Silk Cocoons
We’ve taken inspiration from George Orwell’s novel “1984”, been ever so slightly influenced by Paul Merton’s television programme and made our very own Veggie Room 101. In “1984” Room 101 is a secret room in which people meet their own worst nightmare or phobia. On the TV programme, celebrities were given the chance to consign things they didn’t like into Room 101 forever. We’ve decided to follow the television programme’s format! You nominate an object, event, person, location, just about anything really and we’ll confine it to Room 101!
If you could choose one thing (that is slightly veggie related!) to remove from society what would it be? Let your imaginations run wild! Send any contributions to education@vegsoc.org
From Sam
“I would like to put the awful and unhelpful confrontation between
some aggressive or ignorant meat eaters and, well, aggressive or
ignorant vegetarians into Veggie Room 101. There are good people
on both sides of
the issue working hard to achieve the common goal of high animal
welfare standards as the norm. It is the hot-headed people that make
our task more
difficult. I would dearly love to scrap that whole damaging collection
of prejudices and anger.
I want to show the general public that we can
learn valuable lessons from each other, we can strengthen our common
cause together and make more
of a mark with education when we work as a team with respect on both
sides. We need to make it clear to each and every person that animals
are autonomous
individuals with personalities, feelings and needs that must be met.
Any single animal from the smallest to the largest is not a commodity.
We as
humans are not superior, however it cannot be denied that we have
significant control in the future of farmed animals and the animals
affected by farming,
fishing and other forms of production. What has been lost is the
respect we had for them when our lives depended on their success,
and that success
lay with us working hard to keep them well, before we had intensive,
mass production methods.
If we work together educating and trying to protect those most at
risk we can change each others views: I don't mean at loggerheads,
persuading each other to eat meat or not, but moving meat eaters
to remember their responsibility to animals and requiring that they
account for their part in keeping intensive farming et al going and
showing them that the seemingly insignificant purchases mount up
to a big pocket vote and it can be for the good or for the bad. Also
moving vegetarians to accept compromises that people make, asking
them to bear in mind that eating and wearing animals is often an
ingrained cultural and societal expectation, that open dialogue without
hurtful judgement (on both sides most certainly) will open minds
to your beliefs, and accepting that making what seem like small changes
can be a big step for some people when socio-economic reasons force
them to consider other priorities first, if they consider animal
welfare at all.”
From Annabel
“Can I put wearing animals into Room 101? When you look at a cow, do you see a pair of shoes, a coat, a soccer ball, or a belt? What about when you see a sheep? You don’t immediately think of a sweater or a pair of mittens, do you? When you spot a raccoon, does the image of a fur-trimmed jacket or a full-length coat pop into your head? Of course not! Animals, like cows, sheep, and raccoons, are so cute that when you see them, you can’t help but smile from ear to ear … admit it. But when factory farmers, fur farmers and trappers, and some designers look at animals, all they see is future clothing, accessories, and pound signs. Each year, billions of animals—like cows, pigs, sheep, goats, alligators, snakes, raccoons, minks, foxes, chinchillas, rabbits, beavers, hamsters (yes, I said hamsters) are killed for their skin or fur. Those raised on factory farms and fur farms are forced to live in horrible, crowded, dirty conditions and suffer painful deaths just so that they can be made into leather, wool, or fur products. Crazy, I know—especially because there are so many alternatives to choose from. There’s no reason that anyone should still be wearing animals!”
From Holly
“Even though I’m veggie myself, what I hate is when vegetarians try to force their views on other people! I don’t think it’s fair. Just as it’s our own decision not to eat meat it’s their decision to eat it and we shouldn’t be mean or criticise them for it. ”
Natasha’s not quite followed the Veggie Room 101 rules by making more than one choice but we’re still letting her suggestions in… don’t anyone else go thinking they can get away with it though!!!
From Natasha
"I agree with almost all of the below comments, these are things I find extremely annoying in everyday life. My pet hate is when a product claims to be vegetarian but clearly has gelatine labelled as an ingredient on the back! This is very confusing and time-consuming as I now have to double check everything to see if it really is vegetarian! It is also often confusing when the 'suitable for vegetarians' label is written in small print on the back. When someone has a gluten or dairy allergy the product is clearly labelled so why should it be any different for us!
Another pet hate is meat eaters not being open minded to the fact that we dont eat meat! Many friends at school find it really weird that Im a vegetarian and single me out questioning me on a daily basis, I think the hippie stereotype of being vegetarian is still around and we need to try to prove vegetarians are cool too!
