Meme - "Excessive force in the front...
Resisting arrest in the back... *hair*"
Woman who robbed banks and got plastic surgery to escape has been caught after 25 years - "Former bank clerk Chen Yile – a pseudonym used by authorities – has been charged with corruption and fraud after being arrested last month."
McDonald's customer mistakenly given bag containing thousands of dollars in cash instead of food - "The customer, identified as Josiah Vargas, received thousands of dollars in cash instead of the sausage McMuffin he had ordered, according to a video he posted on TikTok... McDonald’s employees could be heard on the video expressing their gratitude and relief when he returned the money. "Oh my God, look at that," an employee said. "I really want to give you a hug."... the employees rewarded him for returning the cash by giving him $200 and free McDonald’s for a month."
How much does your Big Mac cost? It depends on where you buy it in Singapore - "A Big Mac meal at the McDonald’s outlet in Bedok Mall costs $8.65. The same meal at the Jewel Changi Airport outlet costs $7.75. Price differences like this are common among fast-food chains across Singapore... Prices were generally higher in malls... Dr Seah said another example of price discrimination can be seen in vending machines across the island. Prices of bottled water in these machines can go up to $4 a bottle in some touristy areas, but the same bottle may be sold at a vending machine in the heartland for $1.20... Mr Tang Jia Wei, 30, a manager at a technology firm, said he does not check prices. He visits the McDonald's outlet in Hougang about once a week. "McDonald‘s is my happy place so I happily pay what they ask me to pay." he said. "I know they have consistently and reliably produced quality food despite the possible difference in price.""
Why do Singapore’s discerning foodies love McDonald’s so much? | The Straits Times - "While many of us may view a meal at McDonald's through rose—tinted glasses, hawker food is still our staple, with 80 per cent of Singaporeans eating at hawker centres more than once a week, according to the Health Promotion Board... In recent years, the proliferation of gourmet and cult burger joints including the more expensive Shake Shack, Five Guys and Eggslut — which arguably produce better—quality food — may have diverted the attention of some foodies curious about the differ— Despite the ever—growing range of fast—food choices, McDonald's still emerged joint top in YouGov's 2022 Dining and Quick Service Restaurants rankings in Singapore, out of a field of 36 quick service restaurants. Its closest fast—food competitor, Burger King, came in fifth. (Din Tai Fung, Starbucks, and Subway were second, third and fourth, respectively)"
Meme - Seqi @seqilol: "uhhhh. did you know if you spend $150 on ingredients and 4 hours cooking you can make a burger thats better than a big mac"
Meme - "Our cats had a fight and my parents are trying to make them resolve it lol"
ArchitecturalRevival on Twitter - "I read old books because I would rather learn from those who built civilisation than those who tore it down."
New Zealand city fires $16,000 a year wizard - "The Wizard of New Zealand is being removed from the public payroll after over two decades providing “acts of wizardry and other wizard-like services” to Christchurch, at a cost of $368,000. Christchurch Council’s decision to terminate their contract with the Wizard, Ian Brackenbury Channell, 88, brings a close to his 23-year employment, costing them $16,000 a year. According to council leaders, the Wizard no longer fits their promotional vision for the “modern city”. Channell hit back, calling them a “bunch of bureaucrats who have no imagination.”... “The promotional landscape in Ōtautahi Christchurch is changing, with new and different promotional programmes that will increasingly reflect our diverse communities and showcase a vibrant, diverse, modern city that is attractive to residents, domestic and international visitors, new businesses, and skilled migrant workers.”... Attempts made by the council to deter him from making his appearances in full costume in Cathedral Square were met with uproar from the public, and he was eventually appointed a Living Work of Art by NZ Art Gallery Directors’ Council in 1982. According to his own website, he appeared as a mysterious wanderer in film ‘Starlight Hotel’, was the head of his own Cosmology Department at the University of Melbourne, between 1971-74, and hosts his own podcast. He also describes himself as a “theorist (and practitioner) of post-feminist roles for men and a post nuclear family structure”... Despite no longer working for the council, the Wizard told Stuff he has no such intention to stop making his appearances. He said: “It makes no difference. I will still keep going. They will have to kill me to stop me.” He caused controversy earlier this year in a television interview when claiming women “use cunning to get men who are thick”... Undeterred by such controversy, the Wizard’s supporters have remained loyal, setting up a petition demanding the council reinstate him on the state payroll."
