Quick Turnaround

I watched George Monbiot’s interesting documentary last week about how farm animals have wrecked the British countryside. I liked it because it wasn’t an alarmist rant about huge issues that feel beyond our control – ‘global warming’, ‘climate change’, ‘species meltdown’, ‘catastrophic tipping point’ – but a from-the-ground look at the way we produce meat in this country and what the environmental impact has been. I’ve always prided myself on being well aware of what I put in my mouth, and what animal care (or suffering) has been involved in it reaching my plate, but it opened my eyes considerably and taught me some things I was unaware of, or subconsciously ignoring. So much so that I found myself, for possibly the first time ever, seriously taking a look at the food choices I make and wondering whether to re-think my diet.  I am, after all, very vocal about Man’s impact on the planet and his lack of shit-giving when it comes to the consequences of our actions, and if what I eat is at odds with what I preach, then how can I expect to be considered anything other than hypocritical?  It’s bad enough working, indirectly, for oil companies, I can’t be blotting my resume with a huge consumption of meat as well.

So, over a couple of days, I started looking into plant-based diets and how I might be able to instigate a gradual change to our homelife while still providing us with everything we need (especially Mathew) and without suffering horrendous changes to bowel movements.

And then, yesterday, Philippa cooked a quite sumptuous joint of topside, and I ploughed through it like a starved wolf ploughs through roadkill. And today I am ploughing through the leftovers like an expensive, heavy tractor ploughs through over-fertilised soil.

I am shameless.

But – in my defence – I feel it is suitable payback to Channel 4, who aired the programme, but put it on stupidly late, and also gave it the title “APOCALYPSE COW” which pisses me off because:
A) It’s not funny

B) It’s just Channel 4, yet again, trying to sound cleverer than they are, and

C) It was used as a title for a Simpsons episode OVER 10 YEARS AGO.

I have to say, yet again, my choice of blog title today is a cracking idea for a band name.

RC 13-1-20