Vegan?

[Rod Paradise]

I am a vegan as is my Wife, our three children are vegetarians, all VERY healthy and fit.
Dont expect too many serious replies from the masses here though, most are heathen.okenest:

Should a vegan be poking a wasps' nest?

 

[Rod Paradise]

Pigs trotters (when you can get them) are yummy yummy With mushy peas, vinegar and pepper For those who like a good stew try adding a couple of trotters to the mix, they will enrich the gravy wonderfully well. Try a classic French daube de boeuf recipe its slow cooked and stunning. Santaman do you cook Ox Tail? Another wonderful base for a stew.

Struggle to get pigs trotters here too - even when I was getting the more 'common' cuts cheap froma farm butchery, the pigs trotters were for the 'posh nosh' trade. Brisket is going up in price too as more people are eating it due to TV chefs (I was happier when it was more of a secret).

For a great stew with a lovely gravy see if you can get some osso buco - beef leg slices with the bone in the middle. The marrow renders down into the gravy - it's magnificent.

 

[PDA1]

Over here, smoked ham hocks are readily available and go very well in a split pea and ham soup.

 

[santaman2000]

I don't think Franglais was arguing that point - the points he was making were that animals are often reared on land unsuitable for growing vegetables (hill farming sheep is a good example). The production of meat adds to available food since one could no raise vegetables there.

He also made the point that I have made before that biodiversity and wildlife does better on grazing land than crop land. When I see the monoculture deserts used for farming vegetables around here it is far from a "win"

Lets not forget he also made a point (I think) that crop farmers also kill pests (animal wildlife) to prevent them raiding the crops.

 

[franglais]

Personally I think lot of people eat too much red meat, but saying that I have found a lot of vegetarians I have met ill informed and just little evangelical, one of the writers of the book in the 70's that inspired many to give up meat recently admitted his analysis was seriously flawed, he had based the equation on animals that were kept entirely on processed feed and had failed to take the use of chemicals on crops and the effect on wildlife in to account. If you compare free range/natural animal husbandry to producing organic crops it's not so simple, I speak as someone who has done both, it's far easier to swap a leg of lamb or a dozen eggs for veg, I'd rather let some other poor sod spend half his life, fighting pests the weather and getting a bad back in the process. I think a vegan in northern Europe, is only sustainable through globalization and artificial food production, where does calcium come from? essential, especially for young girls, not to mention all the luxuries you have to give up, beer whisky, chocolate to name a few, and yes I know you can find vegan beer etc, but it's unlikely your local boozer or the country pub you are visiting has it. For me sustainability and eating a seasonal local diet is the natural way, and that involves fish, meat, insects, salted and smoked meat/fish for winter and whatever nature provides, we are omnivores after all.

 

[santaman2000]

In full agreement with you on your last post franglais. We are omnivores and have been since we were eating bugs long before we ever left the trees.

 

[mrcharly]

where does calcium come from?

Flax seed is very high in calcium as are most leafy green veg.

I'm not vegan but I know that the one area of nutrition vegans need to keep an eye on is vitamin B. Not calcium or iron or protein.

 

[santaman2000]

Flax seed is very high in calcium as are most leafy green veg.....

And now that I remember it, orange juice has more calcium than an equal quanity of milk.