Right now I’m treating wine (and ale), much of which is fined with isinglass (gall bladder gelatin), right now, in the same camp as gelatine, etc.: as in, ideally, I’ll get to the point where I can avoid it entirely, but I’m certain I’m not yet putting as much effort into that exercise as I could be. Unlike vegetarians who simply don’t like eating meat (who might find the use of isinglass, bone-charcoal, and other animal-based ingredients which don’t make it into the final product), I “ought to” be refraining from these things as part of my economical/ecological stance. I’m just not as good at it, yet, as I’d like to be.

I doubt I’ll ever get to that point with bacon: not all vegetarians do, I’ve gathered, and I am a big fan of bacon. I also get cravings for fish fingers.

I’ve heard of “meat free days” as promoted by a variety of organisations, but not specifically McCartney Group’s one. In my ideal sustainable world, we’d stop population growth now or very soon, fix food transportation infrastructure, and we’d still *all* be able to have meat once every week or two without completely wrecking the planet nor one another’s chance at life. But as none of that seems likely, more-drastic action such as vegetarianism or veganism is likely to become a necessity.

As far as animal welfare is concerned, I have no fundamental problems with (ethically-sound) farming: I’ve visited a good number of farms and I’ve developed software to administer schemes that track animal welfare, and it’s my opinion that it’s possible to buy food ethically that is perfectly respectful to the animal. Free-range chickens, in my experience, have a better standard of living than they would in the wild, and would simply go close-to extinct without demand for their eggs (and, to a lesser-extent, their meat). I agree that there are abuses in animal farming, but many of these animals have better, happier lives than they would if they were wild, and faster, more humane deaths than they would if they were hunted. In short: I’m concerned about animals, but only so far – I’m far more concerned about humans. Once we’re treating all of them right, maybe we’ll have a chance to go back and look at how we treat animals.

Thanks very much for your feedback. Was great to hear from you; and will keep you posted via my blog, little doubt, as to how it all goes.