Millions of Britons turn against meat, preferring food from plants

It may seem strange to meat-loving Kenyans, but more and more people in Britain are turning their backs on food made from animals and are eating plant-based meals instead.

Some 3.5 million Britons now count themselves as vegans, who shun meat, fish, milk, eggs and honey, and in some cases refuse to wear leather made from animal skins. Their number is up from 540,000 in 2016.

Restaurants such as Pizza Express and Wetherspoon are now offering vegan menus and supermarkets are introducing sections with products which contain none of the forbidden foods. Train companies are also offering vegan options to travellers.

There was a mighty furore recently when Greggs the bakers launched a vegan sausage roll. It looked like a regular sausage roll and it was made of delicately ribbed puff pastry, but instead of a pork or beef sausage, it contained a protein-rich food known as Quorn, made from an edible fungus. Greggs claimed the vegan roll, which was introduced in 900 shops, was a huge hit and sold out immediately in many outlets.

Not everyone was impressed, however. Piers Morgan, host of the television programme, Good Morning, Britain, nibbled one on camera, then spat it out, saying, “Ugh, God, God.”

The main reasons vegans give for boycotting meat are concern for animal welfare, followed by personal health motivations and lastly worries over the environment.

The cause of veganism has been assisted by celebrity advocates such as Paul McCartney.

Dominika Piasecka, spokesperson for the Vegan Society, said, “The image of veganism is undergoing the most radical change in its history. It is no longer portrayed as an unusual lifestyle since it is easy and accessible.”

In case you were wondering, vegetarians are different to vegans and not so strict. Some will eat eggs and dairy foods.

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Strapped for cash, Matthew Skeen contacted a loan company and a few hours later the money was in his bank account.

“It was so easy,” he said, “just a click of a button.”

And thus started a chain of bad decisions that has left Matthew facing debts of £12,000.

Matthew, 26, found interest payments were so high that he had to get new loans to pay off old ones and at one point he had 19 loans with different companies.

“I took out one loan for £400 and paid them back £700 for that. It was outrageous but I didn’t take that into account at the time because I needed the money. Once I paid one off I had to go back because I needed another loan.”

Matthew walked to work because he could not afford public transport and he could not get a mortgage for a house or flat when he became engaged because he has a court judgment against him for not paying a phone bill.

“I just kept going back for money, it was like a drug,” he said.

Matthew is now being helped by the debt charity, Step Change.

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The European football authorities have opened disciplinary proceedings into alleged racist chanting by fans of Chelsea Football Club at a recent Europa League game.

The chants were not aimed against the team’s opponents on the day, MOL Vidi, but were directed at another London club, Tottenham Hotspur, which has a history of Jewish ownership and support.

A Chelsea spokesman said fans who sang an anti-Semitic chant had “shamed the club.”

The incident came as official figures showed a threefold increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Britain over the last 10 years. Swastikas have been daubed on synagogue walls, graves in Jewish cemeteries have been violated and guards have had to be recruited to patrol some Jewish schools.

The irony in the case of the Chelsea racists is that the Russian owner of their club, Roman Abramovich, is Jewish.

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You may think you have seen this joke before, even possibly in this column …

Every Friday night, a workman would leave his factory pushing a wheelbarrow filled with straw. Suspecting the man was stealing, the guard at the gate would search zealously through the straw, but always in vain.

Eventually, the two men retired and happened to meet in a pub. The ex-security man said, “Now we are retired, you can tell me. You were stealing something, weren’t you?” “Yes,” said the worker, “wheelbarrows.”

Please don’t groan. That joke dates back to ancient Persia and is said to be the work of a famous trickster named Nasrudin.

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Everybody thought little Johnny was stupid. They would offer to give him a shilling or a penny and he always took the penny. His dad explained that a shilling was worth more than a penny. Johnny said, “I know that, but if I took the shilling, they wouldn’t play the game any more. I take the penny and so far I’ve made 20 shillings.”

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