History Main / StrawVegetarian

* Hayley in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad''. An adamant vegetarian, yet in one episode, she spends her time stuck in Africa with Stan and Steve in the American Embassy, clearly eating meat dishes. In another, she admonishes her boyfriend Jeff for eating a corn dog, telling him they're vegetarian. Jeff replies "Still?" In yet another episode, she decides to have a "cheat day" after eating one of Klaus's omelettes which she didn't know contained veal and spends the whole day indulging in increasingly decadent meat dishes. It takes eating the brain of an ''endangered gorilla'' to finally make her feel guilty enough to stop (though unbeknownst to her, this was actually a scam). Both she and Jeff seem to be under the impression that animals coexist peacefully in the wild, which couldn't be further from the truth.

* [[NaiveAnimalLover May have a rose-tinted view of the animal kingdom]], sometimes to the point of delusion. May lead to the Straw Vegetarian either [[NatureIsNotNice getting attacked by the animals they claim are harmless]], or react with utter shock and disbelief upon learning that animals [[NotSoDifferent kill each other for meat too]].

* Free Waterfall Jr. from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', The leader of the ironically named [[AnimalWrongsGroup Mankind for Ethical Animal Treatment]] [[FunWithAcronyms (M.E.A.T)]] who protested the consumption of "Popplers" (baby omicronians) only to be EatenAlive by Lrr, making him the first of the Waterfall family to suffer DeathByIrony. He also taught [[https://theinfosphere.org/M.E.A.T.%27s_lion a lion to eat tofu]], [[RealityEnsues making him very sick in the process]].

* Magrat Garlick, in her first appearance in ''Literature/WyrdSisters'', is the kind of vegetarian who is prone to informing non-veggies how much undigested meat they probably have in their colons. ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'' balances it out by contrasting her with an absurdly old-fashioned cook who doesn't believe vitamins ''exist''. Interestingly, the book between those two, ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', doesn't really mention her vegetarianism at all, making her surprisingly unquestioning about the ingredients of all the foreign food she's trying.

* Almost has to be a [[StrawCharacter Strawman Political]] by definition; generally portrayed as an annoyingly self-righteous liberal or left-leaning politically. If female, they have a good chance of also being a StrawFeminist. Black examples are almost invariably MalcolmXerox.

* [[TheDitz Really stupid]], often a DumbBlonde, sometimes to the point that they'll happily eat chicken [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint "because they're not animals, they're birds!"]]

* ''Series/BobHeartsAbishola'': While Bob is being rushed into the hospital during his heart attack in the pilot episode, his sister Christina comments that maybe now he'll stop eating defenseless animals.

People who exhibit some or many of the typical traits of the Straw Vegetarian as described here certainly exist in real life; probably the most (in)famous was Adolf Hitler, [[HitlerAteSugar who promoted vegetarianism and animal rights]] and sometimes filibustered against meat-eating at the dinner table, regaling his guests with horror stories about [[NauseaFuel the abuses of the meat industry.]] However, [[TheWarOnStraw like all "Strawman" tropes,]] this one refers specifically to fictional characters deliberately crafted by an author to exhibit particular traits, and/or make a point: a living person by definition cannot be a strawman. Therefore, '''Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease'''

* [[NaiveAnimalLover May have a rose-tinted view of the animal kingdom]], sometimes to the point of delusion. May lead to the Straw Vegetarian either [[NatureIsNotNice getting attacked by the animals they claim are harmless]], or GoMadFromTheRevelation that animals [[NotSoDifferent kill each other for meat too]].

* Acts like a dietary [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]], quasi-religiously treating vegetarianism as a moral absolute while looking down on meat eaters with [[SmugStraightEdge smug contempt]].

People who exhibit some or many of the typical traits of the Straw Vegetarian as described here certainly exist in real life; probably the most (in)famous was Adolf Hitler, [[HitlerAteSugar who promoted vegetarianism and animal rights]] and sometimes filibustered against meat-eating at the dinner table, regaling his guests with horror stories about [[NauseaFuel the abuses of the meat industry.]] However, [[TheWarOnStraw like all "Strawman" tropes,]] this one refers specifically to fictional characters deliberately crafted by an author to exhibit particular traits, and/or make a point: a living person by definition cannot be a strawman. Therefore, Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease

!!Common Stereotypes:

!!Examples

** Will baulk at the idea of eating mammal or avian meat, but can happily eat fish for much the same reason, or the hotly debated excuse "it's okay, fish don't feel pain!" People who eat fish, but do not eat any other form of meat are known as "pescetarians".

