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Serving food that doesn't happen to contain meat isn't forcing you to be vegetarian Sure it is. There will be situations where employees have no choice but to

Serving food that doesn't happen to contain meat isn't forcing you to be vegetarian Sure it is. There will be situations where employees have no choice but to eat company-sponsored food. Mandatory working lunches, dinner with potential clients (I’d love for them to take me to dinner as a potential client/partner and tell me I can’t order a steak...), etc. In those situations, they are indeed “forcing you to be a vegetarian”.

munificent 8y ago
That's a real stretch. If the company refused to pay for an escort, they aren't forcing me to be celibate. They aren't affecting my identity they are just choosing not to pay for a certain act.
- throwawayou812 8y ago
  I dare say this is a horrible comparison. There are no circumstances under which employees are expected, or even required, to have sex at work (presumably at least not at a mainstream tech startup). There are, however, many situations where employees would be expected/required to eat company-sponsored meals.
- null000 8y ago
  That's just a completely disingenuous comparison. It's pretty normal for companies to pay for work-related food, just as it's pretty normal for you to pay for food you eat on your own time. It's pretty not-normal for companies to pay for escorts, just like it's pretty not-normal for you to pay for escorts on your own time. Some people pay for escorts, but it's pretty well outside social norms, and I can't imagine a business situation requiring an escort anyway.
  - somecontext 8y ago
    > a business situation requiring an escort https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17453554 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17453554
  - apple4ever 8y ago
    Bingo. In fact, it would be like a company who normally does pay for escorts, but then deciding they'll own pay for opposite sex escorts, instead of allowing same sex escorts. They'd rightly be pillared for allowing one but not the other.
  - dragonwriter 8y ago
    > It's pretty not-normal for companies to pay for escorts I've known lots of companies to pay for escorts, but only the “walk you from the building to your car at night” kind and not the “euphemism for prostitute” kind.
bunderbunder 8y ago
It doesn't really work that way. It takes more than having once eaten a single grilled cheese sandwich to qualify as a vegetarian.
natrik 8y ago
Most of your comments on this thread have been illogical. Companies are not required to dole out free food. Them changing their policies to only reimburse certain kinds of food can be met with you leaving the company if it matters that much to you. You can bring your own food or pay for it out of your own pocket if you need to. They have stated people with medical/religious requirements that need meat will have their needs met.
- throwawayou812 8y ago
  I think his point was that such a heavy handed policy that runs contrary to the views of most of the world's population is problematic. Since there will be situations where employees have little or no choice but to eat company sponsored meals, I for one don't see that to be "illogical".
  - natrik 8y ago
    At my current workplace I can only work from home once per week. I would vastly prefer working from home than the uncomfortable chair and noisy working environment of the office, but I have to make do. Options available to me are changing jobs, asking for a policy shift because of medical issues, etc. If you have to eat a more ethically sourced and less savory meal because of work I don't see that to be a large issue.
    - apple4ever 8y ago
      It actually is a large issue. Deciding for an employee what they can eat, or highly encouraging it, is a huge issue. Comparing working from home to eating is two totally different things.

munificent 8y ago

That's a real stretch. If the company refused to pay for an escort, they aren't forcing me to be celibate. They aren't affecting my identity they are just choosing not to pay for a certain act.

throwawayou812 8y ago
I dare say this is a horrible comparison. There are no circumstances under which employees are expected, or even required, to have sex at work (presumably at least not at a mainstream tech startup). There are, however, many situations where employees would be expected/required to eat company-sponsored meals.
null000 8y ago
That's just a completely disingenuous comparison. It's pretty normal for companies to pay for work-related food, just as it's pretty normal for you to pay for food you eat on your own time. It's pretty not-normal for companies to pay for escorts, just like it's pretty not-normal for you to pay for escorts on your own time. Some people pay for escorts, but it's pretty well outside social norms, and I can't imagine a business situation requiring an escort anyway.
- somecontext 8y ago
  > a business situation requiring an escort https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17453554 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17453554
- apple4ever 8y ago
  Bingo. In fact, it would be like a company who normally does pay for escorts, but then deciding they'll own pay for opposite sex escorts, instead of allowing same sex escorts. They'd rightly be pillared for allowing one but not the other.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > It's pretty not-normal for companies to pay for escorts I've known lots of companies to pay for escorts, but only the “walk you from the building to your car at night” kind and not the “euphemism for prostitute” kind.

bunderbunder 8y ago

It doesn't really work that way. It takes more than having once eaten a single grilled cheese sandwich to qualify as a vegetarian.

natrik 8y ago

Most of your comments on this thread have been illogical. Companies are not required to dole out free food. Them changing their policies to only reimburse certain kinds of food can be met with you leaving the company if it matters that much to you. You can bring your own food or pay for it out of your own pocket if you need to. They have stated people with medical/religious requirements that need meat will have their needs met.

throwawayou812 8y ago
I think his point was that such a heavy handed policy that runs contrary to the views of most of the world's population is problematic. Since there will be situations where employees have little or no choice but to eat company sponsored meals, I for one don't see that to be "illogical".
- natrik 8y ago
  At my current workplace I can only work from home once per week. I would vastly prefer working from home than the uncomfortable chair and noisy working environment of the office, but I have to make do. Options available to me are changing jobs, asking for a policy shift because of medical issues, etc. If you have to eat a more ethically sourced and less savory meal because of work I don't see that to be a large issue.
  - apple4ever 8y ago
    It actually is a large issue. Deciding for an employee what they can eat, or highly encouraging it, is a huge issue. Comparing working from home to eating is two totally different things.