Letters: Readers spar over French 'obsession' with meat
Vegetarians argue that it is 'bad for our health and the planet' rather than the 'epitome of dining'
One vegetarian reader regrets that vegetarian options are too often labelled as replacements for meat rather than for their own merits
Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock
To the Editor,
I totally agree with Nick Inman's thoughts on being a vegetarian in France.
I too lived in Gascony for 10 years and concur with his experience there.
Eating meat is definitely a French obsession and only very slowly are things beginning to change.
There is also hunting here, mostly older men with guns – not dissimilar types to the NRA in the US and sadly, too, a powerful political group.
Yes, meat is bad for our health and that of the planet.
More French restaurants need to put super vegetarian food on their menus, even the omelette is hard to find these days. Pizzas and hamburgers are everywhere.
Hopefully things will change and fewer sentient animals will lead short, horrible lives just to end up on a plate.
Georgia Hubbard, by email
Read more: In praise of the wonderful variety of tomatoes found at French markets
To the Editor,
I take much umbrage at Nick Inman’s narrow-minded view on meat in France.
Since the beginning of man’s time on earth it has been a consistent intake and diet of meat that has allowed us to grow as a species and thrive.
It also is the most renewable source of food with the lowest cost and care compared to crop yields and industrial agricultural farming.
One 500lb cow can provide enough meat for a family of four – and more than 1,000,000 calories for a year. Not to mention the 'real proteins' your body needs. Add to this milk, butter, and leather for clothing and household items.
A case in point is the Olympics debacle. The idiocy of a plant-based diet for world class athletes whose bodies require proteins and lots of calories – then even rationing eggs? Absolutely ridiculous! At least five countries brought in their own chefs and food.
French cuisine, once lauded as the epitome of dining, is a worldwide joke now.
Lance A. Mays, by email
Read more: Croissant changes must not lose authenticity of great French pastry
To the Editor,
As preferential vegetarians, we appreciated Nick Inman's opinion piece on meat consumption.
However, his argument is weakened by the statement that his local supermarkets sell "meat-free bacon, sausages, and burgers".
By labelling plant-based foods with meat-derived names, he reinforces the notion that meat is the standard and that vegetarian options are imitations.
Vegetarian foods are distinct entities offering their own nutritional value, rather than substitutes for meat products: nut loaf is not disguised meatloaf.
Geoff Veldhuis, by email
Are you a vegetarian in France? What do you think about the options available? Let us know via letters@connexionfrance.com
