Tuesday 4 December 2018

The old 'problem'.



These days it's an everyday occurance to have Veggies mixed with Carnivores around the table. The only problem (if that's the right word) is the extra work involved for the cook.

Over the years I've toyed with vegetarianism myself, and my youngest son, Wills, is a long term committed Veggie. When he joins us for supper I find no problem at all in preparing, and consuming, Veggie meals. I take it in my stride, and enjoy Veggie meals as much as anyone.

I remember a dinner party I held many years ago. I'd invited an eclectic mix of guests, and took particular care over the menu and it's preparation; which was 100% Veggie. At the end of the meal I asked my guests if they'd noticed anything particular about the meal, and they all instantly replied that there'd been 'no meat'. Somehow I'd thought that they wouldn't have noticed. When I then asked if they'd missed the meat, they all said 'no'.

A lot of veggies are happy to eat fish and shellfish, which makes matters easier; it's those hard-core vegans that cause the most difficulty. Everything has to be just so, and they are never afraid to ask if something contains butter, or nitrites, or non-Bio oil, etc.

When we were at college, Lady Magnon shared a house with some quite extreme Veggies. They lived entirely on steamed mixed vegetables, and unleavened wholemeal bread. OK, it might have been healthy, but a more miserable bunch of people, you'd be hard to find. 

I'm very happy with Vegetarianism, but please be sensible about it. The occasional egg or fish isn't going to kill you; you may even enjoy it.



50 comments:

  1. Nope, not me. I like meat.

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    1. I'm also a dedicated carnivore, but try to go meatless at least once a week.

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  2. Can't remember the last day I had without meat (or fish) of some kind.

    Like yourself I have no axe to grind with vegetarians, each to their own, except the hard-core vegans who view their dedication as almost a religion, as you say, querying everything as to its source.

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    1. You may have read about a group of Vegans who recently invaded a restaurant in Brighton, and held a noisy protest. I can't imagine a group of Carnivores doing anything similar in a Vegan eatery.

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    2. Perhaps we should!! Veganism is a fad... and, like Jehovah's "Witnesses"... they seem to want to ram the tasteless stuff down peoples throats.
      Grrrrrr!

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    3. At least they should respect that others think differently to themselves.

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    4. Well said LaPre DelaForge...I have J W's visiting us regularly... my daughter...who is not PC at all always say's ... "Mum... I don't go door knocking to try to convince them there is no sky angel... why the hell do they door knock to try to convince me there is"

      Jo in Auckland

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  3. I think that it is easier to live as a vegetarian when you grow your own....
    we are ex-allotmenteers, you have Haddock's.... we now have almost the equivalent area under cultivation as we had in Leeds.... meat has become a condiment.
    Yesterday, I boiled up two duck carcasses... 2€ each from Intermarché... with 3 leeks, couple of cloves of garlic, onions and a rather large carrot.... today I will skim off the fat, recover the meat and add a tonne of other root veg, cabbage, chard stalks,potatoes, etc and simmer them until done... depending on the ammount of meat, it will go back in chopped up or become a pizza topping.
    Meat is a condiment.... the veg are the main ingredient.
    However, I say to all "vegetarians" who use dairy produce.... you must be willing to pay far more for your milk and cheese... or eat outdoor reared veal... 50% of the calves born are male... they are needed for the first weeks to stimulate their mothers into full milk production... after that they are useless other than as a young meat. The same goes for goat... we buy young goat meat from our cheesemaker.... "blessed are the cheesemakers".... we buy it as pâté or rillettes [potted meat]... and good it is too!
    Be a "Flexitarian"... eat the meats that matter... and that includes NON-farmed venison... we have killed the natural preditors, so for the sake of healthy animals... we MUST become the predator or re-wild the countryside and put the wolf back on the list of fauna.

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    1. I totally agree about milk, I would happily pay twice the price that I do. We have no dairy farmers around us now. They were losing money on it.

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  4. A lot of our meals are meatless. I know I'm always writing about pork and offal but at least 5 days of the week we'll eat vegies, beans or fish.
    I wouldnt miss meat at all, except for the occasional meatball. They smell so wonderful when cooking

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    1. I would miss it if I went 100% Veggie. The fact that I know it's always there if I want it, makes me OK to eat without it.