I agree with whoever said it is hypocritical for meat eaters to call themselves animal lovers, if a person loves their pet cat or dog then why is eating them any different to eating lamb or beef it is not caring or kind to eat an animal when you know it has been killed to be eaten and it is an outrage when these people call themselves animal lovers!!
I also hate when people refer to hens as chicken, it has become incredibly common but the traditional name for them is hens, like with beef or pork they are only chicken when they are dead!! Nowadays people seem to have a lack of respect and common decency towards animals and it really aggravates me!!"
From Jessica Edney
"I hate foie gras. It is so inhumane and cruel to ducks and geese. Translated it means ‘fatty liver’ because the liver is the part that is eaten. Ducks and geese are force fed so much excess food that their liver swells up to 6 – 10 times its normal size. This is painful for the animal and the excess food can rupture the internal organs. What’s more, the tube used for force feeding (20-30cm in length) can puncture the animal’s throat and perforate the oesophagus. The duck or goose endures only a very short life as they are intensively fed for 3 weeks.
The production of foie gras is so cruel that many countries have banned it. France is still the leading supplier of foie gras and many French consider it a delicacy. It’s not. It’s a disease! What’s worse is although the UK has banned production, it is still legal to eat and sell foie gras imported from France. This is so despicable and hypocritical. How can the UK ban local production if it still allows imports from France? Fortunately, many people are campaigning against foie gras and most major supermarkets don’t sell it (including Marks and Spencer, Asda, Sainburys). I want to get foie gras banned completely from the UK and so I’m sending it to Room 101."
From Jessica Edney
"Okay, I know loadsa people have been campaigning against the use of bearskin hats by the Royal Guards but I thought I’d put a word in too. Bearskin hats are ‘traditional’ and supposedly worn by soldiers to make them look taller! WHO CARES?
I’m so furious with some of the insensitive remarks that Lieutenant Colonel Peter Dick-Peter made about the recently proposed fake fur hats which, bluntly, are not the end result of an animal’s life! He said; “It looks like a 60s Beatle wig… It just doesn't look right and if the wind blows it sticks up… The rain soaks into the fibre and it ends up an extremely heavy piece of sodden material on somebody's head." So, a fashion disaster versus the unnecessary slaughter of bears in Canada – which is more important???? Hmmm.
To me bears are just as important creatures as humans and I absolutely agree with Kirsty Woodford, who wrote an excellent piece on why it’s so unfair that humans proclaim themselves ‘superior’. Why should we STEAL an animal’s skin for the sake of tradition? What’s wrong with plain cotton, may I ask? Just because it’s an age old custom – can’t you people move with the times? Has it ever occurred to you that people in the past MIGHT have made some mistakes? So I say BAN the fur and send it to Room 101."
From Bethan Cornell
"I really hate it when meat-eaters ask "why are you a vegetarian?" just to get into an argument. I think it's really rude. They would get very annoyed if we asked them "why do you eat animals?" but they seem to think that it's ok to ask us.
It only ends up with them trying to convince us that what they do is right and that we are not making any difference to what they think. I try to tell them that we know that we can't change their minds but we do what we feel happiest doing but they never seem to listen to me. To be fair I'm sure not all meat-eaters are like this, it must only a minority, but I think these conversations should definitely go into Room 101!"
From Eleanor
I really dislike it when meat-eaters try to start arguments or try to annoy me by saying things such as why are you a vegetarian..? Being a vegetarian is wrong and unhealthy, or something similar to that. If a meat-eater really cares that much about my diet (which to be honest, I don’t know why they would) but if it’s such a fascination to them, then they should firstly do some research about vegetarianism and then calmly explain to me their opinions and why they have them. I would then respect their opinions and if they wanted me to, I would share my views and tell them all the great things about being vegetarian. However, I would never try and convert anyone into being a vegetarian, if they wanted to know the benefits of this diet, I wouldn’t be afraid of telling them, but its not my job to go around telling people what they can and can’t eat. If they don’t want to go to the bother of doing research and thinking their views through before they try to start an argument, then they don’t have to try and convert me into eating meat either, which will never happen anyway !
