It’s all the rage right now. You walk down every aisle of the supermarket and it’s all you can see. Even the huge fast-food chains are jumping on the bandwagon.

Over the last few years, meat production and consumption have soared and now we are being told to cut down. With all this talk of sustainability and being healthy, many people have opted to become vegan, vegetarian, or at least eat less meat.

In the UK during the pandemic, meat consumption rocketed and the prices rose due to the increase in demand. However, statistics now show that more and more people are turning to veganism and it is estimated that 11% of the British population is now vegan.

I’m not sure the same can be said about Spain. Spain is the highest meat-consuming country in the EU by about 22%, but it’s getting easier and easier to become vegetarian/ vegan. More establishments are opening up and more vegan products are readily available in the supermarkets to cater for this ever-growing population.

Many governments worldwide are currently running awareness campaigns that can be seen on TV to encourage their populations to go meat and dairy-free and opt for plant-based diets.

What do you think are the advantages and drawbacks of going meat and dairy-free?

Would you be prepared to ditch the meat? Which diet do you think is healthier?

TEXT VOCABULARY

To be all the rage – to be very popular

Aisle – a passage down the middle of a row of seats (church or aeroplane) or shelves (supermarket)

To jump on the bandwagon – to join a popular activity so that you can share in its success

To cut down – to reduce

To soar – to rise very quickly to a high level

To opt to - to choose to

To rocket – to rise really quickly (synonym of soar)

To turn to – to start doing / to change to

Establishments – a shop or business

To be readily available – can be obtained quickly and easily

To cater for - to provide what people want, or need

Currently - at the moment – NOT actually

Awareness campaigns – to make an effort in the media to educate people about an issue

To encourage – to support

Drawbacks - disadvantages

LISTENING PRACTICE

Going back to the questions asked at the end of the text? Not sure?

Check out the video links below: 

Which is healthier being vegan or non-vegan?

What if the whole world went vegan?

DIFFERENT TYPES OF DIET

Have you heard of…?

Flexitarians

Pescatarians

Nutarians

Fruitarians

Listen to the audio to find out what they are.

MODERN IDIOMS

As a linguist myself, something that I have always found fascinating is the way that the shifts and changes in culture have such an influence on language. As you know English is full of many expressions and idioms that are well-rooted in our vernacular which means that they are used by normal people on a regular basis but the ethical issues surrounding mass meat production and the effect it’s all having on the environment are affecting our language.

PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals dislikes the fact that many English idioms transmit violence towards animals. They did a campaign a while back to make certain idioms in our language vegan-friendly. Below you can find really common English expressions that have existed for years and years and their new suggested non-offensive vegan equivalents.

To take the bull by the horns

Meaning: to deal directly with a situation

New suggested version: To take the flower by the thorns

To put all your eggs in one basket

Meaning: To put all your hopes in one possibility

New suggested version: To put all your berries in the same bowl

To kill two birds with one stone

Meaning: To achieve two goals with one action

New suggested version: To feed two birds with the same scone

To bring home the bacon

Meaning: To earn money

New suggested version: To bring home the bagels

 COMMON MISTAKES:

What did you have for lunch?

I had meat.

In English that sounds odd. It sounds like someone had a plate of meat nothing more. We prefer to specify the type of meat that we have eaten and we don’t like to generalize.

Pork

Lamb

Beef

Chicken

Pronunciation corrections

Listen to the audio and to help you improve

Stick - Steak

Protein

Carbohydrate

Burger – pronunciation

Veggie burgers

Raw 

Spicy

Tofu

QUIZ

Which is correct?

Plate/dish: It’s getting easier and easier to find vegetarian plates/dishes in restaurants.

Salty/savoury: I prefer salty/ savoury food to sweet food

Bitter / sour: Dark chocolate can taste bitter/ sour

Coffee can sometimes be bitter but a lemon is sour.

That’s all for today folks. If you enjoyed today’s newsletter please like and share!

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Thanks for reading and listening.

Have a great Sunday!

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