In the words of French poet, novelist and dramatist, Victor Hugo: “There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.” 

These are not something you call to mind when doing the weekly grocery shop. But the idea of humane eating has finally arrived in Irish supermarkets.

Vegan and vegetarian products are becoming mainstream on our supermarket shelves, as you can now find an animal by-product-free alternatives to many animal-derived product. From milk to sausages, the number and variety of humane products is increasing, and at a price not too demanding on the purse.

Supporters of violence-free food should support the effort by supermarkets to bring humane to the grocery aisles. Buying vegan or vegetarian products on weekly basis sends out a visible message that if the supermarkets stock these products, they will be bought. Even people who want to try humane eating one day a week can be an untapped market for retailers in their constant struggle for market share.

Getting your nutritional needs satisfied by availing of vegan or vegetarian dishes shows that you reject meat for what it really is: death warmed up. Never forget that trite statement for ‘farm to fork’ to exist, a heartbeat must be stilled.

As we begin the season where the carcass of a dead bird is a centre point of a festival that celebrates new life, the message is simple: by reducing your consumption of animal by-products or removing them entirely from your diet and lifestyle, you are helping to end animal suffering.

Vegans and vegetarians who choose to celebrate Christmas want to do so in a humane manner devoid of nutritional violence. Finally, our supermarkets are helping us to do that.

John Tierney 

Chair, Waterford Animal Concern