» Ready veggie go!
Elaine Hills-Haney presents some compelling thoughts on why ditching meat can be a good idea
What’s the one thing you can do to magically decrease the amount of suffering in the world, drastically reduce your carbon footprint and improve your health? Turn vegetarian!
The packaging of that seemingly innocuous chicken sandwich from the supermarket disguises the fact that it could be the end product of a chain involving the overfeeding of often lame birds in crowded, unhygienic cages, with no natural light. Even if birds are freerange – allowed more space and to go outdoors – the slaughtering process is still harrowing.
The sausage sandwich from the deli on the corner may seem harmless, but the massive scale of meat production to meet the needs of Western diets is having a devastating effect on the planet. Huge scale livestock production has led to a demand for more grazing pastures, leading to massive deforestation – between 2000 and 2005, ninety million acres of forest were destroyed, resulting in a loss of biodiversity and an increase in carbon emissions, partly because they were previously absorbed by trees. Raising animals for food also contributes to water pollution and the wind (methane) passed by these animals produces more greenhouse gas emissions than the world’s entire transport system!
Vegetarianism doesn’t only help animals and the planet, it can also benefit your health. Cutting out meat reduces your risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes and many types of cancer, as well as reducing bowel and weight problems.
Are you convinced yet? The transition from a meat diet to a vegetarian one may seem daunting at first, but Helen Rossiter, from campaigning group Viva! (Vegetarians’ International Voice for Animals), believes going vegetarian or vegan isn’t that difficult. She says, “The choice of food available to vegetarians has never been more varied or more appetising. Most health stores sell a whole range of amazing foods.”
Or you could look at turning vegetarian as an opportunity to start creating your own delicious foods. Helen says, “Why not make your own veggie soup, veggie sausage sandwich or a delicious salad box with hummus and pitta bread?” Pasta, curry and chilli are all easy to make without meat but if you’re not quite confident enough, there are recipes online or in books such as The L-Plate Vegetarian (see www.viva.org.uk).
But going veggie doesn’t have to mean more time in the kitchen. “Every major supermarket sells items from microwave curries to readymade stir fries to veggie sausages,” says Helen.
And if you feel life’s not worth living without a bacon buttie or a roast dinner, health stores such as Infinity Foods in Brighton’s North Road or Sunny Foods on Beaconsfield Road stock a range of mouthwatering replacements. Examples include Redwood Foods’ range of Cheatin sliced meats, such as bacon rashers, ham and turkey. Fry’s also produce a range of vegan meatless meats, including hot dogs, schnitzels, polony, sausages, nuggets and burgers.
Brighton is arguably the easiest place in the UK to become vegetarian. From the gourmet delights of Terre à Terre and Food for Friends in The Lanes, to the hearty offerings of Iydea and The George in the North Laine, there is no shortage of veggie eateries. If you insist on a burger and fries, why not try Red Veg in Gardner Street or Wai Kika Moo Kau in Kensington Gardens for a posher meat-free version. If it’s an Indian you’re after, Bombay Alloo in Ship Street is a meat-free zone. And because of Brighton’s high vegetarian population, you’ll find most restaurants and sandwich shops can provide a number of veggie options.
So what can you do if your willpower wanes, and you feel you need a meat fix? Repeat the mantra – pain, planet, health – 100 times, by which time you should have chanced upon somewhere mouth-wateringly veggie. Failing that, Viva! is giving away a free Go Veggie pack to interested readers. To receive one, email info@viva.org.uk with ‘Free Go Veggie pack’ in the subject line and include your name and address, or call 0117 944 1000 or check out www.viva.org.uk
Elaine Hills-Haney presents The Veggie Special on Radio Reverb at 12.30pm every Tuesday.
May 1st, 2008 at 12:30 am
Why on earth anybody presumes it is acceptable to eat animals at all is beyond me! After all, they were on this planet before us, and we are a useless addition.
I am proud to say that at 60 I am vegan, have been vegetarian for some years, but thought that eating fish was OK, why? Do they not feel pain too. Humans think that because animals and fish, reptiles and birds cannot speak, they have no opinions. They may not have the sense of REASON, and only live for the moment, but how dare humans think that we can abuse that? I am not Christian, but I do believe that there was a man called Jesus who tried in vain to urge us to love one another, but that does not give us the right to abuse animals. Adam (if he ever really did exist) ate an apple with Eve. That was not a living breathing feeling creature. Humans are an abomination, and we should love each other and care for the animals we are privileged to share our planet with, just before we all destroy it.
By the way, my vegan diet has destroyed my diabetes too.