Actually, it isn't as I can't stand artificial meat. What's the point of it, eh? You either eat meat or you don't.
And I don't, not because I can't afford it but because I don't like it. I will if I have to, but generally I don't.
I was raised a vegetarian and still hanker after some of the meals my mother cooked. That was in the post-war era of food rationing, when the only processed food that I recall was Spam and, possibly those plastic cheese slices still krafted.
You didn't see many overweight folk around then because, well, we had balanced diets, food wasn't contaminated with overloads of sugar and salt, fat, and artificial colorants and flavourings, and by-and-large, food was sourced locally.
Our carbon footprints were small because we generally used public transport. Mind you, the London smogs were lethal thanks to the coal industry and Britain's industrial base. Not for nothing was the Midlands called the Black Country, and everyone seemed to smoke full-strength filterless ciggies or, like my father, a pipe.
I know I've said all this before, but it's worth saying again because every time the notion of vegetaianism crops up in the (British) media, out come the crypto-fascist trolls. Actually, that's what they call advocates of eating less, yet enough, fruit and vegetables.
An article in the Guardian, Eat Less Meat, has really got them going, probably because it's about a report by the government's independent advisory body on sustainability, the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), which calls for radical changes in patterns of consumption.
To me it makes absolute sense to use agricultural land for growing food crops for humans rather than grain to feed animals. It also makes sense to produce for one's needs rather than having mountains of over-produced food thrown away.
You may not agree, so here are a couple of articles which should appeal to your - erm - tastes. Before you read them, though, here's a question for you: would you be prepared to kill and butcher an animal before cooking it?
I have.
Young Butcher of the Year - a reality show.
Songs about meat
