Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1472276
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 JULY 2022 8 INTERVIEW How can it make sense to kill six According to yesterday's head- lines: 'Veganism on the rise in the EU'. That seems to be true of Malta [we met for this in- terview at a vegan restaurant, for instance]. Yet it was only a few years ago, that vegetari- anism – let alone veganism – was more or less unheard of, locally. You were one of only a handful of pioneers (including the late Julian Manduca), back in the 1980s: and let's face it, you were all widely regarded as 'extremists', at the time. Not so much today, however. So first of all: how do you account for this change? Let me start with this: I be- came a vegetarian when I was 18. At the time, I was a member of 'Zaghzagh Ghall-Ambjent': along with Julian Manduca – that treasured soul - and the rest of the 'gang'. We weren't all veg- etarians: some of us switched; others – like myself – hadn't taken the plunge, yet. But we were all environmen- talists; which basically meant we were all hunting abolitionists. As such, we used to have these reg- ular conversations (or 'discus- sions', or 'arguments': call them what you will) with hunters… And time and time again, I found myself confronted with the same old question: "If it's OK for you to eat chicken… why can't I eat quail (or turtle dove, etc.)?' This went on, and on… and on, and on… until eventual- ly, I said to myself: 'Right! Now is the time to cut this argument out, once and for all. I already believe in it anyway; I don't WANT to kill animals…' So today, I actually feel the need – and I always say this – to thank the hunters, for giving me that last little push I needed, to finally go vegetarian. But like you said, it was a dif- ferent time, back then… … and not exactly an easy one to be a Vegan, either: when most people's idea of vegetar- ianism, was straight out of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' ('Don't eat no meat? Ok, I make lamb!') [Laughing] It was impossible, quite frankly! I would go out to restaurants with friends: and the only thing available for me on the menu, was the side-salad. And that's just when it came to food. At the time, you couldn't ask for 'plant-based milk' at a café… and still less, would you find super- market shelves stacked with dif- ferent varieties of it. No: to get Soy Milk, back then, you had to first buy the soy chunks from the only place that provided them - 'Good Earth' - then leave them to soak over- night, and cook them the follow- ing morning. And it tasted really bad, too: nothing like the ready- made milks you can buy from any supermarket today… So yes: it is a totally different situation, now. But as for what actually brought about all these changes: I'm not so certain, an- ymore. At first, I used to think that, when Malta became more 'Eu- ropean' – and more Europeans started coming to Malta – that was what mainly drove the change. But I'm beginning to re- alise that there are also a lot of 'silent Maltese', out there, who have undergone that change for themselves. Or who are in the process of doing so, anyway. Because just as in the rest of Europe, the data tells us that the number of 'flexitarians' here is also on the increase, big-time… 'Flexitarians'…? Flexitarians are those indi- viduals who haven't chosen to become vegetarian, or vegan… but have said: "I am going to re- duce [my meat intake]' So rather than cooking their Spaghetti Bo- lognese with the usual minced- meat, they will buy a packet of vegan, plant-based mince in- stead. And when it comes to plant- based milk, alone: the data also shows - and this is why the dairy industry is so scared right now, in fact – that the major battle in supermarkets is no longer be- tween 'long-life' and 'fresh' milk, as it was until recently… it's now 'plant-based' versus 'dairy'. And it's a direct confrontation: which I believe that plant-based will eventually win, in the end. Already, plant-based milks are replacing long-life, on super- market shelves; and in fact, the only reason why plant-based hasn't already won the battle al- together, is… I think I can guess: 'price', per- haps? After all, they are around three times more expensive, than regular cow's milk… Yes, the price-difference is un- doubtedly what's holding people back. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you look at the situation in the Netherlands, for instance – and I mention the Nether- lands, because like most north- ern European countries, it has a strong local 'dairy tradition' – plant-based milk is now actually around one cent cheaper than cow's milk. Why? Because the demand has grown so high, that they are actually positioning those products even cheaper… But the demand has clearly grown here, too: so why isn't the same thing happening lo- cally? Ah. That brings us to the big irony in all this. Apart from the fact that the supermarkets themselves claim a massive mark-up, on imported plant- based products… Benna [thanks to its market-strength] muscles a much lower mark-up. So if, for every one euro the consumer spends on milk, the supermarket will take 10-20c for Benna prod- ucts… it will take 20-40c, for plant-based milk. If, on the other hand, the mark- ups were the same: I can assure you that the price of plant-based milk would come down. So that's already one thing that's unfair: not just on vegans, but on consumers in general. They all end up paying a lot more money, than they really should… But on top of that: Benna al- so receives government subsi- dies, far in excess of other sec- tors of the food-market. And while some plant-based milks are subject to 18% VAT – if I'm Veganism is a growing trend. But environmentalist, vegan and End The Slaughter campaigner DARRYL GRIMA argues that this may well be a reaction to the sheer 'insanity' of today's global food industry Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt