Australian newspapers regularly print anti-meat eating opinions. Unfortunately, almost all of it is situated amongst what is supposed to be objective news reporting.
The Weekend Australian Magazine has been a front runner. A classic comment from the fashion editor a few years ago, was a pronouncement on a handbag double-page spread, to not buy leather handbags as it was more environmentally friendly to use synthetics instead! This type of unexplained opinion, presented as unquestionably factual, has proliferated in recent years.
So it was astonishing to find not one but two references from interview subjects, saying they chose to eat meat, in the most recent The Weekend Australian Magazine.
First – an interview with Australian Ballet Principal Dancer Ty King Wall:
Q: “Are you on a strict diet?”
A: “I was brought up as a vegetarian and only started eating meat last year. I have noticed a difference in putting on muscle and having more energy. I like to have a steak the night before a big show, and load up with pasta and rice on the day. My main reason for eating meat was all the international touring we do, and feeling frustrated that I couldn’t experience the local cuisines.”
Second – interview with the Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones:
Q: “So you haven’t gone vegan or macrobiotic?”
A: “No, we haven’t gone that far. I eat basically bangers and mash in the morning, and a small tipple in the evening. I’ve given up all the hard stuff.”
In the not-to-distant past, I don’t recall reading about what well known people ate. Now it’s apparently a stock-standard question. And I can’t help wondering – how many times has a celebrity been asked what they ate in recent years, and if they said they ate meat, amongst other things, it was edited out of the story that made it to print. There’s more ways than one for a journalist to push a barrow they believe in. Leaving out what you don’t want to encourage others to follow, is the simplest.
At times it seems that a huge number of musicians, actors and other well known people, are now vegetarians or vegans. However on reflection, the list commonly trotted out by anti-meat eating organisations only runs to dozens. This means the vast majority of people in the public eye are still happily omnivorous.
I’m still startled these two mentions made it into print, and can’t help wondering if it’s an indicator that the wheels are falling off the ‘meat eating is bad for the environment’ campaign, and the public are starting to realise that it’s how your food was produced that is the most important factor to consider.
Tags: Vegans & Vegos