The 80s food pyramid created a fallacy that is still doing damage today.
Listen, there are several diet categories and subgroups out there, and it can be tough to keep track of what each one means. This is particularly true if you adhere to a diet that eliminates some, but not all, animal products.
After all, unless you’re a certified nutritionist, you’re unlikely to be aware of all the subgroups that exist between vegetarianism, which abstains from consuming all animal flesh products, and veganism, which abstains entirely from all animal products—including the lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet (no meat but allows eggs and dairy), the lacto-vegetarian diet (no meat or eggs but allows dairy), the ovo-vegetarian diet (no meat or dairy products but allows eggs), and so on.
Because not everyone is aware of these nuanced distinctions, there will inevitably be misunderstandings at culinary events. This takes us to the age-old question of “Are eggs dairy?”
One woman stated online that she had tried to be generous by bringing a dessert to her friend’s dinner party. The acquaintance in question requested that she create a dairy-free dessert because her daughter had lately quit eating it.
The woman’s “great cake recipe with no dairy” made it easy. She brought the cake. It was “a hit.” Everything seemed to go smoothly until the woman was requested to share the recipe.
“My buddy asked for the recipe, so I told her the details.” When I got to the eggs, her kid grew agitated and rushed upstairs. My acquaintance questioned why I used eggs in the cake. I said the eggs were to blame for the spongy texture. She stated the cake was not dairy-free. I said it was. The woman stated that the cake has no milk, cheese, butter, or any dairy items.
When her companions argued that eggs were dairy, the woman was naturally perplexed, explaining that only milk and cheese products were considered dairy. The companion then contended that a diary means “anything that comes from an animal.” However, when the woman questioned whether honey could be considered dairy by the same logic, her buddy said, “No, because bees are insects.”
The woman ended up apologizing for upsetting her buddy and questioning whether she was in the wrong.
In case you’re not clear who’s wrong here, we can assert unequivocally that eggs are not dairy. They are both animal products and are frequently offered in the dairy section at grocery shops, so some people lump them together. However, they are not the same.
People in the comments mostly agreed with the cake maker on this one, suspecting that the mother intended to request no animal products rather than dairy.
“I think that Mom is confused about the terminology,” one individual commented.
Another person explicitly noted that “she needed to say vegan because that is not the same as dairy-free,” whilst an additional person speculated, “Yeah, it sounds like she didn’t want to say her daughter is going through a vegan ‘phase’ and instead said no dairy, like to sound like an allergy almost?”
Ethics play an important role in someone’s alternative diet choices, as do severe intolerances. So when wires are crossed, it may be emotionally upsetting. As one commenter put it, “In the age of Google,” it really behooves us all to make sure what words truly mean to avoid unneeded tiffs and broken feelings…or tummies.