About Author

Ian

London. Formerly known as New Media. Vegan since 1992.
Comments (9)
  1. Brian Jacobs (reply)

    September 13, 2013 at 16:34

    Hi Ian Are Eric Lambin and Robert Greenland speaking in favour of cutting and burning down the rainforest, so we are fully informed from both sides, which is what you asked regarding the fluoride talk at London Vegans?

    Brian

    [Admin edit: website name changed to poster name, lengthy .sig stripped]

  2. Ian McDonald (reply)

    September 14, 2013 at 09:49

    You can read more about how The Vegan Option tries to follow journalistic ethics of objectivity and due impartiality in our “about” pages.

    That qualification “due” includes taking it for granted that animals exist for their own reasons as well as the assumptions we share with mainstream media (democracy is good; slavery is bad). We’re not impartial about those.

    If animals exist for their own reasons, then it follows that the destruction of their habitat is a bad thing. So “due impartiality” does not imply complete impartiality about “cutting and burning down the rainforest”.

    Nevertheless, Darrel Webber does make the case for developing countries being able to use their rainforest; and during production I specifically sought out the views of the vegetarian movement in Indonesia and Malaysia, who might have been expected to support a degree of forest clearance for one of their major industries.

    So although I’m not sure if a 30 minute show can “fully inform” anyone, I think we treated the question with due impartiality, reflecting a range of views.

    I hope that once you’ve listened to the show, you’ll agree.

  3. Tanya&Dawn (@ProgressKitch) (reply)

    September 16, 2013 at 01:58

    Just listened to this episode, and enjoyed it greatly!

    Learned that yes, apparently there is technically such a thing as sustainable palm oil, but no I don’t see any reason to alter my ‘avoid palm oil’ habit one little bit… there’s way too little accountability, and the sustainable sources will never be able to meet existing corporate demand (imo) — but I did like the episode’s closing thoughts: ONLY thoughtful-consumer boycotts won’t make enough of a dent in the problem. and we need to keep pushing for better standards sustainable certification ALSO… Excellent point.

    Thanks for another great episode! Glad to see this issue entering mainstream awareness, or at least broader awareness among the vegan community. And thanks for giving PK a voice in the discussion — we appreciate it!

    Keep up the very excellent work; can’t wait to see what issue you tackle next. 🙂

    Best,
    Tanya

  4. Imogen Michel (reply)

    September 17, 2013 at 18:14

    Hi Ian,

    Thanks for a great and very well-balanced episode! It’s a really interesting subject which raises a lot of competing ethical questions.

    Also, it was great to meet you in Edinburgh earlier this summer, and hopefully see you at VegFestUK London in October 🙂

    Looking forward to the next one,

    Imogen

  5. Mindy Sjogren (reply)

    October 13, 2013 at 18:57

    I’ve helped care for orphaned orangutans in Borneo and drove through the palm oil plantations for hours and hours….anyone who has seen it knows. It’s terribly destructive. The biodiversity we are losing over a cheap vegetable oil is shocking. If humans valued natural resources before money, this one is a no brainer.

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