2006.07.26: July 26, 2006: Headlines: Cross Cultural Issues: Vegetarian: Miss Lonelyhearts: Live Journal: Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: Peace Corps Applicants "Peaceful Core" writes: Can I be a vegetarian in the Peace Corps?
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2006.07.26: July 26, 2006: Headlines: Cross Cultural Issues: Vegetarian: Miss Lonelyhearts: Live Journal: Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: Peace Corps Applicants "Peaceful Core" writes: Can I be a vegetarian in the Peace Corps?
Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: Peace Corps Applicants "Peaceful Core" writes: Can I be a vegetarian in the Peace Corps?
Question: "So it all started when I had my first conversation on Monday with Placement Officer J about me being a vegetarian. After 15 minutes it was apparent that the Peace Corps does not appreciate vegetarians and that being one during your 27 months service is not a good thing. She kept asking me how I was going to explain why I was a vegetarian to people in my host country, which will be in Africa. I tried to explain myself. She then said that with the language barrier, I would not be able to be understood. I got the feeling that she was basically asking me to eat meat. She then tells me that another Placement Officer, P would call me later this week. And that I should meanwhile think about how I will approach this."
Answer: They're not lying when they say that it's not culturally appropriate to turn down food that is offered to you. I'm sure that's as true in Africa as it is in Latin America, where I've studied and traveled. PC has told me several times that I'm perfectly welcome to try to keep any type of diet that I'd like, but that I should recognize how difficult it might be, both in terms of food availability and cultural norms. When it comes down to it (and it may), will you choose to eat meat to integrate into your community, or ET and come home? That's what PC wants to know. They want to know that if you were faced with that situation, your desire to serve is stronger than your desire to keep vegism. "
Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: Peace Corps Applicants "Peaceful Core" writes: Can I be a vegetarian in the Peace Corps?
goodbye vegetarian
I'm at that in between place where part of me wants to cry, the other part wants to scream.
So it all started when I had my first conversation on Monday with Placement Officer J about me being a vegetarian. After 15 minutes it was apparent that the Peace Corps does not appreciate vegetarians and that being one during your 27 months service is not a good thing. She kept asking me how I was going to explain why I was a vegetarian to people in my host country, which will be in Africa. I tried to explain myself. She then said that with the language barrier, I would not be able to be understood. I got the feeling that she was basically asking me to eat meat. She then tells me that another Placement Officer, P would call me later this week. And that I should meanwhile think about how I will approach this.
So Placement Officer P calls me and he basically says that "It would be hard to impossible to give you a placement as a math teacher in Africa with the stand that you are taking right now." Meaning it was now to the point of me not doing Peace Corps or at least having to go to a completely different continent. I was shocked. The reason he gives are ok ones......most of the time when a family offers me meat it is a sign of great honor and possibly their children will not be eating dinner because they spent all their money on the meat.......Since I am black they will allow me to enter into more culturally sensitive situations, which almost always include meat......If I say no to the meat completely it will damage/stop my chance of being accepted int the community, and this goes against the whole purpose of Peace Corps. So I mention that I am more than willing to eat fish again. But that doesn't help. He continues to mention that this will change my whole placement process. He tells me that they have a place in mind. Where vegetables and maize are accessible but, meat is still important. He tells me that all the countries in Africa see meat as a symbol of importance/honor etc. Etc. Etc. 20 minutes into the conversation I sell out. Yep, me the vegetarian, the no chicken/turkey/beef/pork since I was 12.....sells out. The Placement Officer and I come to an "agreement" that will allow him to place me.
I agree to taste the meat they offer as a sign of respect for their culture but not eat it as a meal.
And this is a BIG deal for me. I have definitely willingly compromised my beliefs. The only reason I can still respect myself after this is because I am doing it for the greater good which is Peace Corps to me. But I really never thought it would come to this. And I am not sure if I lied to him and if I will be willing to look something that was once alive in the face and put it in my mouth. But true to how easier life is when you sell out, the Placement papers will be arriving at my house Saturday or Monday.
Alas.
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[info]postmoderngirl
2006-07-26 04:44 pm UTC (link)
It might be easier than you think to be a vegetarian. My recruiter told me that I ought to start reintroducing meat into my diet, because I wouldn't want to offend anyone by being a vegetarian, but I never did it. And now that I'm in country, no one cares. My host mom in training clearly thought I was a little nuts, but never insisted that I eat any meat. (I've heard that other host parents weren't this accepting, though.) Omnivores don't necessary know how many food options there are for vegetarians. (You know, those people who say "you don't eat meat? What DO you eat?" like there's nothing else possible to eat.)
