meat – Vegans.UK

Stealth Activism

May 5, 2017 by Tofu Temptress 2 Comments

One for the 'Bacon tho...' brigade — One for the ‘Bacon tho…’ brigade

For many people who become vegans, activism or outreach is the next logical step. Once one finds out about the horrible cruelty involved in the production of animal products, it’s hard not to want to tell everyone about it. Ah, but then you’d be known as the dreaded ‘preachy vegan’. So what to do? You think most people you know and indeed most people in general like animals and wouldn’t want to see them harmed. You want others to make the connection you did. You want to simply communicate with ordinary folk, but know deep down that few people are receptive to your message. Well, there’s one kind of activism that anyone can do, is free and you don’t even need to talk to anyone.

It’s called stealth activism and is super simple. You draw people’s awareness to animal suffering without breaking any laws. How? Well, it has a few forms. The other day there was an article in the press about a young woman who had bought a packet of spaghetti bolognaise from Morrisons. So far, so unremarkable. However, when she took the cardboard off to cook it later, she discovered, to her horror, that a sticker had been affixed to the plastic film. The sticker had a non-graphic picture of a frightened looking cow. With the picture was a message from said cow informing the young woman that her ‘personal choice’ had cost the cow her life. When I read the article I thought the headline should read something like ‘Woman hears truth and feels uncomfortable for five minutes.’ I also couldn’t help feeling that perhaps a seed has been planted and she may return to these uncomfortable thoughts. If a more sympathetic person had been the one to uncover the message, maybe they would’ve seriously considered going vegetarian. Who knows?

Some toys I found for sale in a supermarket recently.

There’s a few websites where you can purchase similar stickers and covertly pop them onto supermarket meat (or indeed milk or egg) products. Check out how The Vegan Punk does it here. The approach I take is slightly different. For one thing, stickers cost money and I also tend to be a bit spontaneous so would most likely forget to take them with me. What I do is I go into the supermarket toy section, pick up any farm animal cuddly toys (Peppa Pigs are everywhere, but I’ve found cows, sheep and chickens too) and pop them into my trolley. I then wander about getting my groceries until I come to the meat aisle.

I have to be honest with you here, I’m pretty shy and was a bit worried I’d get caught placing them next to the corresponding meat product. It turns out I had nothing to worry about. The meat aisles these days are pretty quiet in general. I’m rarely disturbed as I put cuddly cows next to beef, sheep next to lamb and pigs next to pork. I’ll then take a quick pic and move on, leaving them there.

What do I hope to achieve by this? Well, I just want to assist people in the calmest way possible, to make the connection. I want people to see the irony that we encourage children to love and care for these toys, and yet also encourage them to eat their real counterparts. I want to start an awkward conversation between a child and a parent. I want to make people do a double take. I basically want to encourage people to think, which can never be a bad thing.

As for the supermarkets, they can never tell you you’re out of line. You’re simply taking a product from one area of the supermarket and placing it elsewhere. It’s far less disturbing than when my friend used to find packets of nappies in the booze aisle of the supermarket he worked in. Having worked in shops myself, I can see no reason to object to this tactic. So, if you’re not the outgoing type, don’t feel comfortable ‘bothering’ your friends but still want to communicate with people, stealth activism could be for you. It’s a bit of mischief that might just nudge people onto the right track.

Tofu

November 15, 2016 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Tofu can be a rather misunderstood foodstuff. It’s viewed as bland, though if prepared properly it can be one of the most flexible, healthy and tasty ingredients you could find. The thing about tofu is it absorbs flavour, which means it doesn’t have a strong flavour of its own. That’s the key. I once prepared some baked tofu for a little buffet party at home and one of my friends remarked ‘How did you get tofu to taste so good? I thought it always just tasted of nothing!’ The answer is marinating, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Tofu (also known as bean curd) is made from the milk of soy beans, using a process a bit like cheese making. It’s a complete protein and full of the good stuff like calcium and iron, so although there have been some people not keen to eat soy, scientifically speaking, there’s no reason not to. In fact, there’s evidence it may play a part in reducing the risk of breast cancer.

There are two main types of tofu easily available here in the UK. One is firm (or extra firm) tofu and the other is soft, or silken, tofu. They can be used for all sorts of exotic, lovely meals, but I’m just going to cover the basics here.

