Printed in The Friend of January 15 2010

 At least mention the V-word
Turner prizewinner Grayson Perry has just gifted a large etching to Eastbourne’s Towner art gallery. ‘The Map of Nowhere’, depicts the artist’s body amid signs, symbols and texts, both personal and political. Among them is a small group of oddly-clad people alongside the intriguing words ‘Quaker vegetarian chatter’.

By contrast, although a substantial proportion of editorial text on ‘the environment’ has recently appeared in the Friend, rarely (if at all) has the ‘chatter’ included vegetarianism. This is despite the fact that western dependence on a carnivorous diet plays a significant part in destroying the natural world through over-production of food animals. There’s the destruction of rain forests in order for animals to graze, their massive consumption of grain, soya and water, the millions of tons of damaging methane produced, and the fact people in the developing world starve alongside fields of food destined for the meat industry. According to the vegetarian/vegan organisation VIVA!, a vegetarian diet requires less than half the agricultural land currently in use, a vegan diet less than a quarter.

So why aren’t more Friends discussing in print – or even mentioning – the V-word? Maybe Grayson Perry is trying to tell us something!

At the 2009 Yearly Meeting Gathering, Friends raised environmental concerns as to the generous portions of meat available in the restaurant compared to the limited ‘vegetarian/vegan option’. Apart from this catering glitch, it was generally agreed that that gathering in York was superbly organised. Hopefully the menu will be rectified for the next event – perhaps the novel introduction of ‘the carnivore option’.

~ Ann Johnson, a member of Quaker Concern for Animals