Animals as sentient beings...

Animals are capable of so much more compassion, love, bravery, and ingenuity than most people realise. 

This link is to a collection of 14 incredible stories that reveal their hidden depths. 

I'm not sure I would have titled it in the same way - but it's one to watch / read and pass on to friends, and should just make us all think about our fellow creatures on this planet.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/stories-that-prove-animals-have-souls

Veggie food review - Chalfont Dynasty (Chinese)

Family gatherings...

Whatever your feelings on the good ole family 'gathering' - one thing's for sure - going to a great restaurant is a real bonus for a more harmonious night out!

Whenever we are in Bucks' visiting family a visit to the Chalfont Dynasty is always a little treat. Having found that eating out  can be somewhat of a challenge when you're vegetarian, in actual fact Chinese and Indian restaurants make a great choice, as they usually offer lots of vegetable dishes and are usually very willing to create dishes especially for you.

This restaurant is no exception and on every occasion that we have visited they have been consistently friendly, welcoming and helpful. 'Ni Hao' (hello)

What we were eating:

To start - vegetable spring rolls and tempura.

In between - vegetarian crispy 'duck' - yes really!

Main event - veggie singapore noodles, salt and chilli bean curd, dry shredded four vegetables (taken from the set vegetarian menu below).

A 'rude not to' dessert - banana fritters with syrup and ice-cream.  

[no pic - I was too busy scoffing!]

From the menu:

£16.50 PER PERSON

VEGETARIAN PLATTER (WITH NUTS)

* * * *

L VEGETARIAN SOUP

* * * *

VEGETARIAN SINGAPORE RICE NOODLES &

CHOICE OF ONE MAIN COURSE FROM BELOW

* * * *

L BUDDHA MIXED VEGETABLES

DRY SHREDDED FOUR VEGETABLES

SWEET & SOUR BEAN CURD

BEAN CURD WITH SPICED SALT & CHILLI

SZECHUAN YU-HONG BEAN CURD

CHINESE LEAVES & NUTS IN CREAMY SAUCE

Although there is a set veggie menu here the main menu doesn't list many vegetarian dishes. However, you can ask for whatever veggie version of a dish you like and they will happily make it for you. They are also aware of detail such as not using vegetable stock or shrimp powder on crispy seaweed etc and they will warn you not to eat the prawn crackers.

And a real bonus is that they will prepare all foods without the allergen / carcinogen / neurotoxin - MSG (you will taste the difference and not be insatiably thirsty all night!).

The starter was really hot and crispy, although it would be better with a dipping sauce - but again they supply something if you ask (we had sweet chilli).

The crispy vegetarian duck is a revelation. I think it's crispy fried tofu - served with the usual accompaniments - and as the main flavour comes from the sauce anyway - its delish and the ideal way to continue eating something that I'll admit that I used to love, but simply cannot eat any more.

Two main dishes and a noodles are plenty for two people - the portions aren't huge but with 4 courses they don't need to be! The veg were tasty, full of texture and served nice and hot.

Dessert was a simple treat. Freshly cooked, crisp, sweet and as it should be.

Despite serving a table of 11 - all of whom ordered different foods - things went very well and the owners of this restaurant managed to strike the right balance of courteousness with a homely welcome . They are patient and attentive. The restaurant itself is a nice size, tables are adaptable, toilets are clean. It's never too busy week nights - although in my opinion this is a shame, as it really is consistently good.

At 27GBP per person it did, at first, seem a little expensive - but then I think the flowing drinks may have had something to do with the cost!

So - as family get-togethers go - this was a great one. Much lively chatter was had over the lazy susan while we tried to not spin it so fast that uncle chris never could get his rice, mum (83) expanded her repertoir of asian foods and got to grips better with chopsticks (the only person who did, I might add) and 2 of my nieces wanted to try the the salt and chilli beancurd - which, they liked! (A veggie conversion pending one day?)

All in all a lovely evening. 'Xiexie'. [thank you]

We'll be back.

Chantal xx

Chalfont Dynasty

 Address:
9 Nightingales Corner
Cokes Lane
Amersham
Buckinghamshire
HP7 9PZ

Telephone:
01494 764038
01494 765419

Opening times:
Lunch: 12.00pm to 2.15pm
Dinner: 6.00pm to 11.15pm

Dear Mark Price - MD of Waitrose...

