The cost of living
Re: The cost of living
Everything needs strong spice or sauce. To me, anyway.
Time for a big fat one.
Re: The cost of living
To me too
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Fintan O'Toole
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Re: The cost of living
'I won't change anything that means I can't keep getting exactly what I have now' is an attitude that's probably worth considering when implementing public policies, but on an individual level it's kind of sad.
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Re: The cost of living
I think reducing and changing, rather than outright banning, is generally the way forward for policy.
Damaging meat production is subsidised, leading to overproduction. If it were produced sustainably and priced appropriately, folk could still eat meat, but probably less often. It's already a status symbol. I don't think many people are advocating an outright ban on meat, but eating less of it (and ending counterproductive subsidies) should be uncontroversial.
Damaging meat production is subsidised, leading to overproduction. If it were produced sustainably and priced appropriately, folk could still eat meat, but probably less often. It's already a status symbol. I don't think many people are advocating an outright ban on meat, but eating less of it (and ending counterproductive subsidies) should be uncontroversial.
We have the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment.
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Re: The cost of living
I've also been very impressed recently with the availability of seriously unhealthy vegan food. I've had vegan cheesy chips, tacos, burritos and pizzas recently that have all really hit the spot - it's not all salads and mung beans.
But in terms of culinary excitement I do find that seeking out vegan options exposes me to a wide range of less usual ingredients. There are hundreds of plants, but most people only eat five types of animal.
But in terms of culinary excitement I do find that seeking out vegan options exposes me to a wide range of less usual ingredients. There are hundreds of plants, but most people only eat five types of animal.
We have the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment.
Re: The cost of living
When I saw the kids a few days ago (who are insufferable vegans*) I was amazed that in the UK there is now a massive range of vegan 'junk food' available in the supermarkets. Fake Pastrami, Vegan Tikka bites ... so, so much processed stuff. The kids almost exist on it. When we left 2 years ago they were actually still cooking plant-based meals from fresh ingredients and we were looking forward to more of my sons excellent cooking. He doesn't really do that any more - and the processed stuff isn't cheap. Mind you, I wouldn't mind a bit more of the vegan filth being available here, just for a guilty snack.Bird on a Fire wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 11:01 pmI've also been very impressed recently with the availability of seriously unhealthy vegan food. I've had vegan cheesy chips, tacos, burritos and pizzas recently that have all really hit the spot - it's not all salads and mung beans.
But in terms of culinary excitement I do find that seeking out vegan options exposes me to a wide range of less usual ingredients. There are hundreds of plants, but most people only eat five types of animal.
* It's the 'I'm a vegan'-style T-shirts that I find most annoying.
Time for a big fat one.
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Re: The cost of living
For what it's worth it's shoved all the gluten free stuff out the market so I'm sure it'll go the same way eventually.Opti wrote: ↑Tue Mar 29, 2022 6:54 amWhen I saw the kids a few days ago (who are insufferable vegans*) I was amazed that in the UK there is now a massive range of vegan 'junk food' available in the supermarkets. Fake Pastrami, Vegan Tikka bites ... so, so much processed stuff. The kids almost exist on it. When we left 2 years ago they were actually still cooking plant-based meals from fresh ingredients and we were looking forward to more of my sons excellent cooking. He doesn't really do that any more - and the processed stuff isn't cheap. Mind you, I wouldn't mind a bit more of the vegan filth being available here, just for a guilty snack.Bird on a Fire wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 11:01 pmI've also been very impressed recently with the availability of seriously unhealthy vegan food. I've had vegan cheesy chips, tacos, burritos and pizzas recently that have all really hit the spot - it's not all salads and mung beans.
But in terms of culinary excitement I do find that seeking out vegan options exposes me to a wide range of less usual ingredients. There are hundreds of plants, but most people only eat five types of animal.
* It's the 'I'm a vegan'-style T-shirts that I find most annoying.
To defy the laws of tradition is a crusade only of the brave.