Firm tofu is available from the refrigerated section in your supermarket. It’s also available from health food stores. It’s stored in water to retain freshness, so it needs to be drained before you use it. Once you drain it, for best results you’ll want to press it. The reason for this is that tofu’s a bit like a sponge, so when you press it, then marinate it, it’ll absorb all the lovely flavours and taste great. There are commercial tofu presses out there, which also double as marinating dishes, which looks very swanky to me. So far, I’ve always gone for the wrap-tofu-in-two-clean-tea-towls-and-stick-some-heavy-books-and-cans-of-beans-on-top method. If you’re a bit rough round the edges like me, you’ll want to do that for about half an hour on one side then flip the tofu over and let it be pressed for another half an hour. One of my favourite marinades is a mixture of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and thyme. I chop the tofu into cubes and let it marinate for as long as I can, again, flipping over the pieces halfway through. You can make up whatever marinade you like, be it spicy, herby or whatever. Once the tofu is marinated you can bake it in the oven to make a great meat replacer that can go with veggies or in a sandwich or stir fry. All that being said, I don’t always press the firm tofu. Sometimes, if I’m making a spicy soup like this one, I like the calmness of unflavoured tofu to counterbalance it. It’s very much up to you.

Silken tofu can also be found at some supermarkets, but on the shelf. Again, other varieties may appear in different spots in your health food store. This tofu is much softer and has a much greater moisture content and is therefore far more delicate to handle. Some restaurants manage to serve it successfully with something yummy poured over the top, but to be honest, in my house, it gets blended 99% of the time. You can make everything from chocolate mousse to mayonnaise with blended silken tofu as your base, and there’s even a fab recipe for cookies that uses it, which I love. Again the flexibility is its main strength and if you thought you had to give up creamy sauces and desserts when going vegan, don’t worry, silken tofu comes to the rescue! You can even make ice cream out of it. It’s a great alternative to sour cream too (mmm, burritos…) and the great thing is that ALL the traditional recipes that use dairy are made infinitely healthier if you substitute tofu and taste just as great! Have a look at your old recipe books and see what you can veganise with tofu, or check out some online recipes here.

Animal Rights by Mark Rowlands

July 25, 2016 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Pig in factory farm. Jo-Anne McArthur We Animals

I have been described, rather disparagingly, as ‘one of those animal rights people.’ The phrase ‘animal rights’ seems to have gone out of fashion, sometimes replaced with ‘animal welfare’ as though to see non-human animals as having rights at all is ridiculous -the strange, non-conformist philosophy of crazed left wing hippies. The theme of whether animals do or should have rights is explored in this book, written as part of the All That Matters series, which aims to bring all manner of different subjects to new readers. They’re written by top authorities in each field – Mark Rowlands is a professor of philosophy specialising in animal rights.

The book is divided into sections looking at situations we encounter in everyday life where animal rights need to be considered. The author makes the argument that animals count in a moral sense and goes on to explain why this is. For those of us who are vegans for ethical reasons, this seems a no-brainer, but it needs explaining to those who, through societal conditioning, have come to believe that they don’t. The chapter on using animals for meat explains how doing the ultimate harm to an animal (killing them) can’t be morally justified because we don’t need to eat them. Again, for ethical vegans, this seems obvious, but it is refreshing to have an academic philosopher put forward this reasoning.

Other chapters cover the meat industry, animal research, hunting, blood sports and other sports involving animals. Some of the less discussed areas of animal rights are covered here too, such as the morality of having companion animals, how we should treat wildlife, how to approach conservation and the relevance of zoos. The tone of the book is calm, logical and even humorous at times. Rowlands has a likeable voice and I can’t help thinking that this would be a great book to give to a friend or family member who is struggling with your philosophy of life. In no way does he come across as an extremist, a kook, or overly emotional, although he takes a moral stance that most find tricky to deal with.

The cramped conditions endured by racing greyhounds. Jo-Anne McArthur We Aniamlas

He forces the reader to take a long look at why we behave the way we do and why we believe the things we do. There’s also great boxed text and quotes from famous philosophers, vegetarians and academics that can sum things up pretty succinctly. Here’s one of my favourites from C.S Lewis: ‘If we cut up beasts simply because they cannot prevent us and because we are backing up our own side in the struggle for existence, it is only logical to cut up imbeciles, criminals, enemies or capitalists for the same reason.’

Each subject is fully explored and provides alternative suggestions for behaviour that would be morally preferable. The FAQs cover a few enquiries we get as vegans, so there are some good discussion points. There’s a list of one hundred ideas at the back too, giving resources and examples of what you can do to help the cause. If everyone read this book and took on its philosophy, I think it might well make the world a better place.

Highly recommended.

21 Vegan Questions Answered

December 30, 2014 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Vegan Bingo – Common questions/comments that vegans get bombarded with, which, if you so desire, you can set out on a card and mark off every time it happens…

Plant protein: All the goodness with none of the cholesterol

Where do you get your protein from?