From Kayleigh Rattle
“I hate the fact that ready-made sandwiches are more often than not filled with butter! As a student in desperate need of nutrition, I have been stranded on campus for hours on end without any food due to all sandwiches on campus being saturated with butter. Whilst I’m not a vegan, I’m not a big fan of dairy products and I find the assumption that ‘everyone eats butter’ infuriating. If it is not butter it is cheese! The vegetarian option is almost always cheese! Whilst I understand that, for many, a sandwich is naked without butter, if I had rule over the major sandwich companies I would dress my sandwiches in houmous or salad dressing… Please, if a sandwich maker is reading this, next time I go to grab a sandwich whether it be at train station, supermarket or university, please let there be an exciting sandwich waiting for me and submit the cheese and butter sandwiches to Room 101!! ”
and another thing...
“For many meat-eaters, the question of vegetarianism is fascinating. Not because they are actually interested in it, but because they want to refute it. Believe me, I have been at university three years now and I have been asked the question so many times. Then I have had to endure a conversation about people’s favourite type of meat. I think people feel they need to defend exactly the reason why they are not vegetarian. Don’t get me wrong, I am completely happy to answer the question, but I don’t then want to hear all about everyone’s favourite type of meat! People, have some sensibility and some respect!! Let’s consign the “why are you vegetarian?’ conversation to Room 101. ”
From Jasmine
"My entry for room 101 has to be people who claim to be ‘animal lovers’ but eat meat! You have to agree that there’s no way can they love animals but eat them as well.
One very annoying example of this is when one of these so called animal lovers sees an animal (let’s say a lamb) and says “aw, look at the lambs! Aren’t they gorgeous! I love them!”… And then goes and enjoys some lamb chops, completely oblivious of the fact that the lambs they ‘loved’ in the field will soon look like what is on their plate.
Of course, some of these people may just not realise what is on their plate, because the fact that it is a dead animal is sometimes hidden by the names meat eaters use such as ham and beef instead of pig and cow.
Over the years, I have tried many different methods to get these people to see sense. I have argued, resulting in nothing good. I have looked scathing, and simply said “why eat them then?” which didn’t achieve the desired effects at all. Perhaps the most entertaining was when I said “what are you having for dinner then?” which resulted in extreme confusion. I think the best reaction is probably just to smile, and be quietly pleased with yourself. After all, surely we’re the real animal lovers."
From Jamie Johnson
Silk
"The production of just one gram of woven silk involves the death of at least 15 silkworms. And what a death… these creatures (which aren’t really worms but the caterpillars of the silk moth) are either boiled to death, steamed alive, dried in an oven, electrocuted or subjected to microwaves whilst in their cocoons! Cocoons that they had created by spinning the silk round and round themselves for supposed protection against predators whilst they are maturing into moths.
Each caterpillar will produce about a mile and a half (that’s about 2.4 kilometres to you youngsters!) of continuous thread. When its metamorphosis is complete and the moth is ready to leave its cocoon it secretes an alkali which eats its way through the thread. This spoils the thread for spinning making it no longer continuous, so in order to get good quality silk, the moths must be killed before they leave the cocoon.
The manufacture of a silk sari will involve the death of approximately 50,000 silkworms. This is factory farming at its worst and unfortunately silk production has increased by almost 100% over the last 30 years. China and Japan are the world’s main silk producers but India also still produces over 14,000 tonnes of silk a year. It’s not really that surprising then that the most common species of caterpillar used in silk production no longer exists in the wild.
True, during silk production a few moths are allowed to mature in order
to create new breeding parents, and I should probably mention that woven
silk occasionally comes from farms where some moths have been allowed to
survive, but in the process to obtain fine silk threads the wings of these
moths are cut off to prevent contact and contamination. And once the breeders
have laid their eggs these moths are also killed prematurely since they
can only reproduce once in their lifetimes.
Silk oil and silk powder is used by the cosmetic industry in skin
and hair moisturising and conditioning products. This includes
some hair mousses, face powders, eye shadows and even some soaps.
Some moths escape during this processing but it’s perhaps
safest for us to avoid silk in all of its guises if we’re
concerned with silk caterpillar welfare!
Fabrics from many plant fibres are able to produce alternatives to silk, and the fibres from pineapples produce a material that is as silky as anything that traditional silk can muster! The Oxford University Spinox project also created a machine which mimics the way that spiders and silk worms spin their thread. By using a combination of artificial proteins and natural silk-like proteins, obtained from wheat or rice grains, a durable synthetic silk has been created."
