Jeremy Vine had a heated encounter with an Australian vegan activist, Joey “Carbstrong” Armstrong, on his Radio 2 show, after the latter noticed the presenter’s lunch (a ham and cheese sandwich) lying on the side. Or as Armstrong put it: “The dead body of an animal that didn’t want to die.”
It would be all too easy to lampoon Armstrong as an overly militant vegan. (His Twitter photo shows him cradling a piglet.) However, it seems to me (a wussy vegetarian) that this was the very reason he was invited on to the show (discussing activist threats against farmers).
And although such types have irritated me in the past, I’ve been increasingly warming to them. At least they’re preferable to that new breed of Goop/perma-vlogging “nu-vegans”, who are just doing it for the pose, the weight-loss... anything but animal welfare.
Anyone out there laughing at Armstrong’s beliefs, maybe it’s time to ask yourselves – what do you care about deeply enough to risk the mockery of the masses?
Moreover, the next time that Vine knows he has a vegan guest coming on, perhaps he could show some basic respect and consideration and hide his grotty sandwich in a drawer.