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  5. I've been veggie for years and this year became vegan. It's easier than I imagined except when eating out. I gave up eating animal product for ethical, health and spiritual reasons. I don't try to convert people, in fact I'd rather not have to explain or defend my choice. Just let me get on with enjoying my meal. (Although I do have to confess to feeling sorry for the millions of turkeys alive today who will be dead before Christmas).

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    1. Your attitude is laudable; if only all other Vegans were like you.

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  6. Previous mental health issues are often present with vegans and it becomes a way of control where other things in life have failed. I see that sayings such as to kill two birds with one stone are on the vegan list of banned sayings and no doubt those heard using it will find themselves receiving death threats. As Sitwell found, don't try joking with a vegan.

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    1. A lot of school children become Veggie after pressure from their teachers, or their peers. They are made to feel like 'bad people' if they eat meat.

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  7. I'm so relieved that Sarah is no longer a strict vegan. She had been heavily influenced by her ex-partner. I always found their inflexible stance hard to swallow.

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    1. I'm sure this happens a lot. Veganism can become an ever more radical way of life, if one has a partner who is a fanatic.

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  8. I suspect flexitarian is the best word to describe what I eat. Less eating of meat is important, if only to stop the farting cows who are also messing up the climate. Veganism, as someone has so rightly said, is a religious conviction and which is difficult for about 99% of the humans on this earth.

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    1. The worst animal farting comes from Water Buffalo who eat nothing but water plants.

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  9. Replies
    1. Me too (Oh dear, those words have connotations).

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  10. I love the cartoon as well !
    I feel we are meant to have a varied diet but each to their own. We don’t eat a great deal of meat as we prefer fish but I do enjoy meat. My niece is vegan ... her sister who is a chef isn’t but she has made some amazing veggie/vegan dishes. The only thing that annoys me about vegetarians is that you have to cater for them if they come to dinner but most wouldn’t cook us meat when we visit them !!!!!!!! XXXX

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  11. How do you know if someone is a vegan ?.......they will tell you !

    We eat a mixed diet of most things, not much red meat though.

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    1. They carry huge banners Frances, and only ever speak through megaphones (well, almost).

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  12. The cartoon is funny. Some vego type people, and all respect to them generally, won't drink wine because apparently there can be a trace of a fish product in wine. You have to check the label carefully.

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    1. I only drink Bio wine because of all the sulphites in it. Also I never buy wine from a vineyard that uses herbicides along the rows.

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  13. I hate it when somebody eats Tuna in my company.

    I see they can make meat in a laboratory now without killing animals.

    What would happen to the male farm animals if we didn't eat them?
    I love beef and couldn't just eat vegetables all the time. I could try some vegearian dishes though.

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    1. I shall eat a very nice small steak myself tonight.

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  14. Vegans are a pain in the ass !
    Don't eat or wear products made from animals. If they passed a dead animal they would never consider turning the skin into leather or so they say...?
    Our meals consist of more vegetables than meat and isn't that always the way, have had some really tasty vegetarian meals and oh I do so enjoy fresh Tuna steaks.

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    1. The rule being; a little of everything, and deprived of nothing.

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  15. I have tried vegetarianism twice in my life and I must admit, after a couple of yucky days initially I ended up feeling fantastic. Then it usually got buggered up by my going home to England and being offered a full English! I genuinely think I would have more energy as a vegetarian (wouldn't know about veganism) so may give it another try. I think one factor though is all the crap that is pumped into the animals today. My ex' cousin used to raise pigs in the States and one time when he came to visit us in D.C. he brought some of his organic pork. Oh my word, the difference was just amazing. You only had to cook up a packet of the crap bacon on sale in the supermarket (which reduced down to a huge pool of water and not much else) and compare it to the meat his cousin raised and the difference was amazing!

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    1. I occasionally make my own bacon. You need really good quality belly pork, cover it in salt and sugar. After about 4 or 5 days it's hung to dry, and Voila! What a difference!