I see that it's apparently a big deal in where you will be placed, but you never know, placement officers and recruiters don't always know what they're talking about. (Mine were okay, but I've heard some weird stories from other volunteers about what they were told before the arrived in country.) I'm in Bulgaria, so it's a really different from where you'll be in Africa, of course.
Anyway, good luck. I'm sure you'll have an amazing experience, either way.
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[info]mokey4
2006-07-26 05:25 pm UTC (link)
It's funny that you're in Bulgaria- I just commented on the same post in a different forum that I couldn't go to Eastern Europe because I was a vegetarian (I went to Africa). I guess my recruiter didn't know what he was talking about, though he did serve in Romania.
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[info]happybunnygal
2006-07-27 12:02 am UTC (link)
What?
In my group in Bulgaria, we had many vegetarians!!! In fact, it was quite easy for many to stay vegetarians and also become vegetarians in Bulgaria.
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[info]postmoderngirl
2006-07-27 08:14 am UTC (link)
Yeah, I've seen a few omnivores look at my specially-requested food (usually veggie moussaka, or dolmas, something like that), then look at their plate, full of fatty meat in a pool of some mysterious cream, and ask if there are any vegetarian plates left over.
I've also met several vegetarian Bulgarians. So it's not completely unheard of.
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[info]happybunnygal
2006-07-27 02:46 pm UTC (link)
Mysterious cream! LOL!
I remember us B8 trying to tell them to vary the vegetarian dishes. There is only so many times you can eat fried cheese!!
And yes, Bulgaria has so many food options. Romania, I'm not so sure about. I only went there once and I got sick on the food because well it was at the annual Halloween party. Alcohol and greasy food do not mix well.
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[info]harm1020
2006-07-27 08:08 am UTC (link)
It is not a big problem to be a vegetarian here. The food supply is much greater than in africa.
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[info]2manychefs
2006-07-26 05:33 pm UTC (link)
i wouldn't worry about it too much. once you're on the ground, the office will have no idea what you're up to
you can simply say that you have some medical condition that makes it impossible for you to eat meat. the people will think that's weird at first, but afterwards they will probably stick up for you when people offer you meat.....
that said, try to not get posted to namibia or some other desert place - i hear they eat a lot of meat in those parts, because veggies don't grow so well
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[info]sebsan8
2006-07-26 05:52 pm UTC (link)
I was in Zambia where there were a couple of vegetarians, and I myself did not eat meat when I was first placed. I did end up eating meat once I got there, but I knew at least one person who completed service without eating meat. (She may have eaten fish, but I'm not sure.) A big reason I decided to eat meat because I saw other people who didn't and they were never really getting the nutrition they needed, which honestly, even for PCV's with a (comparatively) huge budget, I found it tough to get balanced meals (or some semblance there of). Also, yes there was the cultural divide- I couldn't deal with refusing food while others were going hungry. I knew that someone else would eat it, sure, but it just felt wrong to me. And yeah, Zambians thought it was absolutely nuts to not eat meat. But that will happen regardless- I tried lots of different foods when I was there but some delicacies, like termites, I just had to draw the line - so it's not like you are never going to refuse to eat anything they offer you.
To other people it was more important to them that they not eat meat then that they might elicit weird looks or not eat healthy. You just have to figure out where you stand on this. I suspect that it will depend largely on where you are placed and how you feel at the time.... I will echo what others have said - they won't bother you about it once you get there (unless you radically offend your host family).
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[info]theninthwave
2006-07-26 06:09 pm UTC (link)
I'm a vegetarian and will be heading to guatemala soon. Personally, the reasons I don't eat meat have much more to do with the practices of the meat industry in this country and less to do with the ethicality of consuming animals. Therefore, given the limited amount of meat in the guatemala diet I'm fine with eating it occasionally when offered. I had a friend who lived in honduras for three months with a family and didn't eat meat, they just gave him extra of everything else. I can't comment on africa or your specific situation, but I would echo what others here have posted; just see how it goes, the PC folks are probably just preparing your for the worst case scenario. Good luck!
