Let us talk about chicken stock

Okay, so chicken stock has become this item that is in everything. There are a ginormous number of reasons I am offended by this. So, here is a sampling of my list:

#1: You automatically make the dish not vegetarian
#2: Total unnecessary item
#3: You could have used vegetable stock or water
#4: Some people don't understand that they cannot use this and still call their item vegetarian
#5: There is often a crazy amount of sodium in chicken stock that you buy at the stores
#6: Generally the restaurant waitstaff is unaware if this item is used and sometimes they just say no because they don't want to check
#7: It is lame when people say that is how they are adding protein to a dish
#8: There are plenty of substitutes for chicken stock or broth- no matter what anyone tells you

There are 8 reasons (I didn't go with 10 because I didn't want you to think my list was excessive).
I never thought about this until I didn't eat it. More importantly, my chef never thought about this until I didn't eat it. A lot of time kitchens use chicken stock in their soups, sauces, rices, and a whole list of other things that you wouldn't even think to ask about. The more restaurants we go to whose soups and other items I am not able to eat, the more he is reminded to be more conscious about what get puts into veggie items. If a recipe is vegan or vegetarian except for something like chicken stock or broth- do yourself, any dinner guests, and the world a favor and use one of the following options instead!

• Use veggie broth or stock instead (usually located right next to the chicken stock/broth). You really cannot tell the difference unless you tell everyone and then they will all look for the difference. 
• There are fake or imitation style chicken broths that are actually vegetarian or vegan but you also run the risk of this having lots of preservatives or sodium in them
• Search for vegetable broth recipes. Here are a few that I found:
• World's Greatest Vegetable Broth on allrecipes.com 
• Veganyumyum.com's Homemade Veggie Broth Recipe
• GoodVeg on Squidoo Vegetable Broth Recipe
• Oprah's Vegetable Broth
• Emeril's Vegetable Broth Recipe
• I like to mix canned tomatoes with water and cookie with veggies, then blend up and add the soup ingredients to make a thicker soup with a heartier base. I use the veggie broth recipes for lighter, more delicate soups. 

- Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood vegan-chef-wife!