Do companies lean harder on non-parents? - "Despite their growing numbers, and the obvious advantage of having more time to devote to their careers, people without children still feel they face certain barriers at work. Some report being promoted more slowly or denied raises because their managers think that only working parents needed extra money. Flexible work policies have often been applied to parents first, such as the UK’s right to request permanent flexible work. “Historically, all of these provisions were for parents and carers initially. And some people don’t know that that’s changed,” says Krystal Wilkinson, a lecturer on human resources management at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK, who focuses on family and wellbeing at work, and has researched employees who live alone. This unfamiliarity with the law can make non-parents reluctant to request flexibility or other changes at work. Like Ramirez, many non-parents may be expected to work awkward shifts and holidays, travel more, log overtime and change work locations, because of the assumption that they have fewer important personal commitments. A recent discrimination lawsuit that was dismissed in August highlighted these issues. When a UK-based lawyer declined to relocate to her company’s Swiss head office, due to personal reasons, her manager responded, “What personal reasons? You are not married, you don’t have children and you do not have a boyfriend.” Managers like this may be demanding toward non-parents but understanding toward parents, if they respect that working parents might have to leave work early to pick up the kids from school, or take time off when they can’t arrange childcare. But still, “the work has to be done. Someone’s got to pick it up”, says Wilkinson... The smaller things can often take a toll on non-parents, who are often treated as if their hobbies, relationships and responsibilities are trivial, compared to being a parent. This can lead many employees without kids to hide or feel ashamed about their lives outside work – despite many women without children, especially, using their time outside work to volunteer or care for others. Even simple comments presuming that most people have families can sting, making non-parents feel invisible... One irony is that expecting non-parents to work long and late inhibits them from forming families"
If you're ever feeling down, just remember that Ice T probably stands with you - "Interested to find whether Ice won’t stand with anybody, the questions did eventually uncover the fact that, sadly, he isn’t necessarily on board with journalists"
Four held for stealing cars in Delhi to fund gang leader’s cancer treatment - "The Delhi Police have arrested four men for allegedly stealing cars, dismantling their parts in their godown, and selling them to scrap dealers in the city to pay for their gang leader’s cancer treatment. Officials said Monday the arrested men have been identified as Lucky, 36, Safeek, 21, Majim Ali, 25, and Ram Sanjeevan, 62. The accused have their godown in Outer Delhi and have dismantled more than 20 high-end cars in the city in the last month"
The long-run effects of religious persecution: Evidence from the Spanish Inquisition - "From Imperial Rome to North Korea, religious persecution entwined with various degrees of totalitarian control has caused conflict and bloodshed for millennia. In this paper, we ask the following: Can religious persecution have repercussions long after it has ceased? Using data on the Spanish Inquisition, we show that in municipalities where the Spanish Inquisition persecuted more citizens, incomes are lower, trust is lower, and education is markedly lower than in other comparable towns and cities. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition to still matter today, but it does."