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[info]dangerdhotrod
2006-07-26 08:23 pm UTC (link)
i agree with this comment. i'm not completely against eating animals, i'm just disgusted with factory farms and inhumane treatment of animals.
my plan is to cook myself and eat what i want and if someone cooks something for me i'll eat because it's less complicated.
but i don't see any problem with someone telling someone of another country that they don't eat certain things. frankly, i think it's kind of lame for the PC to try to make vegetarians feel like they're imposing on other cultures or being rude and whatnot.
i'm totally down with being culturally sensitive but isn't it a two way street to some degree? i wouldn't expect a hindu to eat meat because it's not culturally appropriate to turn down food that is offered to you.
i've never been a pc volunteer so i don't know what's up. but from travelling i've felt that not eating meat gets me weird looks in certain places but ultimately you're a foreigner anyway so people just chalk it up to that and don't make a case out of it.
i think the thing people are worried about it you staying with some family and being a pain in the ass because you make them cook a certain way or something. that's my guess.
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[info]dangerdhotrod
2006-07-26 08:25 pm UTC (link)
wow i didn't really proof this post at all. please ignore typos and whatnot - i'm not an idiot - i swear!
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[info]christine
2006-07-26 07:51 pm UTC (link)
I think that the concession that you made is an important one. They're not lying when they say that it's not culturally appropriate to turn down food that is offered to you. I'm sure that's as true in Africa as it is in Latin America, where I've studied and traveled.
PC has told me several times that I'm perfectly welcome to try to keep any type of diet that I'd like, but that I should recognize how difficult it might be, both in terms of food availability and cultural norms.
When it comes down to it (and it may), will you choose to eat meat to integrate into your community, or ET and come home? That's what PC wants to know. They want to know that if you were faced with that situation, your desire to serve is stronger than your desire to keep vegism.
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[info]christine
2006-07-26 09:39 pm UTC (link)
Also, I just wanted to add that if you do have to occasionally eat meat while you're in PC, that doesn't mean that you're not a vegitarian. Vegitarianism isn't like sobriety, where if you fall off the wagon you have to start over, hehe.
Just take things on a meal-by-meal basis. It sounds like from other volunteers experiences that it's very possible to maintain at least a mostly vegi diet, even in Africa, with work and strategy. Those times where you do eat meat aren't goingto make you a bad person, even to by the vegitarians.
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[info]shananicole
2006-07-26 11:39 pm UTC (link)
If I'm not being too intrusive, can I ask what your real reasons are? (I'm from Nebraska, vegetarians are rare here) I originally assumed that it was ethical reasons, but then you make concessions for fish.
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[info]peacefulcore
2006-07-27 12:47 am UTC (link)
i made concessions for fish because it is easier for me to force myself to eat them. Mainly because images of blood and throat cutting come to me when I think about pork/chicken/goats/cows. However when I think of fish I don't feel the same. However, currently I don't eat either because I am not about so say which life is more important. But if forced to pick between doing PC and eating fish, it is an easy choice.
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[info]harm1020
2006-07-27 08:15 am UTC (link)
Oh I'm from nebraska too and I know lots of vegertarians. What city are you from?
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[info]shananicole
2006-07-27 11:28 pm UTC (link)
I went to school in Omaha, but I live in Lincoln now.
I do know a few, but none that are too serious about it. For example, my vegetarian friend offered my large chunks of beef because her family slaughtered a steer.
I'll never understand her.
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[info]etoileapoil
2006-07-27 10:41 pm UTC (link)
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[info]etoileapoil
2006-07-27 10:42 pm UTC (link)
aw shit, my comment didn't show up at all, and I wrote two whole paragraphs.
(cries)
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[info]daeve
2006-07-27 02:23 am UTC (link)
Hmm, my recruiter didn't seem to concerned with it. Neither has the PO, so far. I was asked the same question as you and I answered that I'd use the against-my-religion defense. Apparently, that's a hard reason to contest and an easy one to understand. I guess that means the first thing I'll be doing when I get there is lying to my home stay family. (Though, I'm kind of hoping they are blind and have a dog.)
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[info]christine
2006-07-27 09:30 pm UTC (link)
Apparently, that's a hard reason to contest and an easy one to understand.
Although in certain countries, you should be careful using it. I've heard that in El Salvador, if you're not Christian, you're not worth talking to... and while it's not quite as bad in Costa Rica, Catholicism is the official religion, so it's expected that you're Christ-loving.
