It ' s entirely unfair to ask someone to ' pick off the meat ' if they ' re a strict veggie . It ' s not about the physical effects of eating meat , it ' s that you ' re blithely saying that person should give up there moralsethicsconvictions just like that . Not to mention , how is she supposed to get chicken stock out of mashed potatoes ? As for your first point , this would be the case if the MIL didn ' t know she was veggie , but I can ' t see how this would be the case if they ' re married , as the mother would likely know this already . In that case , if you know you ' ve invited someone with a specific dietary requirement , you either cook them something suitable or liase with them beforehand . That way they can bring their own food if catering for them is a problem .