Lawyer suspended for acting as supervisor to trainees when he was unqualified - "A lawyer was on Monday (Oct 10) handed an 18-month suspension for acting as supervising solicitor to two practice trainees when he was not qualified. Mr Clarence Lun Yaodong, who represented Healing The Divide's Iris Koh, was handed the sanction by the Court of Three Judges comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Tay Yong Kwang and Woo Bih Li. The Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) had brought several charges against Mr Lun, who was a solicitor of eight years' standing at the time in 2021. Mr Lun admitted acting as the supervising solicitor for two individuals, Mr Lim Teng Jie and Ms Trinisha Ann Sunil at different periods during their practice training at Foxwood LLC between October 2019 and January 2020. However, Mr Lun was not qualified to act as a supervising solicitor at that time, a clear breach of the Legal Profession (Admission) Rules 2011. After he found out that he did not have the relevant qualifications, he purportedly continued to have his trainees work for him and pressed Ms Sunil to pay for her notice period when she wanted to leave... The exact time was not determined, with Mr Lun's lawyer said his client could not remember. He opened by saying this was not a case that warrants disciplinary action, but the Chief Justice took issue with this. "So you think it's OK for a solicitor to take on persons as trainees when they are not qualified?" asked Chief Justice Menon. "How can it possibly not be conduct unbefitting of a solicitor to take on people you know you do not have the ability to supervise?" He stressed the harm done to one of the trainees, Mr Lim, who "effectively wasted six weeks at the very start of his career" because his stint with Mr Lun did not count. Mr Lim also had to run around to find arrangements so he could be in time to be called to the bar during Mass Call. There was harm also to the law firm's clients, as the whole point for having a qualified solicitor supervise a trainee is to make sure the trainee is being trained and also to protect the clients, said Chief Justice Menon. He pointed to the records where Mr Lun was chasing one of the trainees to finish his submissions, and chasing the other trainee to finish her work before she left. LawSoc's lawyer emphasised that Mr Lun had a seeming tendency to push the blame to other people. He said the disciplinary tribunal had found that Mr Lun "didn't care", and that his "careless attitude" was why everyone was gathered in court... The Chief Justice said the minute Mr Lun found out "out of the blue" that he was not qualified and nobody else in his firm was qualified to act as a supervising solicitor, he should have put "a dead stop to everything" and not allow his practice trainees to continue doing work. "We don't see any sign of that," said Chief Justice Menon. "In fact, till the end of January, he was chasing the trainees to do work. Where's the client's interests in this?" Justice Woo chimed in to say that Mr Lun's inability to recollect exactly when he informed the law firm's director that he was unqualified did not reflect well on him"
Geoffrey Rush's lawyers claim articles have left him virtually housebound, barely eating and with a ruined career - "Actor Geoffrey Rush is virtually housebound, barely eats and is taking medication for anxiety, according to documents filed in a defamation lawsuit against The Daily Telegraph newspaper... His lawyers have detailed the "ongoing hurt" caused by the newspaper's articles, which alleged he engaged in inappropriate behaviour towards a fellow performer during the 2015-16 Sydney Theatre Company (STC) production of King Lear. The affidavit claimed Rush had suffered "tremendous emotional and social hardship" as a result of the allegations. It also said the actor suffers from loss of sleep, has lost his appetite, barely eats and believes his worth to the theatre and film industry is "now irreparably damaged"." (2018)
Geoffrey Rush Speaks Out on Misconduct Defamation Suit: ‘I Feel Rusty’ - "Geoffrey Rush: Everyone Wrongly Thought ‘My Career Was Over’ After Defamation Suit" (2022)
MOM To Take Action Against Firms Offering Incentives To Workers Who Don't Take Sick Leave - "Sick leave allows employees to have a proper rest whenever they’re feeling under the weather. Yet, it appears some companies have offered attendance bonuses which place staff who take sick leave at a disadvantage... Dr Koh also said that attendance-related incentive schemes go against the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP)... The subject of such incentive schemes came to the fore after a pest control technician recently received a jail term for refusing a Covid-19 test... the 60-year-old refused a swab test when he fell ill as he did not want to forfeit a $100 attendance bonus."
Meme - "Pelle pour litière et passoire à pâtes"
Kitty litter scoop/pasta strainer
Meme - *dog/puppy in stroller/pram while kids/children are on leashes/a leash*
Meme - "Your kids are going to do things they shouldn't. It helps if you married someone with a sense of humour.