Letter #1 to Waitrose MD

Dear Mr Price

Thank you for your second email regarding the current issues with British beef products.

Yet again Waitrose leads the way in proving to genuinely care about its products and its customers. Your ethics are the reason that I prefer to shop in Waitrose over any other supermarket.

I note from your informative letter that you are intending to establish your own 'facility' that will supply and create your frozen beef products.

In my opinion, this is an important move that will allow you to retain far better control over these aspects of food production.

I would however, like to offer two suggestions:

1. Include CCTV in the setting up of the 'facility' that you mention.

There has been a campaign highlighted to me recently (following the horsemeat situation) urging an EDM to be heard in parliament discussing the issue of enforcing abatoirs to install CCTV. This is to ensure that workers treat animals as humanely as possible (as sadly, horrific stories of animal abuse, and even deliberate torture, are routinely uncovered) and that products are what they say they are.

Transparency in our food production is a must in my view - particularly if big business continues to mislead the general public. You can differentiate yourselves and regain public trust.

2. Offer a wider range of meat-free food options.

Scientific research indicates that meat production is contributing more detrimental greenhouse gases than traffic polution! And the massive increase in meat production over recent years simply isn't sustainable. It takes 3 times the amount of resources to produce meat as a food over vegetables, salads, fruits and grains etc. People wouldnt go hungry in this world if we all agreed to eat less meat. Sounds simplistic - but its true. Health would also improve (it's long been recognised that too much red meat isn't good for humans) as would customer budgets and the ability to buy more for the £ - perhaps attracting more people into your stores?!

As the head of a company which appears to care more strongly than others about important issues, I believe these current meat scandals provide you with an opportunity to set an even higher standard. You could demonstrate that, unlike most big businesses today, you still care about the welfare of humans, other animals and our planet.

Hopefully

Chantal

If you would like to email Mr Price as well you can do so here. 

Waitrose reply [from Customer Services]

Thank you for your e-mail.

Firstly, please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you which is as a result of the high volume of e-mails being received at this time.

At Waitrose, traceability and animal welfare go hand in hand.  We know precisely where our food comes from, that it has been produced to the highest standards, and that each of our suppliers respects their livestock.  Waitrose is committed to providing the best conditions for animals at all stages of the supply chain, and to combating cruel practices.

Our dedication to animal welfare earned us the 'Compassionate Supermarket of the Year' title from leading animal welfare charity Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) twice in a row, in 2010 and 2011.  It has also helped us win the supermarket category in the RSPCA Good Business Awards in 2005 and 2007.  Waitrose gained a 'Good Egg Award' from CIWF in 2007 and 2008; the most recent following our conversion to 100 percent free range egg as an ingredient in all own label products.

Waitrose know every farmer who supplies every pack of our British pork, bacon and sausages.

Where possible we buy British: all fresh pork (including that sold as sausages), beef, bacon and poultry is British.  All of our turkeys come from the UK or Ireland.  Our organic pig farmers raise their animals outdoors with access to well aired shelters full of fresh straw bedding, and feed them an organic diet.

We own our own farm in Hampshire, the Leckford Estate, which supplies food to our Waitrose shops.

We know the parentage and history of the Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cattle that supply our beef.  All Waitrose beef comes from animals born and reared by a select group of British farmers who are committed to keeping their cattle happy and healthy.

Our lambs, supplied in season from Farm Assured sites in England, Wales and New Zealand, are reared in open pastures.

Waitrose are leading the way in promoting more sustainable fishing practices.  By having full traceability for all our fish we can be certain we do not sell any illegally caught fish, preventing the undermining of fish conservation measures.  We have switched to line fishing for supplies of cod and haddock and also introduced initiatives to make it easier for customers to identify and buy sustainably-sourced fish.

All Waitrose chickens including Waitrose Essential, Free Range and Organic are UK-hatched and reared.  We know all our farmers and can trace each bird back to its original farm. We do not sell standard intensively reared chicken and our entry level chickens (Waitrose Essential Chicken) are reared to a high standard of welfare.  Waitrose Essential chickens are reared in purpose built houses with big windows which let in plenty of natural light, and at night the birds get six full hours of darkness, 50 per cent more 'rest time' than the industry standard.  Waitrose Essential chickens also get plenty of air via high levels of ventilation and, because they are stocked at a 20 per cent lower level than the industry standard, have the freedom to move around with access to straw bales for environment enrichment and stimulation.

