Mary:
Thanks for inviting me to the programme!
Michael:
Thank you! It’s a great pleasure being here.
Mary:
Could I start by asking a question to Michael?
Michael:
Sure.
Mary:
Michael, I know many people have recently
become very committed vegetarians and
are very anxious to convince people that it’s the right course to take. My impression is that
this is because people are very sensitive to the images of slaughtered animals that appear
so frequently in the media. Do you think this is the case?
Michael:
Yes, of course. I don’t know what kind of beliefs could drive people into being a
vegetarian but certainly seeing animals going to the slaughterhouse is disgusting.
Mary:
Do you think these images harm your bossiness?
.Michael:
Well, obviously people who think that animals shouldn’t be killed for food would
probably avoid eating at my restaurant, but maybe the images in the media will make more
people consider eating fish instead of meat, which of course is vital to our diet and probably
more important than meat.
.
Mary:
As far as I know,
fish consumption in people’s hom
es has been dropping for many
years. Do you also serve fish in your restaurant?
.
Michael:
Yes, we have a number of fish dishes on the menu. In fact, the fish dishes we
serve are becoming more and more popular, so it seems people’s choices when eating out
are gradually changing... but meat dishes always sell better. Just remember that we’ve been
eating meat ever since we were in the caves ...
.
Mary:
Well, I think that people are eating less m
eat now. Have you actually noticed in your
restaurant that people eat less red meat, for example?
.
Michael:
No, not really. I think people eat less read meat at home, but when they go to
restaurants they feel the meat is going to be of superior quality and they
trust
it. People
order more fish dishes probably because they don’t know how to cook fish at home.
.
Mary:
Yes, but surely people are influenced by t
he images they see on TV, and this is going
to change people’s minds, they won’t eat meat
anymore because eating meat will make them
think of disgusting
slaughterhouses
.
.
Michael:
Maybe... but there is nothing wrong with eating meat, I think everyone’s got the
right to choose, that is the main thing about diet.
.
Mary:
Yes, but that’s precisely what we vegetarians are questioning. Where is the humanity
if everyone has the right to choose to kill?
.
Michael:
Well, animals have been bred to eat, if we had no farms there would be a serious
food
shortage
.
.
Mary:
Yes, but maybe you don’t need to have animals
stuffed
in factory farms. They are
suffering. Factory farming methods have nothing to do with the way animals were bred in
traditional farms a hundred years ago.
.
Michael:
I agree with you there, most factory farmed animals live in such a tight space that
they can hardly move. We need to invest more to make farms more like they used to be. This
would make our food better, and healthier!
.
Mary:
Yes, but you don’t need to eat meat. It’s not a healthy habit, and it’s causing a lot of
suffering, so why not stop eating meat and invest all that money in something else, education
for example!
.
Michael:
I really think that the principles of the Vegetarian Society which was set up in
Ramsgate in 1847 are fine for people who want to be vegetarians, but there is no need to
force everyone to eat just vegetables. Let the choice be with the public: if they like eating
meat, if they like fish, let them eat it! But, pl
ease, I ask vegetarians if you’re going to be
serious about it, why eat rubbish like veggie-burgers?
.
Mary:
Now you’re just being unfair. Can you ca
ll veggie-burgers rubbish when you’re eating
meat from slaughtered animals and you’re feeding
that to your children? We just don’t want
to participate in a slaughter!
.
Michael:
No, what I mean is that there are meat-eaters out there; about eighty-seven per
cent of us eat meat. We have been eating meat for generations, centuries! I know there are
some very famous people who have been veget
arians: Verdi, Tolstoy, Wagner, Bernard
Shaw, but I don’t see why we should all become vegetarians and stop enjoying eating meat.
.
Mary:
That is the problem, there are two antagonist views: vegetarians will not see how the
enjoyment of food can go along with the kill
ing of the animals, whereas many other people
enjoy eating meat, but things are changing for the better I think.
.
Journalist
: Well, this was most exciting, but I’m afraid our time is over. Thank you for taking
part in our debate today.
.
Michael:
It was a pleasure. Thank you!
.
Mary
: Thank you!