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  16. My dad used to say, "moderation in all things" and I feel the same. I don't think any food is bad for you if you don't eat it in excess. (There may be some that have no nutritional value whatsoever, but I don't believe even these will harm you if you only eat a little - and this doesn't apply if you are allergic or have some medical condition.) I don't think we "need" meat as in times past - so eating less is probably a good thing (and humane), but not sure totally removing it from our diet is healthy. But that's just me.

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    1. I have the impression that a lot of people are eating less meat. Most families now eat simple Veggie pasta, pizzas, and rice dishes on a regular basis.

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  17. My sentiments exactly Cro - otherwise it gets all too precious.

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    1. Nothing worse than a fanatic; especially when it comes to veganism.

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  18. I was recently lamenting with a friend about how difficult it can be these days to invite a group to a simple dinner - between vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerant & gluten free it is a bit of a nightmare!
    I am a dedicated omnivore and truly believe that is the way humans were designed to be however, I have no quarrel with vegetarians and enjoy a few meat free days per week - simply because I like to try different cuisines, love my veggies and meat is expensive.
    I have 3 Vegan friends, two of whom are very accommodating and non preachy and one who would drive a saint insane! No one bothers to invite her anymore because it's just too difficult and wearing.
    My biggest beef (no pun intended) these days is with those who claim to have all kinds of allergies! As someone who does have life threatening allergies, wears a medic alert bracelet and carries an Epi-pen at all times I am very aware of what is in a dish and always try to be very careful however, 9 times of out 10 these days I later discover that these "allergies" are self-diagnosed - the latest fad - or completely ridiculous and it is especially galling to hear this drivel when I've watched people happily consume what they claim to be allergic to (in hidden forms) with no reaction whatsoever.
    Just this morning we Canadians were told to expect food prices to climb by at least 4 to 6% next year - and even higher for fresh fruit & veg. The higher demand by all of us looking to eat more fruit & veg, the rise of vegetarianism, the use in bio-fuels and in Canada, the fact that farmers are now switching to the more profitable cannabis is all causing this rise in cost. I may be back to more carbs whether I like it or not!

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    1. You made me think of the banning of NUTS in planes, because someone is (or thinks they are) allergic.

      Plenty of good land in Canada; I can't see why there should ever be a shortage of fruit or vegs.

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    2. Our climate makes for a very limited growing season I'm afraid. We also have extremes of temperatures - 40C plus in the summer to -40C in the winter so things like tomatoes & salad greens would have to be grown for much of the year in large greenhouse complexes which just aren't feasible or affordable. We also can't grown things like citrus foods or bananas - all of that has to be imported and that means from thousands of miles away. I buy Canadian whenever possible but it's simply not always available.

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  19. People who have observed our nearest relatives the chimpanzees report that they are mainly vegerian but every once in a while they go crazy for meat and set themselves up as a group to go out and hunt for it. They chase their lunch up into the tree crowns and then other chimps hiding up there come in from the sides and ambush it. It's evidence if you like that a mixed diet consisting predominantly of vegetable and fruit but with a certain amount of flesh is what nature intended.

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    1. I've seen film of Chimps tucking into fresh meat... they love it.

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  20. The occasional fish isn't going to kill you - it kills the fish. That's the point. I love that cartoon. "Waiter - call me a taxi." "You're a taxi."

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    1. Fish are never treated very well once caught. They tend to be thrown around and die slowly. I'm surprised the vegans haven't been demonstrating at the fishing ports.

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    2. They push sleeping anglers into rivers.

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  21. I have some food that cause allergic reactions (not good) but I take care to watch what I eat. and I carry my meds also.
    Daughter is a vegetarian/vegan and is the best cook ever. She also eats egg and fish sometimes.
    She and I know what we can or can not eat everyone is happy and no preaching,

    cheers, parsnip and badger

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    1. Good. That's how it should be. Live and let live.

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  22. Omnivore here, and will try most things, especially if I'm a guest in someone's home or country. On the vegan front, I read recently that hardcore vegans don't eat almonds or avocados and what-not as those farmers truck in bees for pollination (I don't think we have to do that in Australia) as it's considered exploitative.

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    1. What is supposed to be wrong with bees pollinating the crops? Bees are brought in here to pollinate the Chestnut trees. Some people are bizarre.

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