R. C. Massicotte (b. 2011)
Interrupted House, 2017
Marker on latex paint
Gifted to his parents, by surprise. Nov. 13th"
I Would Gladly Have Sex With My Friends - "There are five main areas I believe can describe a typical relationship:
Emotional intimacy
Meeting emotional needs
Time spent together
Physical touch
Sex
I treat all my relationships as the same mix of these five things, whether I would consider that person a romantic interest or not. For example, my best friend and I have an emotionally intimate, non-sexual relationship"
Headline aside, this is a good piece
Meme - "I'm a bartender and have ruined a lot of grad parties by saying "Congratulations! That's the same degree I got. What can I get you to drink?""
Meme - "HOW IS THAT DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. THING GOING?"
"LAST NIGHT ONE OF MY PLAYERS LACED A TOWN'S BREAD AND WATER SUPPLY WITH SILVER TO SUSS OUT A WEREWOLF. WHAT THEY DIDN'T EXPECT WAS THAT HALF THE TOWN WERE WEREWOLVES THE WHOLE TIME."
"THEY KNOW THIS NOW AFTER A COUPLE DOZEN OF THE CREATURES IN HUMAN FORM VOMITED BLOOD OUT OF EVERY ORIFICE IN FRONT OF THEIR FAMILIES/NEIGHBORS. NOW THE TOWN IS TURNING INTO JOHN CARPENTER'S "THE THING'."
"EVERYONE IS REALLY LOVING THE SUSPENSE AND I'M EXCITED FOR NEXT WEEK. YOU SHOULD PLAY SOME TIME."
Meme - "my favorite video game quest trope is "HELP US, THEY ARE STEALING OUR ANCIENT ARTIFACT. THANK YOU FOR HELPING US, AS A REWARD YOU MAY HAVE OUR ANCIENT ARTIFACT""
Meme - "EXPECTATION: Lifting Weights Gets You Girls
REALITY: Lifting Weights Gets You Guys"
Marcus Landsberg's answer to Why is Cyclops so underrated, and often disliked? - Quora - "Cyclops is the X-men's greatest villain and they keep putting him in charge. He abandoned his wife and child to chase an ex- girlfriend, never cared about his daughter, gave his son away to strangers, never called the other son. At minimum he owes 3000 years child support."
Meme - Chelsea Kilukas @chelscore: "I got a copyright infringement takedown because larger brand that copied my concept and blatantly stole my images filed it against me (the original creator). The image they claimed was theirs is literally a photo of me. That I took of myself. Wearing my product I invented."
Parents pass on ‘Cthulhu’ for daughter’s name after online vote - The Globe and Mail - "Two-week-old Amelia Savannah Joy McLaughlin will thank her parents one day she wasn't given a name in honour of a fictional sea monster and an object from the Transformers series: Cthulhu All-Spark. When Stephen McLaughlin and his wife Alysha, couldn't agree on a name for their baby, the self-described geek turned to the Internet in January for suggestions. His website, NameMyDaughter.com, would attract over 150,000 votes and a million visitors. The top vote-getter was Cthulhu, but the couple wound up choosing the runner-up, Amelia... Expecting a number of outlandish suggestions, Mr. McLaughlin posted a caveat on the website's front page: The final decision would be up to him and his wife. "Unfortunately internet I know better than to trust you. We will ultimately be making the final decision. Alas my daughter shall not be named WackyTaco692," he wrote. While some silliness materialized, Cthulhu-type suggestions were the exception. Mr. McLaughlin says he was surprised by the balance between the "crazy stuff and the genuine suggestions." Along with Amelia – the second most popular choice after Cthulhu – people also voted in droves for Charlotte and Leslie. One of the popular names that stuck with him was Le–a (pronounced Le-dash-ah). "At first I thought it was made up, but it's apparently a real name," he said. Mr. McLaughlin's colleagues bought him a hooded towel with an octopus, an allusion to the character introduced by H.P. Lovecraft in a 1928 short story. The Cthulhu is depicted as a large winged creature with an octopus head. "They were fully behind the name Cthulhu," he says with a laugh... Mr. McLaughlin will now store the website to show their daughter when she's older... Even had she been named Cthulhu, young Amelia would one day find Canadians with names just as strange. According to a database maintained by the Alberta government, one student starting kindergarten this year was name Ericlindross, another was named Albertarose."