That's probably not the case in Africa, though I have heard people comment about their religions, and whether or not they should disclose it to their community members.
This all sems bizarre living in the US, where in my city at least, there's a different place of worship on every corner, but it's Big Stuff in some parts of the world.
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[info]howeird
2006-07-27 03:58 am UTC (link)
Your PC officers are just practicing what is called "due dilligence". They are preparing you for the worst case scenario. Once you are in-country, you can explain how eating meat makes you sick, and as long as you are clear and consistent about it, you should be fine. Not eating meat is no bigger a social issue than not drinking alcohol. I managed to not drink alcohol for all of my PC tour, and while it did cost me some points with my co-workers at first, after a few of the obligatory after-work whisky-and-soda sessions they would explain to the bar owner that alcohol made me sick, and get me an orange soda instead. They didn't stop inviting me to the party.
And no, Im not an alcoholic or have any religious reasons - I just can't stand alcohol.
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[info]jeweyeforgoyguy
2006-08-03 12:55 am UTC (link)
I completely understand. I am also a vegetarian, and I keep kosher on top of that. I know that the latter will end up having to be abandoned, but it is less obvious in practice. Eating meat would be pretty hard at first, but if it was really necessary, I could do it.
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When this story was posted in October 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
 | Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps
Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
 | He served with honor
One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
 | Chris Shays Shifts to Favor an Iraq Timetable
In a policy shift, RPCV Congressman Chris Shays, long a staunch advocate of the Bush administration's position in Iraq, is now proposing a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops. How Mr. Shays came to this change of heart is, he says, a matter of a newfound substantive belief that Iraqis need to be prodded into taking greater control of their own destiny under the country’s newly formed government. As Chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, he plans to draft a timetable for a phased withdrawal and then push for its adoption. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War who said that if drafted he would not serve, Chris Shays has made 14 trips to Iraq and was the first Congressman to enter the country after the war - against the wishes of the Department of Defense. |
 | Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance
The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
 | The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again
The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Cross Cultural Issues; Vegetarian; Miss Lonelyhearts
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By Tabb Sullivan (bourretxps410.med.unc.edu - 152.19.43.228) on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 2:37 pm: Edit Post |
This recruiter and this placement officer are our of their minds! Yes, it will be strange that you do not eat meat. But coming from the US almost every little thing you do will be strange. You do not need to eat their food to get their respect. You will spend plenty of time talking with, participating in activities, and just plain hanging out to gain respect. I myself was not a vegetarian while I was in Senegal for service, but i certainly was comfortable turning down food I didn't want. PLUS, I don't know about the rest of Africa, but in Senegal they actually eat very little meat, save for fish, because it is very expensive. Few farming communities have enough money to eat meat on a regular basis. The volunteer who followed me up in my village did not eat any village food, she bought food at the market and cooked for herself. I knew a few vegetarian volunteers to do the same...
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By Anonymous (24-196-137-74.static.mdsn.wi.charter.com - 24.196.137.74) on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 2:39 pm: Edit Post |
Just from my experience (South Pacific), the volunteers who were willing to try all the foods & pretend that they loved it all were the ones who were most beloved by their communities. We had one older woman who insisted on only eating foods she prepared & living in a separate house. Her community really hated her & badmouthed her constantly. I am a vegetarian, but I tried to eat meat when it was put in front of me to be polite. (actually, my host mom saw how painful it was for me to eat sea turtle & watch it dying slowly in the sun & decided that she no longer wanted to eat sea turtle either...)
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By Anonymous (66-193-165-130.static.twtelecom.net - 66.193.165.130) on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 4:42 pm: Edit Post |
When I departed for PC I was a vegan but while in country made the health decision to be vegetarian. There were many occasions where I had to be diplomatic about my vegetarianism like the first dinner with my host family where they had slaughtered a goat to celebrate my arrival. While a little awkward at first, I explained to my family that I choose not to eat any meat because I love animals too much. It also really motivated me to learn my host country language quickly so I could talk about what I wanted to eat and why I made certain choices (a few days of cold pasta and ketchup is very motivating!).
I believe that PC is a time for cultural exchange and that means tactfully explaing my cultural sensibilities too. Ultimately, my host mother and I figured out how to adapt host country recipes to include me and I taught her how to make pasta sauce and other foods they still eat.
