An Australian family of vegans and a family of meat eaters are feuding online after one of the families shared a letter asking the other how to cook in the privacy of their home.
In Burns Beach, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, a vegan family was reportedly offended by the smell of their neighbor’s meat.
Someone on behalf of the Australian vegan family wrote a letter asking the meat-eaters to close their window when cooking.
It is unclear if someone directly in the vegan family wrote the letter or another Burns Beach resident wrote it, but the letter garnered a lot of response online from those who said they would have doubled down on their meat cooking.
There are only three names on the letter, with no last names: Sarah, Wayne, and “kids.”
The letter in question is also notable for being microaggressive, calling the unsuspecting meat-eating family’s food “sickening.”
The disgruntled writer, presumably a vegan him or herself, delivered an enveloped letter with “PLEASE TAKE SERIOUSLY” written on the front.
“Hello neighbor, could you please shut your side window when cooking? My family is vegan — we eat only plant-based foods — and the smell of the meat you cook makes us feel sick and upset,” the letter reads. “We would appreciate your understanding — thanks. Sarah, Wayne, and kids.”
Other than the name Kyrlie, the full names of the meat-eating family who shared the letter on Facebook and received the complaint were not included in the post on Hey Perth, a social media page dedicated to meat-loving enthusiasts in Western Australia.
The post on Hey Perth, short and lighthearted, amassed tons of views, and it even got reported on The New York Post.
A neighbor cannot legally tell another to close their window because one has the right to privacy and control over their own space.
However, as the vegan family did, a neighbor could make a reasonable request without violating anyone’s rights.
It is common to make accommodations for neighbors, such as when a neighbor is concerned about noise or light pollution.