Meme - "Do not indulge in stunt driving or horseplay *forklift flying off ramp over barrels*"
Meme - "Sometimes I'm kept awake thinking about how Americans call the liquid they put into their cars gas"
Who’s cooking? Trends in US home food preparation by gender, education, and race/ethnicity from 2003 to 2016 - "Cooking increased overall from 2003 to 2016. The percent of college-educated men cooking increased from 37.9% in 2003 to 51.9% in 2016, but men with less than high school education who cook did not change (33.2% in 2016) (p < 0.05). College-educated women who cook increased from 64.7% in 2003 to 68.7% in 2016, while women with less than high school education had no change (72.3% in 2016) (p < 0.05). Women with less education spent more time cooking per day than high-educated women, but the reverse was true for men. Among men, the percent who cook increased for all race/ethnic groups except non-Hispanic blacks. Among women, only non-Hispanic whites increased in percent who cook. Among both men and women, non-Hispanic blacks had the lowest percentage who cooked, and non-Hispanic others spent the greatest amount of time cooking."
Meme - "Elmo knows better than to question a man who just tore off half of his friend's head to wear as a hat. There's no place for weakness on the Sesame Street"
Source is "Hank Azaria: "TBT: Elmo is basically channeling my dog, cat, AND son in this photo. Also I have a Cookie Monster hat on."
Meme - Alex "Tropical" Forrest @380kmh: "when the train always stops in exactly the same place, the air conditioner always drips in exactly the same place, and a tiny ecosystem is born #TrainTwitter"
Meme - "HEY, DAD! THE MAILMAN DROPPED THIS OFF!
THANK YOU, SON!
WHAT'S IT SAY, DAD?
*DNA Test*
CALL ME JIM
OWW! OOF! My STOMACH!
ARE YOU OKAY?!
DON'T WORRY, IT'S JUST THE BABY.
HONEY, I COULDN'T IMAGINE ALL THE PAIN YOU MUST BE GOING THROUGH. I'M SORRY.
OH, JIM! DON'T BE SORRY! IT'S NoT YOUR FAULT!
... WAIT A MINUTE!
WAIT! DON'T GO! WE CAN WORK THIS OUT! PLEASE! I'M SORRY!
HELLO, SORRY. I'M... JIM *SLAM*
ALRIGHT, BUB. TIME TO CLOSE OUT YOUR TAB.
IS THAT YOUR KID?
NO.
JIM... LOOK, I KNOW YOU'RE UPSET... I UNDERSTAND... IT'S BEEN DAYS SINCE WE'VE TALKED, AND... I JUST NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU'RE ALRIGHT...
YEAH. I'M ALL RIGHT... BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING LEFT!
*Goose with goslings including one scorpion*
SIR! IS THIS THE ONE YOU ORDERED?
ON SECOND THOUGHT... NO. A TOMBSTONE IS THE LAST THING I NEED
*Rose petals leading to bed and divorce papers*
HEY KIDDO... LOOK... I SHOULDN'T HAVE RAN OFF LIKE THAT... I MAY NOT BE YOUR FATHER, BUT I STILL WANT TO BE YOUR DAD. WILL YOU CALL ME DAD AGAIN?
OK! BUT YOU GOTTA CALL ME NACHO!
NACHO?
