News "The War On Meat Has Begun - And Vegans Are Winning Comfortably"

Andy_T

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As far as articles go, this is only ok, but I am happy that veganism is now more and more in the public spotlight:

The war on meat has begun – and vegans are winning comfortably | The Spectator

Jenny McCartney said:
As January — the month of penitence and tax returns — grinds towards its close, it would be foolish to imagine we can go back to a life of thoughtlessly eating, drinking and making merry. Dry January might give way to Wet February, as grateful drinkers furtively crack open the rioja, but the intense passions aroused by Veganuary now seem set to continue all year round.

Veganism — the shunning of meat, fish and all dairy products — was once regarded as a harmless but inconvenient hobby. Vegans got used to the mild panic they triggered at other people’s houses if the host hadn’t been pre-warned: the alarmed mouthing of ‘They’re vegan’ and the desperate rooting in the fridge for something, anything. They were humble and apologetic as they tucked into odd, hastily composed little meals of oven chips, hummus and those mushrooms found at the back of the vegetable drawer.

Back then, carnivores and herbivores rubbed along peaceably enough on the UK dietary savannah, with the carnivores, secure in their status as the meat-eating majority, often clumsily accommodating the herbivores’ dietary requirements while reserving the right to bore them with ‘humorous’ barbs about Hitler being a vegetarian. Now tension is growing between the two camps, with each thinking the worst of the other. It’s like Brexit — only with knives and forks.
 
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I agree - it's nice to see that veganism is making inroads beyond the liberal side of the media.

From The Spectator - Wikipedia :
[The Spectator] is owned by David and Frederick Barclay who also own The Daily Telegraph newspaper, via Press Holdings. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture. Its editorial outlook is generally supportive of the Conservative Party, although regular contributors include some outside that fold, [...] Editorship of The Spectator has often been a step on the ladder to high office in the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. Past editors include Boris Johnson (1999–2005) and other former cabinet members Iain Macleod, Ian Gilmour, and Nigel Lawson.
 
This article is as good as can be possibly expected from a clearly right wing newspaper. I'm quite happy about it.
 
Hmmm... maybe this article makes vegans and veganism seem more militant than I've witnessed it to be because this paper leans to the right.

When people have asked me about my unusual food choices, I've always said my reason is my love for animals (although I do care about my health too). I've gone into more detail if asked, but I haven't lectured them or taken a hostile tone. If anything, I just don't like to make extra work for someone if they're having me over for a meal, and wouldn't mind bringing my own "main dish" if the only idealogically-acceptable foods for me were the sides. Most pescetarians, vegetarians, and vegans I know of are similarly laid-back, but we've got enough passion and fire to keep us doing our thing, even if meat eaters were hostile.

Maybe folks are just getting interested in unfamiliar foods, are realizing that they won't keel over from lack of protein if they skip meat/egg/dairy, and are starting to wonder just what "humane slaughter" is supposed to mean.
 
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