Exchange of the week Laughing at vegans
To The Times
As a vegan for the past 20 years, I find it puzzling why we are subjected to the fury of people such as William Sitwell, who has just quit as editor of Waitrose Food [after joking about “killing vegans”]. There are extremists among us, but the majority of vegans are simply asking why welfare standards that are illegal for pet animals are acceptable for farmed animals. No answer is ever forthcoming from our opponents, because none exists. Gandhi once said: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” Mr Sitwell’s remarks show that we are midway between the second and third stages. The recent boom in veganism suggests the final one is just around the corner. James Dixon, Stanningfield, Suffolk
To The Guardian
While agreeing that Mr Sitwell’s jokey suggestions for vegans were not really all that amusing, I can see where he was coming from, as they say. What I would suggest is that every committed vegan, and even vegetarian, should take a course in soil biology and then go on to spend two or three years on a farm in order to grow cereals and vegetables and fruit. This should be done without artificial fertilisers out of deference to the environment, of course. In the absence of any animal manure, the only soil improver would presumably be vegetable matter and human waste.
Meanwhile, the farmers and gardeners would abjure from soya in all its forms, knowing as they will what devastation its production causes to tropical forests. When the first vegans set this up in practical form (or maybe they already have?), I shall be out there saluting. Penelope Reid, Sparsholt Down, Oxfordshire
To The Guardian
I can see where Penelope Reid is coming from. Maybe her idea of vegetarians and vegans working on farms could be extended. What if every committed meat eater were to spend three years working in an abattoir? I delivered meat for a butcher in my village as a teenager, and regularly saw cattle and pigs being slaughtered. I’ve been vegetarian for nearly 50 years now. Orlando Goodden, Frome, Somerset
To The Daily Telegraph
Why do vegans expect to be fed vegan food when they come to my house, yet I am forced to eat bland vegan food when I go to theirs? William Rusbridge, Tregony, Cornwall