Now now, chaps! Bonzo is a provocative sort of fellow and I sometimes think that he doesn't mean a bloody word of any of it, but he's cheery and he never insults anybody. Kudos, Bonzo, yer daft old bugger! If only all utter prejudice was so pure and sweet!

If you don't want to eat animals, that's great. But there's no need to get all evangelical about it. After all, we have omnivore guts, we can't chew the cud and it's next to impossible to get all the nutrients we need from plants (look up Vitamin B12). Without animals eating animals, ecosystems would collapse. Evolution relies on massive over-production of offspring and the struggle for existence. On top of that, there's marginal land that can't be cultivated for crops but which can support animal husbandry, land that's steep and rocky, with poor soils or which is very high up.

The fight should be to cut down on meat production and to ensure that far more land suited for crop-growing for human consumption is used for just that. In addition, both animal welfare and plant welfare should be top priorities. A huge proportion if the barley and wheat grown in the UK is of far too poor quality for human consumption. Too much fertile land is used to grow Miscanthus for biofuel, a scandal. There's a lot wrong with our means of food production, but don't blame it all on us meat-eaters. I eat a lot of meat and fish but I will not buy meat that doesn't meet the high welfare standards I demand. I won't buy unsustainable fish either. Vegan evangelism is just tiresome and repressive and its far too much of a black-and-white world view.