Re: The cost of living
I’m sure Tom Ravenscroft played some Vegan Filth on 6 Music last night </updated-joke>
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Re: The cost of living
Yes indeed. There's been reporting here in the UK recently that a lot of vegans are actually eating very unhealthy diets because there's now so much processed stuff available and that's much more unhealthy than eating a more meat based diet if you're eating plenty of veg and cooking everything from scratch.Opti wrote: ↑Tue Mar 29, 2022 6:54 amWhen I saw the kids a few days ago (who are insufferable vegans*) I was amazed that in the UK there is now a massive range of vegan 'junk food' available in the supermarkets. Fake Pastrami, Vegan Tikka bites ... so, so much processed stuff. The kids almost exist on it. When we left 2 years ago they were actually still cooking plant-based meals from fresh ingredients and we were looking forward to more of my sons excellent cooking. He doesn't really do that any more - and the processed stuff isn't cheap. Mind you, I wouldn't mind a bit more of the vegan filth being available here, just for a guilty snack.Bird on a Fire wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 11:01 pmI've also been very impressed recently with the availability of seriously unhealthy vegan food. I've had vegan cheesy chips, tacos, burritos and pizzas recently that have all really hit the spot - it's not all salads and mung beans.
But in terms of culinary excitement I do find that seeking out vegan options exposes me to a wide range of less usual ingredients. There are hundreds of plants, but most people only eat five types of animal.
* It's the 'I'm a vegan'-style T-shirts that I find most annoying.
Somehow the bagkitten has got it into her head that vegan = healthy and it's driving me mad. I keep pointing out to her that sugar is vegan and she knows full well that sugar is not healthy but the thought process doesn't seem to follow. Thankfully, she's not (yet) demanding that we all become vegan - she likes her fish, chicken and bacon* far too much for that.
Anyway, obviously the answer for most people isn't to give up meat, it's just to eat less of it and expand their repertoire of food to include more plant-based meals. Giving up something entirely is hard, eating it less often is a doddle and less often easily becomes even less often as time goes by, so whatever the x is that someone currently eats regularly and can't give up becomes a rare and occasional treat, enjoyed all the more because it's eaten so rarely. The bagkitten and Mr Bagpuss haven't even noticed that I've massively reduced our beef intake over the last couple of years. It used to be a rare week that we didn't have beef at least once, often twice. Now it's more like once every 2-4 weeks. And then I'm often making twice the number of meals out of the same amount of beef, by bulking it out with other meat or other forms of protein such as beans or lentils, or just using more veg with it.
The trouble is, if people drop their cooked-from-scratch beef cottage pie and replace it with a highly processed vegan ready meal because they find that easier than trying to learn new vegetarian or vegan recipes, we're swapping one problem for another. I suspect it's probably still the better thing to do overall, especially as people may then get more relaxed with the idea of vegetarian and vegan food and feel more confident to cook it from scratch. But then again, if Opti's kids have gone from happily cooking from scratch to eating processed stuff, I'm not so sure.
*Roughly in that order.
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Re: The cost of living
Fish, molluscs, crustaceans, mammals, birds?
Re: The cost of living
That's a somewhat uneven approach to "type".
Mollusc is a phylum, crustacean is a sub-phylum, and the others are, arguably, classes.
At phylum level, I think the top 5 would be, mentioning classes that I am aware people eat:
Chordates - mammals, birds, fish, sharks, agnatha (lampreys which aren't quite fish or sharks), amphibia (frogs), turtle/tortoises, snake/lizards, crocodiles
Molluscs - gastropods (snails, etc), cephalopods (squid etc), bivalves (mussels etc)
Arthropods - malacostraca (shrimps, crabs, etc), insects, horseshoe crabs, arachnids, barnacles
Echinoderms - sea urchins, sea cucumbers
Cnidaria - jellyfish
Though when I say top 5, I suspect that only 6 phyla are eaten, the other being annelids, which includes earthworms.
I've eaten all 5 of these at phylum level, and 14 at class level.* I was cowardly in refusing 1 other class that was offered to me once, which was really no more scary than some others I ate without qualm.
*When I say I have eaten insects, that's because I have eaten figs, which each contain a very small dead pollinating insect that is trapped by the fig. I don't count accidental consumption. I would eat roast grasshopper if offered to me.
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Re: The cost of living
Indeed. But in this case I find the facts more entertaining than the joke, or truth stranger than fiction as you might say. Such things are a feature of Aspergerish people, who are not uncommon on this forum.
Re: The cost of living
And I've had the first FB post saying "I bet the poor spend all their money on fags, take aways and Sky TV"
And remember that if you botch the exit, the carnival of reaction may be coming to a town near you.
Fintan O'Toole
Fintan O'Toole
Re: The cost of living
Indonesia has banned exports of palm oil from Thursday. It supplies about a third of all global vegetable oil exports. With the war in Ukraine affecting sunflower oil prices
https://www.reuters.com/business/indone ... 022-04-25/
However it seems that crude oil might be excluded from the ban.
