Why I don’t intend to give up my Sunday roast
Meat lover Neil Davey knows there are problems with the way a lot of meat is produced – but there are serious issues with global fruit, veg and grain production too. Ethical eating has never been more complex
ILLUSTRATION: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
It’s World Meat Free Week this month. Which means I’m likely to see a version of the following refrain on social media more often than normal: “You eat meat? How can you? It’s destroying the planet!”
First of all, yes I do. Secondly, no it’s not. Or, rather, there’s way more to it than that.
The default vegan propaganda seems to say: all meat is evil, while all vegetables are grown in Utopia and fertilised with unicorn ploppies (I paraphrase slightly). Even respected medical journal The Lancet published a ‘planetary health diet’ in January this year, which promoted an omnivorous but heavily grain and plant-based diet, with pulses and nuts providing protein. The diet allowed no more than two eggs a week and the equivalent of around 7g beef per day.