Veganism

Of course people can choose the diet they prefer and should not need to either feel the need to a) promote or b )defend their position.

I think it is beholden on all of us to listen honestly to the arguments for reducing the amount of animal based products we consume as well as the arguments for being omnivorous.

Why oh why do we have to defend ourselves. Can't we just be allowed to eat what we want without labels on us.
I have been veggie for 30 years or so and know plenty of vegans.
Once the carnivores start to interrogate they always have the same old arguments such as what would you eat on a desert island or if there wasn't anything but animals. Really. We could always eat what the animals eat.
I host a lot of people from all over the world who never seem to mind eating vegetarian or vegan in fact many youngsters in their teens and twenties are vegan I find and are surprised that we eat eggs and cheese.

Some meat eaters I know go "on and on" about how vegitarians and vegans apparently go on and on about it.
If any vegans in the room then stick up for themselves said meat eaters point at them as "proof" they were right like "see! Look! Theyre talking about it again!!"..... but only because the meat eater brought it up...

With many things you have the "true believers" and the "hangers on" whose commitment is less robust!

I understand, and do not totally disagree with, veganism philosophy.

I believe that human beings are naturally omnivores but as we have become used to a much more animal product based diet and there are far greater numbers of human beings we are destroying acres of the world in pursuit of meat and other animal based protein.

I do accept I would find it very hard to be totally veggie and even harder to be vegan but do try hard to increase plant based meals. Much grazing land is not suitable for arable crops so it is not completely right to say that if we had no meat we could use the land for plant protein instead. We could easily change the balance of animal product and plant product that we eat. I am trying to do that!

Indeed Jane.

Rather like Beyoncé who is a 'vegan' but wears fur.

I suspect that, other than religious adherents, there are very few genuine Vegans in the UK.

Riverwalk That reminds me of a cartoon in the Oldie magazine a little while ago.
Two fat ladies having afternoon tea & cakes:
“I’m not really gluten-intolerant. I just like annoying people.”

Now my friend who is gluten free though not diagnosed with any intolerance will always make a big song and dance about it, though if there's cake on offer which isn't gluten free she'll eat it anyway. . .

Edsnana therein lies the problem and why many people are dismissive of so-called 'vegans'.

I know a number of long-time Vegetarians, including my sister, of some 30 years; and two life-long Vegans, both of Indian background.

Like everyone else, I suspect, also know gluten-intolerants who don't have coeliac disease, veggies, vegans, lactose-intolerant, who dip in and out and are mainly attention seekers.

Maybe Sitwell had them in mind!

The man has been very foolish! I can’t work out if he knew the correspondent and felt they had the type of relationship that allowed him to make his very juvenile remarks! Whether it was a resignation matter I don’t know. An apology and a donation to a vegan charity may have sufficed.
Though as an ambassador for a well-known company he maybe had to fall on his sword.

What Mr sitwell actually wrote in his not so private email to a vegan contributor to his food magazine sounds extraordinary. I don't find it funny. He was the editor so had to set a proper example and not air his biased views.

William Sitwell emailed about ‘hypocrisy’ and suggested force-feeding vegans meat

Selene Nelson, who is a vegan, had pitched Sitwell a “plant-based meal series” looking at meat-free dishes

In commentsfirst reported by BuzzFeed News, Sitwell replied: “Hi Selene. Thanks for this. How about a series on killing vegans, one by one. Ways to trap them? How to interrogate them properly? Expose their hypocrisy? Force-feed them meat? Make them eat steak and drink red wine?”

In a follow-up email, he added: “I like the idea of a column called The Honest Vegan; a millennial’s diary of earnest endeavour and bacon sandwiches ... ”

Sitwell, who has also been a judge on Masterchef, swiftly apologised when the comments were made public this week, but it was not enough to save his job.
He'll no doubt be taken up by a carnivore mag and together they will continue to poke fun at minorities.

Janeainsworth. It was tongue in cheek not meant to be taken so seriously!

It’s the I was yelling in pain thread I think.

Wrong thread I think crissyh ( easy done when you’re following a few ) you could copy it over to the painful mammogram thread which I assume is where it was meant to be.

The only time I had a problem was when I was put too far on the glass (I am big boobed) and the plate came down and rested on my breastbone. I didn't say anything but I thought I was going to pass out. I had a bruise across the top of my chest. To make matters worse, I was recalled. I was dreading it, but dread breast cancer more, so went and it was the usual discomfort but certainly bearable and the result was fine as the previous image was unclear.

If vegans start looking too closely into working conditions and food production techniques then there could be very little left for them to eat . Not being provocative just genuinely concerned .

I agree with your comments on working conditions felice but I think the point is that humans have a choice - animals have no choice.

After watching the last episode of Mediteranien with Simon Reeve last night, there will be no Aubergines or Courgettes from Spain served to vegan friends in my cooking.
I was horrified at the treatment and living conditions of the workers in Almeira, disgusting.
It seems there are no organisations to look after the workers rights, if these men were animals and forced to live in such conditions people would be up in arms.
Ok they do not need to be there, their choice to go to Spain but surely decent living and working conditions should be a right here in Europe.

Exactly * GrannyGravy* and now you’ve made it public you had better wrap that man in cotton wool

I have threatened to kill by beloved Husband on a daily basis since his retirement, and more so since our renovations have started. (I love him dearly, it is just getting used to him in"my space" which I have had to myself since my retirement)

The AC joke that if he should be so unfortunate to die in unforeseen circumstances I shall be hauled off by our local constabulary for questioning.

? gillybob

He has lost his job of 20 years (a job he did very well apparently) so I guess it probably will bother him Grammaretto I don’t think the (silly) remark was meant to be taken any more literally than someone saying “I nearly died laughing” or “my mum will kill me for getting dirty” or even a “x” at the end of a sentence.

But what do I know? maybe he really did intend to kill all vegans one by one . At least when those murders start the police will know where to look.

Gillybob, here, here! I truly wonder what has happened to society these days, no freedom of speech, no sense of humour and no tolerance! What exactly is political correctness anyway? Think like me or you're wrong!!!

Can I join in at this late stage! It sounds like this Sitwell character has a very odd sense of humour if he really thinks that a caĺl to kill vegans is funny.
Is he a relation of Edith? He's an old Etonian, so very posh. I don't think the lack of editorship of Waitrose food mag will bother him.
I'm not a vegan but haven't eaten meat for 30 years. Sometimes I'm offered bacon as though it's a treat I'm denying myself.

What are you on about Lilyflower?
This is nothing like the Hitler Jugend or “Tomorrow belongs to me” which is itself not a Nazi anthem but written by two gay Jewish musicians for the 1966 musical “Cabaret”.
What a ridiculous exaggeration !

www.express.co.uk/news/world/979782/vegans-animal-rights-activists-vegan-extremists-french-butchers

sorry if this has been posted already..it has been a hectic day!

Why would anyone want to condone factory farming of animals with all that entails !
I scratch my head !