We know the origin of every own-label free-range egg and pint of milk.  All our own-label eggs have been free-range since 2000 and a third of these are organic.  We include only free-range eggs in all our own-label products.  Waitrose were the first supermarket to refuse to sell fresh eggs laid by hens kept in cages in 2001.  All Waitrose yogurts are made from British milk.

I hope you are reassured of Waitrose's commitment to animal welfare.  More information on our policies can be found on our website:

http://www.waitrose.com/home/inspiration/About_our_product_ranges.html

I would like to assure you that the feedback that you have provided us with has been noted and forwarded to the departments concerned, for their information.

Thank you, once again, for taking the time and trouble of writing to us.

Regards,

Dean Baker

Waitrose Customer Sales and Support.


Letter #2 to Mark Price and Customer Services

Dear Dean

Thank you for your detailed email reply.

It certainly is reassuring (to an extent) to know that Waitrose has such close links with its suppliers, but I'm afraid that your reply (which I suspect is probably a standard response that you send to people concerned about animal welfare and traceability) does not answer the two issues that I have raised in my enquiry.

My first was to suggest the installation of CCTV at your new beef processing facility - please can you advise on your plans for this.
(NB 'knowing' suppliers is no guarantee of animal welfare standards and certainly no guarantee of 'humane' treatment at slaughter.)

The second was to offer a wider range of non-meat products in your stores, as it seems to me that they are in decline.

I appreciate that you are probably extremely busy at this time of particular consumer concern - but would welcome your responses to my specific points please.

Many thanks.

sadly, happy meat?.....

As is often the way with www surfing, the inital task to research one thing, leads to another, and another and another and to a trail that you didn't expect, but which feels like fate none-the-less.

I keep coming to these 'Kevin Bacon-esk' 6-site trail ends and think - OMG I was meant to see this.

And so here is what I found today. I'm blatently copying the text into this blog as the publication is no longer in existence. The message from the author - Eddie Lama is just so spot on that I couldn't ignore it. I say it's spot on because with horsemeat-gate growing ever higher, wider and deeper I don't see any evidence of the Animal Rights movements / advocates or organisations jumping on it to make their voices heard and people listen to the truth for a change.

I think its a great opportunity missed and a sign of the disempowerment and poor leadership that Lama speaks of.

Eddie Lama is the subject of a fantastic docu-film called The Witness.

Read and consider...

September 2006
Sadly, Happy Meat
By Eddie Lama

No Guilt Meat. Artwork by Louie Gedo

Years of protest from animal rights organizations were finally?making an impact. The public was learning and understanding their own complicity in the meat industry’s atrocities against animals, and a new social consciousness was emerging. The industry was being forced to come up with a strategic response, one that would?placate animal groups as well as allay the public’s guilty conscience. They found Temple Grandin.

Temple of Doom
Dr. Grandin, a professor of Animal Technology at Colorado State, purports to have a strong and special connection to animals’ consciousness and their existential experience. This “gift,” she claims, is due to her autism, and she uses it to create systems that are employed at different stages of animal exploitation including the feedlots, stockyards and slaughterhouses.

A well-paid consultant, Grandin is a boon to the meat industry. She has invented slaughterhouse machinery and techniques she claims reduce the terror experienced by farmed animals at the abattoirs. These systems have helped streamline and facilitate the unwieldy chore of killing massive numbers of animals. Effectiveness and efficiency is good business, and less psychic trauma is great public relations. It’s a win-win for the meat industry, but a lose-lose for farmed animals. Alas, animals can now be killed faster than ever, and the people who eat them can feel much better about it.

“Happy Meat”: A Brilliant Business Move
Many visionaries in the food business have glommed on to the idea of “Happy Meat,” a Madison Avenue-type construct for animals that have been raised less inhumanely and slaughtered according to standards set by agri-business.

Last year I attended an animal rights convention in North Carolina which featured John Mackey, founder and CEO of Whole Foods, as the keynote speaker. Mackey was there to proudly announce new “animal compassionate” standards for farmed animals—animals destined to eventually wind up attractively packaged and for sale in miles of refrigerated sections of his stores. With Whole Foods projected to become the second largest food retailer in the U.S. next to Wal-Mart in 10 to 15 years, this translates to a lot of dead animals.

