Bitter taste of virtue-signalling

Speaking as a lapsed vegan – I only stuck at it for a month, but it’s like being a lapsed Catholic: the guilt and self-flagellation remain – I am at sixes and sevens over the horrendous news that tiny songbirds are being slaughtered while they sleep to make olive oil.

Warblers and wagtails are collateral damage as industrial harvesting machines in Spain, France and Italy typically strip the branches at night, when the birds roost and rest, and when the cooler temperature means the olives retain

their aroma. Well, that stinks, doesn’t it? It’s enough to drive the meat, fish and dairy-deniers into the arms of the fast food enemy in an orgy of despair.

Except I’ve heard that Mcdonald’s has developed a vegan burger to cater for growing demand. How messed up is that? Yes to mass-produced Happy Meals… and no to fancy olive oil?

Findings in the journal Nature suggest that more than two million birds were killed in Spain alone in a year. Having once weepily watched a bullfight (on telly, in an airport departure lounge), I imagine a lot of Spaniards might not be too bothered.

Ditto France, where ortolan bunting are poached, blinded, force-fed, then drowned in brandy, cooked and eaten beneath a towel to preserve the scent under the twisted guise of gastronomy.

The only way to effect change is by customer pressure on retailers. Waitrose and Sainsbury’s say their own-brand olives and olive products are hand-picked, but not whether the other brands they stock are similarly ethical. Like Tesco, they have launched an investigation. I await the results with bated breath. Until then, it’s Mickey D’s and unbranded oil for me.

Nobody ever said virtue-signalling was easy, but I never expected it to leave such a bitter taste.