Silk, your time is up! Veggie Room 101 awaits…
From Lisa Good
Lisa Good has plumped for “eateries with only one veggie option on the menu". It ’s in!
"When I first became vegetarian eating out was a big concern of mine, especially when I was with meat eaters. I didn’t want people to make a fuss when choosing where to eat. To my surprise I found a lot of mainstream restaurants near me to be great with 3 or more veggie dishes at least. It shows how easy being vegetarian can be to the other diners at the table and how good the meals can be.
However, I have also visited some places that only have one dish that is vegetarian or veggie food that is really bland, such as just basic vegetables with no thought of how they could make the meal interesting! Have they not heard of the VegSoc website?
My worst meal ever was vegetable fajitas where the veg was over cooked and it had no sauce or anything with it. I feel like a one-veggie-option restaurant is passing a view on vegetarians -the people are boring, the meal should be boring too! Yet it’s so easy for them to put together a reasonable vegetarian meal and was made worse when this particular restaurant was also serving really expensive meat…
Being vegetarian is a lifestyle choice and I feel restaurants should respect that and give us great (delicious) choice in what can be a narrow-minded world at times. "
From Claire Culley
“Lisa Good has an excellent point!!! It drives me crazy when there is hardly any selection in restaurants for vegetarians. However, one option is better than none! Where I live is really great about veggie meals- almost all restaurants have at least two, and then other meals where you can order a version without meat. However, I've been places where there aren't any actual vegetarian options! Even the salads have some form of meat in them! One would have to specifically ask not to have meat with their meal. Restaurants/Cafes like that really bug me! ”
From Kirsty Woodford
“The thing I absolutely can't stand is when people believe we (as the human race) are superior to other animals!
It may be simple, but I think it is completely ignorant that humans think that they are better than other animals, purely because we don't have the ability to communicate with them. We may speak common languages, destroy the natural world, and have an economy, but what difference does that really make? Other animals have the intelligence to survive without money, and without interfering with others, which surely is a peaceful aim to strive for... so what makes us so much better? That we can't understand what other animals think?
This may seem like a far fetched point, I mean, who really cares if other animals are more intelligent than us?, The thing which I hate so much about this pathetic human attitude, is when ignorant people use it as their last resort to argue against vegetarians.
My usual response to why I have become veggie is "because I personally don't believe it is right or humane to take a life where it can be prevented." Yet I am repeatedly told by people seemingly unable to face the fact that they could be seen as murderers, "but an animal life isn't the same as a human life, we are superior". Well, says who? Humans? Slightly biased...
I feel that everyone has a right to remain a meat eater, but I really can't stand it that vegetarians are continuously targeted for a debate, and our opinions aren't accepted.
And for the record: Humans are animals... so a life is a life is a life. Or at least, that is what I think.”
From Rachel Wilbur
My room 101 pet hate would have to be, without a doubt, 'vegetarians'
who eat fish or chicken. Although other things that annoy me are when
you tell someone that you are a vegetarian and the person you are
speaking to suddenly
says, “well, I don’t eat much meat.” Also restaurant
menus that have a section titled ‘Vegetarian & Fish’ are
not in my good books. However, what I hate most must be people who
eat fish, or white meat, and still claim to be vegetarian.
The main reason that this annoys me is because proper vegetarians
are not taken seriously, or the vegetarian option at cafés,
restaurants or school canteens is some sort of dish made with tuna
or salmon. This is actually a bigger problem than it sounds as children
at school could end up going hungry if the dinner staff do not listen
to their complaints, saying that only vegans don’t eat fish.
Another, just as important, reason why it annoys me is that a fish is not a vegetable! Vegetarians do not eat anything from the animal kingdom and fish clearly are! It had to be killed before it could be eaten and would have had a personality of its own. People that consume fish and say they are vegetarian are just denying the fact that they are meat eaters!
I think it is obvious why this is my pet hate. Vegetarians need to be taken seriously, and people like this are not doing us any favours.
And on a similar theme…
It really gets on my nerves when people call themselves 'half vegetarian'.
You can't be half vegetarian! Yet they think that because they only
eat chicken and fish and no red meat they are. It really gets on my nerves
because they even argue over it when you correct them!
From Jordanna Richards
From Fiona
I am so annoyed with people who assume that veggies eat fish!
Then five minutes into the conversation they are telling you that
you’re
not a "proper" veggie because you eat cheese! I mean, they
know absolutely nothing about veggies at all.