To think ethics in shopping count? (Aldi and Lidl)

[penguinpear]

There was an article in the Sunday Times this weekend about dairy farming. Over the past decade the number of dairy farmers has halved and more are going out of business all the time.

Aldi and Lidl are reported to pay only 56-59p for each four pints they sell. In contrast Tesco pay 73p and m&s 78p.

I am really upset by this, as I think we have a bleak future if people care only for their own pockets and not anyone else, including animals whose welfare will get worse if people have no interest in the supply chain.

spork, how have people been harmed by 'vegan fads'?

Yes, I am aware humans that were slaves were not considered human at all. The point was, we look back on that time in disgust and horrorthat we once thought that way. In the same way, our children and their children will look back in disgust that we treated animals as commodities in 2015. That's if we've left them any planet to live on.

I'm not actually a fan of PETA, I agree their sexist ways do a lot of harm. Was just a handy link, sorry.

Vegans are not perfect, but I do believe we are trying to minimise our impact more than the non-vegans.

Finally, spork, there is no such thing as an ex-vegan. You either understood that animals are not ours to use and abuse as we feel like it, or you didn't.

Agree re PETA, not a fan either like many vegans I know. They aren't a reason to diss the vegan diet though... As for that guardian quinoa article, it's kind of desperate. Seen it trotted out so many times in an attempt to portray vegans as unethical. I don't even eat quinoa, and the people who do aren't necessarily vegan. As I said, ridiculous arguments!

BeCool, I think you and I would get on well in RL!

Interrobang, I've 'met' quite a few ex-vegans on here; I imagine you're taking issue with the description though. Do you think it would be more accurate to say they followed a plant-based diet/lifestyle for a period of time and then stopped? Because 'ex-vegan' takes much less time to say!

I'm more or less vegan by the way (I don't eat meat/eggs/dairy and avoid animal-derived products, except that I share a house with an omni husband and pretty much carnivorous toddlers)

There all as bad as each other really only last month our local meat man had a lot of cheap meat that was meant for aldi and asda but they had decided they did not want it anymore so refused the delivery meaning the supplier contacted our meat man and sold it at a massive discount again to be able to get any money for it.

Should have known this thread would descend into vegan propaganda

Even dairy farmers have children to feed.
And they are being treated unfairly by the big milk buyers, aided by the supermarkets.

Let's go back to my slavery analogy. Would you feel sorry for the human slave trafficker that he was being underpaid?

Analogy - a thing which is comparable to something else in significant respects.

Imo slave trafficking and farming are in no way comparable and attempting to make them so is laughable. So....no comment!

cannot I've never associated quinoa with vegans - but it is a good example of how the foods we embrace can have a knock on effect, ethical or environmental, that we don't really know about or consider. And when we think we are doing the best for ourselves, our diet, our children, it can be at the expense of someone elses health/diet/children.

No one has mentioned Palm Oil. Or GM .....

For every action ......

plumping I'll meet you in the kale aisle .....

Not actually tried kale.... I think I've been put off by its sudden trendiness

Not trying to be a propagandist, but Facebook campaigns sayings things like 'C'mon guys, we ALL drink milk!' tend to just make me go 'Nope, I don't' and to click on something else. If it were titled 'Gross abuses of ALL the living creatures working in/for a particular industry', then I'd be interested. I didn't realise the dairy industry was so bad for the humans as well as the cows.