--> '''Man''': Sorry honey, I didn't hear a word you said, I'm so weak from lack of proteins that it takes all my energy just to focus on breathing.
--> '''Woman''': Oh, sorry.
--> '''Man''': Shh, don't distract me or I'll die.

* Hector's ex-girlfriend Autumn from ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}''. The first time she saw Jeremy eating a burger, she got a hysterical fit [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous as if she truly had never seen anything so terrible before]].

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', "Shelter Island": Nora is introduced as a preachy, holier-than-thou vegan, to Ted's contempt. Zig-zagged when her fiancé dumps her and she goes on a steak binge.
-->'''Nora:''' ''[Smugly]'' I ''wish'' I could tune out that moral voice inside me that says eating animals is murder... but I guess I'm just not as ''strong'' as you are.\\

** Strawberry, a GranolaGirl who was one of Ted's exes that Lily brought up as an example of him bringing his random girlfriends to their special events, sprayed soy sauce on the hibachi chef at the dinner they had celebrating Marshal's graduation while yelling "meat is murder".
--> '''Ted''': How was I supposed to know she was a hardcore vegetarian?
--> '''Group''': ''Her name was Strawberry!!''

* Mostly averted with Phoebe from ''Series/{{Friends}}'', who disapproves meat eating but doesn't condemn her friends for it. When she is pregnant, she gives in to her meat cravings and Joey offers to go vegetarian for the rest of her pregnancy so no extra animals will have to die.

** Will baulk at the idea of eating mammal or avian meat, but can happily eat fish for much the same reason, or the hotly debated excuse "it's okay, fish don't feel pain!"

Whiny, pale, and possibly even intent on eliminating the entire human race to make way for fluffy bunnies, the Straw Vegetarian is a thinly-veiled [[TheWarOnStraw Strawman]] who is desperate for a bacon sandwich or would really like meat "if they just tried it". In some works, vegetarians or vegans are also shown arrogantly forcing their meat eating family and friends to stop eating meat, often referring to them as [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman murderers]]. More often than not, no one likes folks like this, often saying under their breaths, "Can't I have just one meal in peace?"

* In an advert for Quorn (a type of meat-replacement protein) the vegetarian is portrayed as the classic whiner "it's-a-phase" stereotype. Which is ''really'' weird when you consider that the stuff is aimed at primarily at vegetarians.

* Lance Blastoff encounters one in Creator/FrankMiller's ''Tales to Offend''. She is immediately converted when she smells the delicous aroma of roast dinosaur Lance is cooking.

* ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' plays with this, portraying vegans as LargeHam superhumans who have super powers and taking Creator/BrandonRouth on a role, who at that time was the last performer of the role of [[Film/SupermanReturns Superman]] and was explicitly used as ActorAllusion. Of course, this was done to ridicule the "narcissism" of the vegans, but as a result it looks like StealthParody. [[spoiler: Todd turns out is not [[StrawHypocrite even faithful to his own diet]]]].

* Madeline Bassett, a recurring character in Literature/JeevesAndWooster books is an unbearably mushy and sentimental girl. In ''Literature/StiffUpperLipJeeves'' she's becomes a vegetarian and she's incredibly self-righteous about it. She forces her fiancé to follow her diet. As a result, he leaves her for a cook, who won his heart with her steak-and-kidney pie.

* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' , we find out his class is full of these at the Krelboyne picnic. Hal becomes a hero to all the beleagured dads in attendence (who very obviously were not vegetarians) by sneaking in real meat, but chaos ensues when the Krelboynes realize their "tofu" is bleeding.

* Regine from ''Series/LivingSingle'' becomes one after watching a daytime talk show where its said being a vegetarian not only good for you, but will keep you active and young looking when you get old (as well as have a hot, young boyfriend).

* ''Series/{{CSI}}'' averts this completely with Sara Sidle. She did complain when Grissom wanted her to clean up his meat experiment, but now they seem to have a good understanding, and she never fell into the stereotypes at all. She does occasionally point things out to someone in the break room, but doesn't get pushy about their choices.