NACHO KID"
Meme - "A 100% un-ironic sign posted by management at the restaurant I work at. One of the employees wrote on it and got chewed out
Things That Don't Require Effort
Being on time
Work ethic
Effort
Body language
Doing extra
Being prepared
Attitude
All of this requires EFFORT"
Effort doesn't require effort
Meme - Seqi @seqilol: "uhhhh. did you know if you spend $150 on ingredients and 4 hours cooking you can make a burger thats better than a big mac"
hey man nice tweet on Twitter - "PETER PAN: we meet again, Captain Hook
CAPTAIN HOOK: well well well-- wait u guys call me Hook?
PETER PAN: yeah
CAPTAIN HOOK: because of the hand?
PETER PAN: ...i'm sorr-
CAPTAIN HOOK: wow ok hey my dads dead too why not call me captain dead dad"
Meme - Carnivore Aurelius: "dogs eat their own poop but won't eat vegan meat. tells me everything I need to know"
Meme - "Nice to see my local butcher supplying a Vegan option. *PETA protest with women as packaged meat*"
OPINION: Here's why vegans have 'one of the most unhealthy diets' - "My granddaughter has come home from school with the idea that meat is bad for her and the environment. She thinks eating vegetarian will stop global warming!... She dropped sports because she doesn’t have the interest and she’s tired all the time. She started having problems with her period. Now my daughter got a call from the school counsellor to say she is depressed and they need to see a psychiatrist. Well, they think she needs medication."
"A vegan diet - which is vegetarian but without dairy and eggs - is one of the most unhealthy diets in my professional opinion. This is not because I have any personal bias against it, but because I have observed over and over again that it makes people ill. Typically the problems start with a lack of appetite, energy, and strength, and escalate over time to chronic fatigue, dental problems, muscle wasting, premature aging, digestive issues, skin conditions, and very often a mental-health issue: anxiety, panic, mood swings, depression, or eating disorders (which are actually a very complex mental-health issue). This decline in health happens slowly in most people, so it isn’t always clear to them what the root cause is. But when I treat clients in this downward spiral I frequently see the common denominator is a vegan diet. This is not only because a vegan diet removes some of the foods that are most nutritionally dense - namely meat, dairy, and eggs - but because it usually replaces them with grains and vegetable oils - which provide cheap, nutritionally-empty calories, and invariably create a lot of inflammation and health problems. Even if a vegan only eats fruits and vegetables (thought to be ‘clean’) they can develop health issues and run into numerous deficiencies in a very short period of time. And, I find it very difficult to help these clients regain health until they incorporate red meat back into their diets - even with supplementation. Supplements should never be used instead of a healthy, whole food diet for maintaining health, as they contain isolated nutrients, while foods have assorted nutrients that work synergistically. Eating a poor diet and relying on supplements is simply going to create imbalances and poor health over time... I know this is a very unpopular view at present, with all the media vilifying of meat, and red meat in particular, but I speak from years of experience. And, as anyone can see now, the dietary recommendation to cut red meat and saturated fats and replace with whole grains and vegetable oils - the mainstream dietary advice of more than 30 decades - has proven to be an absolute sham, according to ReasonTV. The organization has shown it is based on bad science under pressure from food industry special interest groups, but moreover, the lower the fat and red meat and higher the grains and sugars in our diet, the worse the diabesity and heart disease epidemic has gotten! Turns out, all the science now points to sugar, not fat, as the culprit behind most of our health woes. Many people are surprised to find out that fruit and grains are broken down into sugars by the body! I am incredulous when I read information online that espouses a vegan diet as healthy for humans. It’s blatant misinformation. I have never in my life met a healthy, vibrant vegan. And I come into contact with a great number of them in my industry. I have even tried raw food veganism for myself - and suffered the health consequences."
Clearly a registered orthomolecular nutritionist knows nothing about nutrition
Meme - "When being a regular cyclist doesn't get you hated enough
Vegan cyclists"
Meme - "Me hiding after her father hears her yell "Daddy serve me that sausage" and they vegan"
License plate recalled for being too vulgar - "Starostecki's personalised numberplate reads: "LUVTOFU." And despite the vegan's passionate love of tofu, it's hard not to see the other meaning which could be interpreted from the numberplate if you space out the letters into three abbreviated words opposed to two."
