h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7476829.stm

Because the critics now deem that we have the right to behave appallingly towards animals for the sake of our pockets.

Dont get me wrong, I eat meat, I probably, well, almost definitely, eat unethically cared-for animals. But I try not to. I dont like the fact that every time I buy a pre-prepared chicken product (a chicken and salad roll, chicken salad, fried chicken from a takeaway...) it's probably from some intensively battery farmed chicken. I prefer to buy a reasonably priced piece of chicken that I can have some control over the sourcing...

Oh, anyway, I object to our culture that puts things above food and thinks it needs to have meat every night and so on.

We need to educate people about food and food preparation. People are entitled to not like certain things, that's fine. But they should learn how to cook, how to make food last, how to make one cut of meat last two meals, or at the very least how to eat meals that are not based around what you cant afford.

At the end of the day, people (and I'm not including true bread-line folks here, having been one of them I know it's hard enough to feed yourself, nutrition and variety dont really get a look-in. Pasta and baked beans all the way!) have extremely high expectations of what they *should* have access to and very low expectations of what they should get out of the food they buy. It's a culture change we need.

I cannot and could not stand up in front of people and say "it's my right, as a human, to mistreat animals knowingly and excessively purely so I can save two pounds on a carcass which I can then spend on beer/fags/cable TV/driving somewhere unnecessarily."

It's disgusting.

As for those on the bread line, they need help, educationally, financially, support to come out of that incredibly depressing place they find themselves. Only once that support and help is a fact can we really turn our backs on those who cannot be bothered to put some effort in.

Yours, the wishy washy liberal. RH

Your last para on those on or even below the breadline says it all really. My food bill has gone from £35-£40 a fortnight to a whopping £65 - £70 yet my disability hasn't gone up by a penny.
I object strongly to these so called celebs, with all their millions, living in cloud cuckoo land, preaching to us on what we should or shouldn't do. How dare they. Let them try and live on what I get. I worked for 26 years as well prior to long term illness and disability so I'll take no lectures from jumped up celebs about what food I buy nor frankly do I care where it comes from, so long as it's cheap and edible.

As a member of the Countryside Alliance * www.countryside-alliance.org.uk *, and proud of it however politically incorrect I may be deemed, I'm tired of the metropolitan chattering classes pontificating to me. I have to agree with the wishy washy liberal RH.

Yours, most likely to offend, slightly to the right of Ghengis Khan, NR

Norti,

We do a song called Green Welly Riots that you may find amusing... It's all about your lot and double standards... Methinks you have the sense of humour to appreciate it even if you disagree.

I might send you the lyrics one day

Bring it on, Minx

We shall see...

It's very punk

Ahhhh, it'll remind me of my mis-spent youth then. I've given up the spitting now, except when the RCA and ALF turn up