Imposing vegetarian choices on people threatens the future of the countryside - Sarah Todd

A row of traditional beach huts were swept aside to make room for the seafront building, which is built out of recycled materials collected from the sea to highlight plastic pollution.

Locals were angry about the destruction of the beach huts and there was a strong feeling that it wasn’t right for a local authority to be imposing a vegetarian-only menu, with no choice.

Apparently, the biggest request on the comment cards for the first three months of the café’s opening was for a meat option.

What a victory for common sense. There is nothing wrong with a menu offering vegetarian options but what drives this correspondent off the proverbial cliff edge is the imposing of one lifestyle choice as the only option.

The Countryside Alliance has been spot on in its comments on this case, highlighting the “dangerous misconception” that going green must equal the eradication of meat.

Not only is this trendy sentiment wrong, it threatens the future of the countryside. Councils in rural counties like Dorset should be ashamed of pushing such an anti-livestock farming sentiment. Room should be made for all diet choices on the menu, including sustainable locally-produced meat products. What could be greener than farm fresh?

This seafront shambles is the latest of several motions passed by councils across the UK, which encourage residents to buy plant-based produce in a move away from meat, while also committing to only source vegan options for councillors at events.

Oxfordshire County Council sparked outrage among farmers in 2021, when it passed a motion to ban meat and dairy at its events.

At the time, the council justified the policy saying it was "in the interest of the health of our planet and the health of our people." Farming’s hero-of-the-moment Jeremy Clarkson branded the decision “utter madness”.

Three councils, Edinburgh City Council, Norwich City Council and Haywards Heath Town Council in Sussex, have also signed up to the so-called Plant-Based Treaty.

There must be something in the air in Dorset, as however well-meaning their intentions, many residents featured on news reports this week about the migrant barge Bibby Stockholm seem - in this correspondent’s opinion - to have taken leave of their senses.

Sorry, but when do-gooders were wringing their hands with their welcome packs saying how traumatised the migrants were at the thought of having to be back on water it beggared belief.

More than 40 organisations have called the on-board housing cruel and inhumane. Cruel and inhumane? Each room features a desk, a wardrobe and en-suite bathroom.

There are televisions, a gym, a 24-hour canteen, classroom for English language lessons, and a computer room with free WiFi. There is also a medical room with a nurse, and a GP on call. If only the rest of us could have such good healthcare provision.

Reports say the canteen will be open 24 hours a day, serving breakfast and a three-course lunch and dinner. The breakfast menu is said to include eggs, pancakes, bread and yoghurts with lunch options including potato soup, garlic chicken, Irish stew, and roast turkey with rice. Dinner choices include paella, fried fish and oriental chicken. Gosh, what would the homeless make of such a spread or others struggling to make ends meet during the current cost of living crisis?

The asylum seekers living on board are not in prison and will be free to come and go as they please. They will be actively encouraged to take part in activities.

There are two outdoor recreational areas, each about 80ft by 30ft, where there are plans to host sports matches. Free buses and taxis are available to help the asylum seekers explore the surrounding area.

Nobody wants to see migrants badly treated, but there is something fundamentally wrong with the way that anybody who questions the colossal amounts of money being spent on housing asylum seekers is at risk, in our woke world, of being branded a horrible person.