Agree or Disagree: People who won't eat vegetables are stupid
We started the day at Shiny Towers in a way we often do; by putting the world to rights in the way that only six women in an office are capable of. And since the topic seemed to provoke vigorous nods of agreement all round, it seemed only fair to put the proposition to a wider audience: People who won't eat vegetables are stupid. Agree or disagree?
Let's illustrate the statement with a bit of background. We've all met the guy who thinks vegetables are 'scary'. Let's call him 'Simon'. Simon hasn't touched broccoli (or peas, or carrots, or indeed anything containing vitamin C) since his Mum stopped nagging him about eating it when he was 20. He can't tell an artichoke from an aubergine and thinks 'kale' is a sort of dance. Simon's in his late twenties or early thirties; (it's hard to tell since he looks so tired and unhealthy). He likes tomatoes, but only if they're on pizza or in some other sanitised form, and if it wasn't for Ribena, he'd probably have died of scurvy by now. If Simon had a girlfriend, she'd probably nag him in the way he's used to his mother doing, but let's face it - it's not an immediate liklihood...
Now, I know I'm asking for trouble with the carnivorious crowd here, as I'm a strict vegetarian and could be acused of preaching at other people for avoiding foods when I won't touch anything that once had a pulse. But I've no problem with people eating meat if it's ethically sourced and reared in a way that limits cruelty. What I do have a problem with is people who are too afraid to educate their palates to try the rich, varied selection of flavours, textures and all manner of other foods that are naturally nutritious and good for you, and then complain when they're constantly under the weather. I'm also equally aware that plenty of veggies don't make the effort to eat well...
Hear hear!
While I can understand people rebelling against the veg they were foreced into eating as children, our supermarkets have come on so far since then.
Don't like spinach? Try kale.
Broccoli? Purple-sprouting broccoli.
Turnips? Try celeriac.
And so on - this is even easier with fruit. I can't stand oranges, apples, or bananas, but gorge myself on sharon fruit, custard apples, and golden passion fruit as often as I can afford to!
Posted by: Kate | March 14, 2007 12:30 PM