The Fake Meat Industry Is Failing, But That Might Lead to Governments Propping It Up. - "Impossible Foods, manufacturer of plant-based meat alternatives, is laying off 20 percent of its workforce. This will be the third wave of layoffs at Impossible in just the last year, and marks another wretched milestone for the beleaguered company which has continually failed to justify its own hype... Sales of refrigerated meat alternatives were down 10.5 percent for the year to September 4th 2022... Deloitte conducted a survey which revealed a decline in the belief that plant-based meat alternatives are healthier and more ethical than real meat. A 2021 survey of Australian men suggested that over 70 percent of them would rather die ten years sooner than give up eating meat. And that survey was conducted by a pro-fake meat group. There has also, apparently, been a growing backlash against the “woke” status of plant-based meat alternatives... While our first instinct might be to cheer the latest bad news from the fake-food industry, reports of its demise are greatly exaggerated. Billions have been poured into plant-based and alternative meats and they have the full moral and institutional backing of the scientific, political, and cultural establishments. Fake foods aren’t going anywhere, sadly. Majority or entirely plant-based diets are held up as the future of food, indeed as a new “global diet”, by everybody from reformed drug addict Robert Downey Jr. – who as a vegan now looks half the man he did just a few years before – to institutions like the Lancet, the United Nations, and of course the World Economic Forum. So although an individual player, like Impossible or Beyond Meat, or even multiple players, may crash out of the market, this actually means very little about the future of fake food as a whole. A cursory glance at a list of new startups, or the latest round of investments by a venture capitalist like Paul Graham, will reveal umpteen new companies in every segment of the fake-food industry, from plant-based meat alternatives to cell-cultured – i.e. lab-grown – meat."
Vegan restaurant says it will start selling MEAT due to lack of customers - "A former fully vegan restaurant that boasted plant-based food was 'essential for a healthy life' will bizarrely start serving meat dishes. The Mango Tree located in Taunton, Somerset has failed to rally enough plant-based customers to their restaurant, and have consequently decided to rebrand their eatery entirely. The shocking decision has left plant-based customers furious, with them branding the bosses "unethical". Horrified clients have also slammed the decision, saying that serving animal products in the eatery would be "worse than closing... The decision made by The Mango Tree is not the first. A host of trendy vegan restaurants have in recent years been forced to shut - because there just aren't enough vegans. In July 2019, the Miami Burger - which sold 100 per cent vegan burgers - closed in Reading, Berkshire just six months after opening. And another vegan restaurant, called 1947, closed in Manchester three months ago, after nine years of business."
If plants are so intelligent, should we stop eating them? - "Plants, it explained, “can sense the world around them, learn, remember and engage in complex communication with the species around them”... Do plants show intelligence? “Definitely, yes – I don’t see any problem with this,” replied one interviewee on the programme... It is a head-spinning indication of how much we still have to learn about the world. The really knotty question, though, is what is left for a would-be ethical eater’s lunch? Ethical fruitarianism – eating only the parts of plants that detach harmlessly, causing no damage – might meet the standards of the Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (which has ruled that plants have the right to be protected from undue harm). But what could we eat in the UK at this time of year under that regime: nuts? Wouldn’t we be depriving squirrels? Lab-created meat is still at the experimental stage and costs more than a Salt Bae gold-sprinkled steak, but is roadkill allowed? I would say breatharianism – only “eating” air – is due a revival, but it is mad, dangerous and probably a cult, so no. Alternatively, we could fly in the face of decades of medical advice and stick to stuff with no discernible relationship to anything living: the Irn-Bru diet? My last option: learn to photosynthesise. If they are so clever, perhaps plants can teach us."
