‘Made me want to vomit’: American-Indian influencer's viral post unravels struggle for vegetarians at work events

An American-Indian influencer’s viral video has sparked a conversation online about the lack of vegetarian options at corporate events abroad.

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Runjhun, who goes by the handle The Wicked Vegetarian on Instagram, shared her recent experience at a work event in the US where, despite promises of lunch for all, not a single vegetarian option was available. Her post went viral logging more than half a million views on Insta.

“Raise your hand if you’ve ever had to go hungry at a work event,” she said in the now-viral clip, before raising her own hand.

She explained that she had been told in advance not to bring her own food, as lunch would be provided. But upon arriving, she found a massive spread of sandwiches—Kosher, Halal, gluten-free—but not one vegetarian option. “There were over 60 sandwiches,” she said, “but when I asked for vegetarian, there was silence.”

Someone eventually suggested she make her own by removing the meat from a sandwich. “You can take a meat sandwich and carefully peel back all the layers of meat that have been juiced into that sandwich and make it vegetarian,” she said in the post.

“This doesn’t make me want to eat a vegetarian sandwich—this makes me want to vomit,” she said, visibly frustrated. In her caption, Runjhun added that someone from the office later offered to fetch her food after an hour, but by then she had already ordered lunch for herself. “I was so hangry,” she wrote.

The video has struck a chord with many vegetarians globally who’ve faced similar issues. “Why is it so hard to get vegetarian food at work events?” she asked, highlighting the broader issue of dietary inclusivity in professional spaces.

The post has prompted a wave of comments and shares from users supporting her stand and sharing their own struggles.