When I told my parents and relatives that I was going to be a Food and Drink editor for Trinity News, they were confused. They didn’t realise it was possible to be a food writer and critic as well as a vegetarian. Honestly, I’m not sure if it is either.
“Nearly every food publication focuses on meat with little time spent on where the meat was sourced and whether a vegetarian option is available”
Cooking and food travel shows are my ultimate comfort watch. There’s nothing better than curling up with a cup of tea and watching Alison Roman make pasta in her rustic country home or Florence Pugh make a charcuterie board for British Vogue. Many hungover mornings have been spent in front of Somebody Feed Phil and Parts Unknown. But none of this iconic food related content makes any effort to not promote meat, or even just include a vegetarian option. My favourite food news site, CHAR Magazine, also primarily focuses on meat based content, despite its audience consisting mainly of Millennials and Gen Z. These cohorts have the highest rates of vegetarians and vegans, according to a recent Statistica study. CHAR also continuously reports on food sustainability and ethical food practices, yet posts about the chicken fillet roll and chicken spice bags continuously as if these processed meats are not contributing to the very problem they supposedly care about stopping. Of course it’s not just CHAR doing this, nearly every food publication focuses on meat with little time spent on where the meat was sourced and whether a vegetarian option is available.
“People are constantly being bombarded with information telling them that eating meat is killing the planet and their bodies, but if you want to be considered a real foodie, you’re expected to munch down on wagyu beef, oysters and pâté”
Food writers, for better or worse, dictate what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to eating and they have a responsibility to consider whether they absolutely need to promote meat in every piece of content they create. People are constantly being bombarded with information telling them that eating meat is killing the planet and their bodies, but if you want to be considered a real foodie, you’re expected to munch down on wagyu beef, oysters and pâté. Due to the overwhelming evidence of cruelty, health and environmental reasons, it is unethical to promote bulk manufactured meat in any way. Of course, there are so many meat farmers in Ireland trying to produce meat in an ethical and sustainable way. One such example is Organic Meat, a small farm in Co.Laois where the meat is produced only when its ordered and sold at markets twice a week. In this model, meat is a special treat as it takes a huge amount of energy to produce it. This is a similar model to what exists in some Asian countries such as India, where meat is far more expensive and therefore only eaten on special occasions (see Food privilege: The unfortunate truths of veganism, for more information).
In an ideal world, being a meat eating chef and food critic would be the niche, and being a vegetarian would be the norm, this is the system that over half of the world’s population use. But in the West, meat is seen as a right, not a privilege. And part of the reason for this perspective is every time you read a restaurant review or watch a cooking show, meat is always the main focus with vegetables delegated to side dishes. We need to get to a place where every single cooking show, every single restaurant review and food think piece, includes at least a vegetarian substitute. Meat needs a major rebrand as “Not Cool”, and it’s up to people who love and care about food to spearhead this way of living. Not every food critic has to be a vegetarian, but they absolutely need to sample the vegetarian dish of whatever restaurant they are reviewing as well as what they usually try. Oftentimes vegetarian dishes are sidelined as gimmicky or niche, not deserving of critique, analysis or cultural impact. This simply is not true.
“Including meat should be an intentional choice, not a necessary element”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m aware of the huge importance that well-prepared, sustainably sourced meat has in every culture. After spending a summer in Spain watching people get emotional over Serrano ham and of course growing up in Waterford where to most people a life without a rasher and sausage blaa is not a life worth living, I know that something important would be lost if we all became vegetarians tomorrow morning. But including meat should be an intentional choice, not a necessary element.
When I went on Dublin’s brand new Devour Food Tour, I was prepared for the tour to be extremely meat centric; it is, after all, designed to show off the best of Irish food, which most people consider to be our meat and fish. But I was pleasantly surprised because only half of the stops on the tour were about meat and in each of those places, there was a fantastic vegetarian option. In one of the top twelve steak restaurants in the world, Hawksmoor, I had their famous cheese toastie and I can confirm that it absolutely lives up to the hype. Using Bread 41 sourdough, Gubeen, mozzarella and cheddar cheese as well as jalapenos, it was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. Putting crushed up Tayto crisps inside, drizzled with scallion mayonnaise, was a touch of genius.
Food tours like this, alongside Happy Pear products (however you feel about the twins, you can’t deny they make fantastic hummus) and vegetarian based restaurants like Umi Falafel and Cornicopia keep vegetarian food critics like myself very busy, I just wish they were featured as a main piece, rather than an ‘alternative option’.
Restaurants in Dublin have stepped up their game and are making some of the best vegetarian food in the world, and nearly every establishment in this city will provide numerous delicious plant based options on their menu. On the other hand, food writers continue to promote meat and write about vegetarianism as if it’s some kind of strange disease. Why are food writers so unwilling to adapt?