Ok, let me answer a question with a question. Have you ever known anyone who’s had a protein deficiency? No? Not surprising. It is incredibly rare for anyone in the western world (vegetarians and vegans included) to lack protein in their diet. An excess of protein is far more common, and that is not good for us at all. If you have too much protein in your diet, as many people in our society do, side effects can be anything from weight gain and nutritional defects to a whole range of other health problems, including a link with heart disease, strokes and cancer. So although too much protein can be damaging, you do need it in sensible amounts to thrive…which brings me back to the original question. (Here’s a fun card that PETA have produced to answer this common enquiry.) Vegans get their protein from pulses, whole grains, seeds, nuts and soya, which means you’re only ever a peanut butter sandwich away from getting enough protein. Easy.

Vegan food tastes boring, doesn’t it?

Any food can be boring if you don’t add imagination. Boiled beef is boring, fishcakes are boring, scrambled egg is boring and none of those are vegan. It’s a complete myth that you have to cut out the exciting foods when you’re vegan. When I think of all the wonderful herbs and spices that I discovered when changing my diet, the different methods for cooking, the innovative combinations and new fruits and vegetables that I’d never tried before, it makes me laugh that a vegan diet can be seen as boring. Just because some restaurants can’t think of imaginative vegan dishes to make it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I urge you to think of all the possibilities, not just of spaghetti hoops on toast, which, um, is quite boring.

Don’t plants feel pain too?

Plants have no brain, no central nervous system or pain receptors, whereas animals, including us, do. We feel pain, fear, joy, excitement and calmness, just like pigs, chickens, cows and sheep do. It’s true that when you prune plants there is an energy emitted, but the same could be said of clipping your toenails. And that’s hardly torture, is it?

Our ancestors ate meat, so surely it’s natural.

Not all of them did, actually. The ones who ended up eating meat were the ones who stupidly gravitated towards cold climates like Britain where nutritious plants are a bit thin on the ground during winter. Now that plant based food is available all year round, we shouldn’t really worry about what some of our ancestors were forced to do. They probably married their sisters and wore furry jockstraps too, so I don’t think we should be in a hurry to follow their example in everything.

As long as you buy free range meat and eggs, that’s ok isn’t it?

Um, no, not really. If you don’t believe me that free range/organic farms are not the idylls they’re cracked up to be, then I can show you some horrible videos that prove me right. They show overcrowded huge hen barns, where chickens are forced to live among the urine, excrement and dead bodies of their barn mates; they show the long drawn out slaughter of terrified pigs and the fear beyond endurance suffered by cows cooped up in prison-like pens where they can’t turn around. Do you really want to see all that? Ok, here’s a taster but I must warn you, it’s horrific.

We’d be overrun with cows and sheep if we didn’t kill them, wouldn’t we?

Sheep would not run amok if we didn't kill them — Sheep would not run amok if we didn’t kill them

The amount of farm animals in the world is a direct result of intensive breeding engineered by humans. Nature couldn’t do a worse job than us of screwing up the eco system. If everyone in the world turned vegan, we would simply stop breeding farmed animals, so you can stop having those stampede nightmares.

I’m only one man Marge…

The more individuals that take up the vegan challenge, the more normal it will seem to the population at large, the more popular it’ll become. It’s amazing what one person can achieve. Try it.

Eating a vegan diet is too expensive.

Have a look at your supermarket receipt. Apart from luxuries like chocolate and crisps, I bet that meat and cheese are the most expensive items on there. It’s not surprising really, considering all the costs of feeding the animals, housing them, transporting them, slaughtering them and distributing the final shrink-wrapped product. I’m not going to say that all fruit and veg is cheap, but some are, and pasta, rice and lentils are incredibly inexpensive. Plan well and there’s absolutely no reason for you to be out of pocket.

It’s stupid to worry more about animals than humans.

Who said vegans worried more about non-human animals than they do about their own species? We should be kind to all animals, humans included. It is only the innate feeling of superiority humans tend to have that leads to this accusation in the first place. Humans have the capacity to care for other animals and I feel we are duty bound to do so, but we must also take care of our fellow man. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Won’t cows explode if we don’t milk them?

Goats go through the same trauma as cows when milked.

Of course not! Do you think that before humans got involved, the countryside was awash with exploding bovines? I’ll let you into a secret – it wasn’t. In order to produce milk, a cow, just like any other mammal, must first become pregnant. Once the mummy cow gives birth, the milk she produces goes to her…wait for it…calf! Yes children, to produce more milk, the farmer has to make the cow pregnant over and over again and her calves are taken away from her to face an uncertain fate and the humans steal her milk and…well it’s all a bit depressing really.