As Mr. Mackey explained his new standards and the various ways of raising and killing animals,?I looked around the room and observed the audience. The room?was not filled with the glow of joy, rather, a pall was?cast. There was a surreal Kafka-esque quality. The people appeared rigid and uncomfortable, uncertain over whether they should clap or cry.

Then a well-known, longtime icon of the animal rights community and staunch promoter of Whole Foods’ new “animal compassionate” standards stood up to applaud, even letting out a shrill, high-pitched whistle. All eyes and ears were on him. He was like the maestro leading his band, or perhaps the shepherd leading his flock. After all, if it’s good enough for the icon, then it must be good enough for everyone. The crowd took his cue, and the uncertainty morphed into applause.

My heart sank. I was terribly discouraged and deeply saddened for the critters. Right in that moment, I understood what the movement had lost, in the same way Dr. Faustus may have understood his loss after shaking hands with the Devil. Later that night, I imagined what the animals might say after listening and witnessing this scene: “Et tu, Brute? Et tu?” Alas, an unholy alliance, if you will, forged by the lure of illusory success and money, at the cost of abandoned principles and compromised beliefs.

Shift Happens
Some 10 years ago, I was awakened to the plight of the animals through the love of a little cat. I guess you could say I was smitten by a kitten. Before that time my only relationship to animals was on my dinner plate. Like most people,?I viewed animals as a commodity to benefit humans. And if asked, of course?I would have supported giving “food animals” an easier, better life and death before I ate them. But my epiphany and subsequent understanding went far beyond this way of thinking. Looking in my cat’s eyes, the eyes that came to represent all animals, I knew that there was no way I could sign on to hurting any one of them in any way. I could not in good conscience eat or use them anymore. Hence an animal rights person was born. As was so well explained in Dr. Tom Regan’s The Case for Animal Rights and Gary Francione’s Rain Without Thunder, the intrinsic meaning of animal rights is that no animal should be used or killed for human purposes. Their rights as individuals are sacred, and no benefit to myself or my taste buds can trump their right to be.

The (Humane) Death of Animal Rights
For the meat industry, humane standards are good. Sales are up. It is also good for meat-eaters. They?are made to believe they can now consume animals with a cleaner conscience. As for animal welfare institutions, the industry’s humane standards are in line with their ideology, that is, better treatment of animals within the paradigm of exploitation. But for me, it is a tragedy not only because more animals are being killed, but because a new culture of meat-eaters is being created. The concept of “Happy Meat” is entrenching a new system of animal exploitation into the world. It is making the killing of animals more acceptable to society’s psyche and soul.

Is it better to treat animals more kindly before they are killed? Is it better they have a semblance of what nature intended before becoming Happy Meals? Is it better that a chicken can stretch her wings before she gets scalded? Is it better that a pig is able to root before he is stunned, strung up and stabbed? Perhaps it is in the short term. But animal rights’ raison d’etre is not to put a seal of approval on better living conditions for the doomed or better methods of killing animals, but to advocate against killing them at all!

Signing on to Whole Foods’ “animal compassionate” standards and supporting Temple Grandin’s slaughter techniques is taking the unproven back door method of animal welfarism, which yields animal compassion labels on dead animals leaving through the back door of slaughterhouses.

Some AR organizations have revealed that their strategy is to trick the trade into abolition via the Happy Meat idea. Unfortunately the reality is that AR’s involvement is being leveraged to benefit meat sales. Hence AR’s cooperation becomes a trick of the trade. Wouldn’t it be of greater service to the animals and to our beliefs if we were to speak out against the murder of sentient beings? Yet when we sign on to “humane” standards we are signing on to a less than desired outcome. We unwittingly become complicit not only in the death of animals, but also in the death of our beliefs.

How did Temple Grandin become both the meat industry and AR’s sweetheart? Why do seemingly antithetical organizations support Whole Foods Markets’ Happy Meat? The only answer that makes any sense is that the AR movement has become ill. It has been taken over by a spiritual malaise that is the result of disempowerment and poor leadership. Its vision has been impaired by a psychic myopia. The lines between killing and not killing have been blurred. AR needs to heal itself in order to regain its perspective. Most of all, AR needs to keep its eye sharp on the prize: life, not a less horrible death.

