Disappointment

Ever since I started the cruelty free journey I feel elated when someone is on my side, from my own husband to a large cosmetics company. Unfortunately this only makes disappointment bigger when they leave my side. I don't expect principles on this front from Tesco or Boots, I know where I stand and only buy necessities from them. But when Urban Decay sold to evil L'Oreal I felt betrayed.
And today I felt that again. The Netherlands has many Celtic, Medieval and Fantasy Festivals, one of the bigger ones being Castlefest. Mr. Dutchess and I have been considering a trip over there but of course we need to know what we can eat on location. I did some research online and was delighted to find the 2009 programme for the festival, informing me that they provide free range meat from the barbecue. But 2009 is four years ago and the 2012 booklet did not state this. It being the same caterer (The Cooking Highlander FYI) I hoped that their situation had not changed but to make sure, I e-mailed them. They replied this morning and while there's no point copying a Dutch message here it came down to this:

"We can't sell free range meat anymore. The costs are too high. We don't like it either".

This made me very angry. If they had just said they don't do it anymore due to cost I would not be pleased but business is business. However, it's this "can't" and "we don't like it either" that I have a problem with. They make it sounds like they have no choice but they do and they chose profit. Which is necessary to stay in business of course but what about raising the prices on the meat? People are well aware festival food is expensive and the notion that meat should be anything but is ridiculous, it's the most precious of foods. I know people might not accept the price rise as unfortunately the horrors of intensive farming are not a priority for most but still, there is a choice here and implying there isn't makes me see red. I told them all of this in a reply as well as that it will negatively influence my decision to attend the festival. They probably don't care but here's hoping it makes them think at least a little bit.

Eating Out at Creole

For our 5 year anniversary Mr. Dutchess and I went to a grill place called Creole in our hometown of Galway, Ireland.  We had an absolutely gorgeous meal. But vegetarian it was not and at that time my cruelty free consciousness was not yet spreading as far as eating out. That has changed but I would still really love to go back to this restaurant. So when they put up their specials last night, I left a comment asking about where they source their meat, particularly their chicken and pork as cows and sheep are most often free range in Ireland.

Here’s their reply:

@Linda. Pork from collerans. Chicken usually from the friendly farmer. But he’s off for two weeks. Back to free range then. In six months Dan the chef will hopefully have the first of his own free range saddleback pigs for the restaurant. Lots of bbq pork then. 

I am reasonably impressed by their answer. The Friendly Farmer I know to be reputable and cruelty free in its animal rearing. Shame they’re not looking for free range alternatives while he isn’t working but to be fair, he is not exactly one of many. I am not familiar with Collerans, a quick Google search does not tell me much about their policies on cruelty free meat but they do seem to have a good name around here. The fact that the chef rears his down pigs at least inspires the notion that he is conscious of the issues surrounding meat rearing.

For now I am way too broke to go out to eat anywhere but hopefully by the time the chef’s pigs are all set I will be back in a job.