We have canine teeth, ha, the clue is in the name!

Have you ever looked at your dog’s canine teeth. They’re a bit more impressive than ours, aren’t they? Ours are flattened and dull and not pointy in the least. There’s a reason for that. Dogs in the wild have long, sharp canine teeth for ripping flesh apart and strong claws for bringing down prey. Look at your fingernails. Unless you’ve just had the mother of all manicures, they probably strike you as rather pathetic and certainly no good for piercing anything stronger than thin cardboard. The name canine teeth is just that, a name.

Vegans are always weak and ill..

Great swathes of people on the standard western diet are weak and ill. If you don’t get enough vegetables and you have too much fat, sugar and salt in your diet, then you’ll make yourself very sick. That is a far bigger concern than vegans being weak. As I’ve said elsewhere on this website, loads of elite athletes are vegan and many attribute their success to a healthy vegan diet, but the key word here is healthy. Chips and fizzy drinks are vegan and if that’s all you ever consumed then yes, you’d be in bad shape, but if you ate nothing but burgers till you got the meat sweats it’d be the same. A healthy vegan diet will make you fit and strong.

Animals are killed in the production of crops, so why bother?

Although it’s true that there must be some casualties of crops (see Robert Burns’ poem ‘To a Mouse’) it’s certainly better than having to grow crops to feed farm animals as well as humans. If crops were used to feed humans only, destruction of small animals (and indeed the planet in general) would be much reduced. It is impossible to eliminate harm, but harm reduction to the max is what to aim for.

I’ve heard soya is unsafe.

Many people choose to avoid soya, mainly as it is one of the common allergens, like wheat. However, if you don’t have an allergy or intolerance, science seems to suggest that soya is perfectly fine. Viva! have a great wee fact sheet on that very subject. Also, if you’ve heard that soya takes a lot of water to grow it, it does, but please bear in mind that 90% of the world’s soya goes to feed farm animals.

Leather’s just a by-product, so it doesn’t matter if I buy it.

Leather production is an environmentally damaging, cruelly produced product and there’s really no excuse for buying it. The leather industry drives the slaughter of innocent animals and sometimes calves are forcibly aborted from their mother’s wombs to produce soft leather. A disturbing recent development after investigations in China and some other parts of Asia is that leather is being supplied by skinning stray dogs alive. Nice.

I’ve eaten meat all my life and there’s nothing wrong with me.

If someone smoked all of their lives and had nothing particularly wrong with them (like my grandfather did), do you think it would be an ad for smoking? Certainly not. Some lucky souls have an amazingly strong constitution and good for them. My grandfather lived into his eighties, but just imagine if he’d never smoked maybe he’d have lived till he was a hundred.

Eating in restaurants would be too hard.

I’ll admit that restaurants have been a bit of a challenge some of the time for me. Things are getting better though. When you consider that even places like Nandos have vegan options or dishes that can be made vegan, you have to be positive. More and more people are reducing their meat and dairy intake for all sorts of reasons, so eateries will have to keep up with this growing trend or they’ll be left behind. I always make a point of asking for vegan choices in the restaurants I go to because where there’s demand, eventually there’ll be supply.

Eating all plants can’t be good for you because you don’t get B12.

Vitamin B12 doesn’t actually come from animals themselves, but from what they consume, i.e. the microbes in unwashed produce and non-purified water. Back in the day, we used to consume these things too, but we discovered that all the bugs and stuff that comes along with the B12 can upset our sensitive digestive systems, so we decided that washing vegetables was a good option for hygiene. That is why these days we can get the best of both worlds: clean veg with no bugs and vitamin B12 from supplements or fortified foods like plant milk, cereals or yeast extract like marmite.

Animals were put on earth for us to eat.

I’m not a religious person, so obviously I’d say this was poppycock, but there are certainly Christian groups that embrace veganism because they feel it is our duty to care for animals, as part of God’s creation. Other religions too have their veggie elements, but really, I’m not the best person to comment on this.

It can’t be true that agriculture contributes to global warming, can it?

Oh yes it can. Global industrialised agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gasses, more water pollution and more deforestation than plane travel, car travel or big old companies leaving the lights on all night. For more details, see Cowspiracy.

Do you have to get your nose pierced/wear tie dyed clothes/do yoga?

Absolutely not. I mean, you can if you want to obviously, but it’s not compulsory. Although the hippy lifestyle is quite the vegan cliché, you’ll find that vegans are a pretty varied bunch these days. I do recommend yoga though – calms you right down.

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