There seems to be two subjects of conversation at this moment in our lives: Brexit and Veganism. The former we seem not to be able to do much about, neither apparently even those that are meant to be handling it. As long as it doesn’t affect us too much here in Spain I’m not that worried! But Veganism has taken a turn for the worse. I recently reported that radical Vegans have been protesting in supermarkets and restaurants. (It seems to be in Brighton mainly, for some reason!!) And while I do not always concur with some of the more outrageous comments that Piers Morgan spouts on GMB in the mornings I tend to agree with his view on Vegans. I did a project with someone once who asked me to include vegan dishes on the menu as he felt it was a growing market. Of this there is no doubt. As I said in one of my recent recipes, apparently one in 12 households will have a vegan dish on the menu this Christmas. I have a couple of friends who have turned Vegan over the years. One, a very talented actress, was an attractive woman to start with, but has become exceptional due to her change in diet and to quote the vernacular — very fit! But while supporting it and advocating it and probably doing her best to ‘convert’ non believers, she does not ram it down our throats and does not appear in supermarkets with pictures of slaughter houses and recorded sounds of screaming pigs!! We all know that the slaughter of animals for human consumption is something that nobody really wants to know about and I sympathise when the Vegans say we don’t know — or care — how we get our food. However do not forget that plant based diet is not a long term healthy life, while vegetarianism can be and a Mediterranean diet based on fish and vegetables most certainly is.
If the Vegans are worried about the planet as well, then there was an interesting article in the tree-hugging Guardian that I urge you to read.
What would we do if we stopped eating meat and poultry? What would we do with the excess of animals roaming the world? Maybe we could feed the millions that have no food?
You have the right to eat what you want, drink what you want, smoke, take drugs or whatever, but please, PLEASE do not try and force your beliefs on other people. This is a form of radicalism that goes hand in hand with religious beliefs and terrorism!
I said that one in 12 households will be eating a Vegan dish this year, but thankfully that means that 11 out of 12 won’t be!
Whatever you eat for your Christmas Lunch — ENJOY. It’s your choice!