Let's say you're drinking soup that contains MEAT. Is it okay to eat/drink the other stuff in the soup but leave out the meat?

This may be a silly question, but I was just wondering.

And if you're wondering why I'm wondering this, it's because of my current food lifestyle. I'm Chinese, and I eat the commonly known Chinese family eating style (I'm not trying to generalize, but this stereotype is commonly known), which is rice with various dishes of food. Every time at the dinner table, there are dishes that consist of meat and veggie. Well, I'm a new vegetarian, and I was wondering if it's okay to eat the vegetable (with meat in it) and not the meat. Would that make me a cheater?

Oh by the way, I know this question sounds a bit weird, but I'm having difficulty expressing this... English wasn't my first language. :\

A lot of vegetarians would avoid any dish that had meat it in, but it's really up to you.  If someone else is making your meals then that might be your best option.  You might try getting involved in cooking, too, so your family can enjoy some vegetarian dishes.  Just make sure you're getting enough protein and do what works for you.  

I wouldn't, but that's just me. I don't consume meals or foods that have been prepared with animal ingredients or use chicken stocks and beef broths for soup. Technically, veg*ns don't use either of these products as well, but it's really a matter of personal choice.

i don't believe it's vegetarian to eat vegetables that were cooked with meat. meat particles can get with the veggies, and you get that meaty flavor and it's just gross.

My Family Is Israeli/Morrocon/Libyan, We Always cook with meat, However mY grandma forces me to eat her food that was cooked with meat such as Couscous HA, And I still claim Im a vegeterian.  So what?  You aren't eating the meat, In my eyes you're still a vegeterian.

It's really a personal choice. I would prefer not to but sometimes end up having to also because of the way my family cooks and they'll always off to let me try their food and just say they can pick out the meat, or take the meat out of a sandwich to let me try it. I usually decline but they give me a really hard time about it.

I also know what what you mean ewwxroflzz about the gross taste. I ate at a salad bar the other night and apparently one of the bacon bits made its way into the beets and i didn't notice until i was chewing it and it tasted really really disgusting! ewwwwww, so animal-y and sick, I can't believe I used to like it! I spit it out but never found the perpetrator :\

I don't eat anything that has touched meat, even a surface that hasn't been cleaned. Same factory/machinery? Maybe. But soup that had meat in it, or even food that has been carelessly put down on top of meat, is no longer vegetarian in its strictest sense. Picking bacon bits out of a salad or eating a pickle off a hamburger isn't vegetarian. However, if you only choose not to eat meat because you want to be healthy, it doesn't matter. The flavor of meat will be in the soup broth or on anything particularly porous that contacts meat, and if your reason for vegetarianism is because you don't wish to eat animals, contact is contamination.

This means some of my "friends" have tormented me by dropping meat into my food or sticking their fork in my food. I've had entire meals ruined by people mixing up utensils.

Well, it really wouldn't be vegetarian even if you consume just the broth which is made with meat.  Weather you want to consume it or not would depend on your reason for being a vegetarian. If you stopped eating meat for ethical reasons then you wouldn't feel like eating anything that was made from meat. As you know Chinese food readily lends itself to various vegetarian dishes. I would just have the rice and vegetable dishes

 I wouldn't drink the soup that contains meat in the first place. Meat-based broth is not an exception either. True vegetarians do not eat anything with meat in it or even if meat has touched it. You can eat soup that has meat in it but you wouldn't actually be a vegetarian.

First off, I'm cranky from eating a lot of vegetables this weekend.  My GI tract is in turmoil, and I'm starting to think that I may be legume intolerant....bear with me....

xosushi, I'd advise picking the meat out if it offends you.  Don't waste the food.  Consider your action in a social context.  It's ungrateful to the person that prepared and served the food.  Don't feel guilty about violating any laws of vegetarianism unless they're religious ones.  You'll gain more sympathy suffering in silence than by pushing your plate away in self-righteous rage.  Just my 2 cent advice though, do what you like.

im chinese too, and when i go to my parents' home i just pick the veggies around the meat.  they mean well, and make a lot of tofu dishes for me but add pork to it as well (for flavoring).

so, i agree with everyone that it is a personal decision.  i just don't make a big fuss over it.  my parents are elderly and i love my family dearly.  my relationship with them is more important than a piece of pork or chicken. 

my own home is a different matter...

but, it took me a while to get over the guilt.

Chances are if the soup you're eating has meat in it, it's not made with vegetable broth, so it's not vegetarian either way.  If you continue in this way I'd probably call myself a flexitarian or maybe even just not consider yourself a vegetarian by any means....might as well eat the dang chicken. :-P