have no vegetarian options prepared. Would you like roast duck instead?"