Funny, that

This comment piece on the Guardian website is quite anti-vegetarian, but the response thread underneath makes for fascinating, if somewhat infuriating, reading. I was appalled that some people seem to honestly believe that animals have no consciousness. They countered arguments about the distress animals show in slaughterhouses by saying that animals are like machines, such as cars, that show signs of stress under too much pressure. Is it just me, or is that a ridiculous argument? Oh, and when asked about dogs, someone said that they just mimicked consciousness! These people are really out there.

The other point that really irked me was that any time a vegetarian defended their stance on the blog, they were labelled as humourless. I mean, what’s that about? Are we telling jokes or having a serious discussion. I mean, on the football blogs people are allowed serious debates with being described as humourless. Is eating animals less serious than football?

Bloodless revolution

Well, it may not be quite a revolution, but someone has made a vegetarian black pudding. Although it's a rather unpalatable idea (seemingly for vegetarians and meat-lovers alike), black pudding being one of the most unvegetarian dishes imagineable, by all accounts the result sounds quite nice - it's made with beetroot and caramel, yum.

McNasty surprise

This is a bizarre story about a Muslim vegetarian who ordered a ‘veggie melt’ in McDonald’s and only realised halfway through eating it that it was actually pork. Now, that is bad (I once had a similar incident in a greasy spoon in Clapham in south London), and she has my sympathy, but what was she doing eating in McDonald’s in the first place? I mean, what’s the point of being vegetarian if you’re going to frequent such an unethical, meat-fuelled, smarmy establishment? Hasn’t she seen Supersize Me and McLibel? Even if she hasn’t, just the smell of the place should put any self-respecting vegetarian off – it reeks of meat (and plastic).

The bizarre bit of the story, though, was the girl’s utter surprise. Her uncle, Nick Tillekeratne, from Slough, who was with the girl at the time, said: "It was only when Jasmin began eating the veggie melt that she realised there was bacon in it.

"Believing that McDonald's has a worldwide reputation for quality, and great respect for the dietary habits of their customers, she did not bother to check.”

McDonald’s has a worldwide reputation for making the worst food in history – most of it in the guise of some form of meat. They don’t say “Boycott McDonald’s” for nothing, you know.