There's also been a near failure of the canola harvest in Canada and drought affecting soybean oil production in South America, which had driven prices up by 50% before this.
https://www.reuters.com/business/indone ... 022-04-25/
However it seems that crude oil might be excluded from the ban.
There's also been a near failure of the canola harvest in Canada and drought affecting soybean oil production in South America, which had driven prices up by 50% before this.
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Re: The cost of living
Thank God we saved all that money not tackling climate change proactively.
The market will provide some Elon Musk Asteroid Oil mining scheme, and prices will stabilise at a local optimum. Nothing to worry about.
The market will provide some Elon Musk Asteroid Oil mining scheme, and prices will stabilise at a local optimum. Nothing to worry about.
We have the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment.
Re: The cost of living
Not sure I want my crisps cooked in that.dyqik wrote: ↑Tue Apr 26, 2022 1:26 amIndonesia has banned exports of palm oil from Thursday. It supplies about a third of all global vegetable oil exports. With the war in Ukraine affecting sunflower oil prices
https://www.reuters.com/business/indone ... 022-04-25/
However it seems that crude oil might be excluded from the ban.
There's also been a near failure of the canola harvest in Canada and drought affecting soybean oil production in South America, which had driven prices up by 50% before this.
Re: The cost of living
I'm not sure "crude palm oil" sounds any better. That sounds kind of rude.monkey wrote: ↑Tue Apr 26, 2022 2:16 amNot sure I want my crisps cooked in that.dyqik wrote: ↑Tue Apr 26, 2022 1:26 amIndonesia has banned exports of palm oil from Thursday. It supplies about a third of all global vegetable oil exports. With the war in Ukraine affecting sunflower oil prices
https://www.reuters.com/business/indone ... 022-04-25/
However it seems that crude oil might be excluded from the ban.
There's also been a near failure of the canola harvest in Canada and drought affecting soybean oil production in South America, which had driven prices up by 50% before this.
Re: The cost of living
But what about the investors who bought TSLA, NFLX and Bitcoin on leverage? They're the real sufferers here.
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Re: The cost of living
Just had an almost argument with MrsBJN who didn’t believe that when I mentioned the article. I had to dig a bit to find the relevants to convince her.plodder wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 8:01 amIn the meantime
https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... rvey-finds
Re: The cost of living
Michael Gove says that levelling up is made harder by an increase in inequality from the cost of living crisis. I bet he's ecstatic he can now explain why no reduction in inequality is resulting from their levelling up program, indeed going the other way. Now, conveniently, the failure of ineffective plans can be blamed on matters outside their control.
What the cost of living crisis seems to present, quite obviously, is a requirement for an increase in income redistribution, to address the increase in inequality. The logic is inescapable and obvious. It is not impossible to achieve. We are not at the limits of income redistribution. Among wealthier nations, several of our near neighbours do rather more. There is reasonable potential to increase it. But obviously, many traditional conservative voters will be worse off. We are all worse off. It is only reasonable to distribute the pain more fairly.
What the cost of living crisis seems to present, quite obviously, is a requirement for an increase in income redistribution, to address the increase in inequality. The logic is inescapable and obvious. It is not impossible to achieve. We are not at the limits of income redistribution. Among wealthier nations, several of our near neighbours do rather more. There is reasonable potential to increase it. But obviously, many traditional conservative voters will be worse off. We are all worse off. It is only reasonable to distribute the pain more fairly.
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Re: The cost of living
Don't worry it's all fine.bjn wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 9:59 pmJust had an almost argument with MrsBJN who didn’t believe that when I mentioned the article. I had to dig a bit to find the relevants to convince her.plodder wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 8:01 amIn the meantime
https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... rvey-finds
Tory MP Lee Anderson (basic salary £84k, plus £10k/year return from his investment portfolio and declared "gifts" of £7.5k in 2021) has announced that food banks are unnecessary as nutritious meals can be made from scratch for 30p a pop. Presumably gas/electricity and transport are also free on his planet.
Now if there was only some way of him demonstrating this by putting his claim to the test? Or does this also only work if he gets to stuff £50 into his bra first?
Meanwhile in other news I'm sure Mr Anderson can give us chapter and verse on why even the smallest tax rise on the very richest will completely disincentives all forms of entrepreneurship and skilled labour.
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What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us.
This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.