* Similarly averted on ''Series/{{Bones}}'' with Temperance Brennan. Her diet change was an outgrowth of one, the pig farm incident at the end of season one that was connected to her mother's death and two, writing in the real life choices of the actress playing her.

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': Chris Traeger isn't quite a vegetarian, but his health nut tendencies are treated in the same manner. One episode sees him attempt to get hamburgers removed from City Hall's cafeteria because they're unhealthy, and he makes a proposal to [[RealMenEatMeat Ron Swanson]]: They have a cook off where Chris makes a turkey burger and Ron makes a hamburger. Chris slaves over his burger, making it with expensive ingredients, while Ron just slaps ground beef on a grill. Ron wins in a landslide, and when Chris has a bite, he announces that beef is just inherently better.

* ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'' has Mia, one of Charlie's fiancees, trying to make Charlie stop eating meat. Not only was she a straw vegetarian, she was making Charlie give up everything he liked, including drinking, cigars and even ''sex''.

-->'''Lisa:''' I think your protest was incredibly brave.\\

** Admittedly she's young and has a crush; there's no strong indication she doesn't believe veganism is a good thing. In fact Jesse could be the bigger [=Strawman=], likely only being such a strong vegan to swagger about his environmental message, not because he believes so strongly in it.

* Hayley in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad''. An adamant vegetarian, yet in one episode, she spends her time stuck in Africa with Stan and Steve in the American Embassy, clearly eating meat dishes. In another, she admonishes her boyfriend Jeff for eating a corn dog, telling him they're vegetarian. Jeff replies "Still?" In yet another episode, she decides to have a "cheat day" after eating one of Klaus's omelettes which she didn't know contained veal, and spends the whole day indulging in increasingly decadent meat dishes. It takes eating the brain of an ''endangered gorilla'' to finally make her feel guilty enough to stop (though unbeknownst to her, this was actually a scam). Both she and Jeff seem to be under the impression that animals coexist peacefully in the wild, which couldn't be further from the truth.

* Clover from ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'' claims to be a vegetarian but has no problem with eating seafood, which technically makes her a pescaterian.
* Free Waterfall Jr. from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', The leader of the ironically named [[AnimalWrongsGroup Mankind for Ethical Animal Treatment]] [[FunWithAcronyms (M.E.A.T)]] who protested the consumption of "Popplers" (baby omicronians) only to be EatenAlive by Lrr, making him the first of the Waterfall family to suffer DeathByIrony. He also taught [[https://theinfosphere.org/M.E.A.T.%27s_lion a lion to eat tofu,]] [[RealityEnsues making him very sick in the process]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': Cecil, Cheryl's brother, is revealed to be a vegan due to the insistance of his GranolaGirl fiancee Audrey, to the point that the seafood buffet on their boat is actually made from tofu, albeit very well-crafted and almost identical to the real thing.

* Almost always Caucasian, and often female.

* [[KillAllHumans May wish that humans were wiped out so they'd stop killing animals.]]

* Very pale and [[WhatMeasureIsANonBadass physically weak]] (especially if [[RealMenEatMeat male]]).

* [[NaiveAnimalLover May have a rose-tinted view of the animal kingdom]], sometimes to the point of delusion. May lead to the Straw Vegetarian either [[NatureIsNotNice getting attacked by the animals they claim are harmless]], or GoMadFromTheRevelation that animals ''eat meat too''.

Whiny, pale, and possibly even intent on eliminating the entire human race to make way for fluffy bunnies, the Straw Vegetarian is a thinly-veiled [[TheWarOnStraw Strawman]] who is desperate for a bacon sandwich or would really like meat "if they just tried it". In some works, vegetarians or vegans are also shown arrogantly forcing their meat eating family and friends to stop eating meat, often referring to them as [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman murderers]]. More often than not, no-one likes folks like this, often saying under their breaths, "Can't I have just one meal in peace?"

* [[NaiveAnimalLover May have a rose-tinted view of the animal kingdom]], sometimes to the point of delusion. May lead to the Straw Vegetarian [[NatureIsNotNice getting attacked by the animals they claim are harmless]].

* Acts like a dietary [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]], treating vegetarianism as a moral absolute.

* Madeline Bassett, a recurring character in Literature/JeevesAndWooster books is an unbearably mushy and sentimental girl, who eventually becomes a vegetarian and forces her fiancé to follow her diet. As a result, he leaves her for a cook.