Eddie Lama is a longtime animal advocate who founded the innovative activist technology FaunaVision and the sanctuary Oasis. His awakening to animal cruelty and activism was chronicled in the award-winning documentary The Witness.

Veggie food review - HH Restaurant (Broadclyst, Exeter)

Naturally, I like to think of myself as a brilliant wife - a total goddess in fact. But I have to admit that taking my husband for our surprise Anniversary meal to our local fine dining restaurant on February 5th (4 months after said anniversary) that I felt a tad guilty and perhaps that I should (temporarily, at least) be demoted to a demi-goddess...

ooops...

So I crossed my fingers that HH Restaurant (Broadclyst, nr Exeter) would deliver something sumptuous so that I could be promoted again.

On the menu:

hot bread basket with dipping oil

baked goats cheese with micro herbs + Gruyere and red onion tart

4 cheese penne with sunblush tomatoes + wild mushroom and cauliflower lasagne

apricot bread and butter pudding with clotted cream + sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream

£55.60 including 2 drinks.

There is nothing quite as wonderful as freshly baked bread - so the little basket that came to us - freshly baked, was a real treat as we watched the hail thunder down outside! Some griddled ciabatta and two individual loaves cut in half - crisp on the outside and warm and soft inside - smelling deliciously yeasty and tasting even better with the homemade butter. (great start)

My starter of a tartlet wasn't on the menu - but was offered to me as a different option once the waitress had informed the chef that I was vegetarian. Its was a clever dish to offer. It was made with light puff pastry, perfectly baked and perfectly tasty. I worry when I see micro herbs that a huge mound of them will be overpowering for any food - but in fact these were incredibly delicate in flavour. In fact i might say that they were not robust enough to add much to the tartlet which strongly tasted of caramelised red onion and with the balsamic reduction too, their delicacy was a little lost.

(Dave loved his goats cheese - even more promising).

The lasagne main course that I had chosen sounded unusual and I was very curious to see how it would be executed. As you can see from the photo the presentation was lovely. Indeed it was a lasagne of sorts and the layers of mushroom were a bit like a pate or duxelle. One layer was of cauliflower and there were some florets on the plate with some slices of mushroom and a veloute (I think). The seasoning was perfect but I think the texture and the overall flavour might be an acquired taste. The presentation made it look a little like a slice of gateau and because of the way the filling had been done it was the texture of a moist sponge in a way and so I think this confused my brain a little - it felt wrong to taste savoury! Dave loved it and I have to say I probably would have preferred the pasta. The pasta was perfectly cooked and in the richest cheesiest sauce. Rich comfort food at its best (I could feel myself nearing goddess perfection again).

My other negative is not unique to my rantings about food when I eat out, in that there were no vegetables to be seen. This is so common now in many restaurants. Rich food like this is crying out for some colour and crunch from some salad and veg!

Pud - well, it had to be done really. Having lived in Scotland for years where the old sticky toffee is a staple, Me and my hips like to think of ourselves as something of a connoisseur. This one was 10/10.

I knew the bread and butter pud was good too, because Dave stopped talking and I didn't get offered any. Job done. I was a fabulous wife again.

To drink I would add that Dave had a Peroni and I had a lemonade with mint (?) weird but refreshing. We looked at wine but they were still in the process of confirming which wines were vegetarian (quite a few as it turns out and they really cared, which was great.)

Overall, HH is a little unexpected oasis that is well worth a visit for either lunch or for dinner. Its also incredible value as you can pay this amount for mediocre pub food. Their lunchtime special (2 or 3 courses) can be served in just 40 minutes if you are pushed for time. The waitress Sally is a gem - absolutely perfect for the understated elegance of this contemporary haven. Although it was a Tuesday there was only one other table of people in and its such a shame. This restaurant should be full 24/7 and we're certainly going to try and go more often to make sure it stays.

They always have a vegetarian option on the menu, the lunch menu changes weekly or so and the a la carte every 6 weeks. But they were keen to add that if we either called ahead or asked for something different they would always be willing to create something special. They will be annotating their wine menu with (v) to denote veggie wines. You couldn't ask for more than that.

The food and the service at HH is wonderful. And it's official, I am a wonderful wife (or at least that's what I keep telling Dave...)

Chantal xx