Meat + Builders = Banned

Yesterday, builders on a Perth property had a meat ban slapped on them  by the billionaire owners who not surprisingly,  are vegetarians.  This means no ham and cheese or polony and sauce sangers or meat pies and sausage rolls. The builders are angry. Angry that their smoko and lunches have become less interesting.  But most of all because their freedom of choice has been taken away.  I agree with them. I was vegetarian for a couple of years while I was at university and I really enjoyed it, and it made economic sense when I didn’t have much money. Following news of the meat ban, Simon Beaumont from Radio 6PR gave me a call on air yesterday to ask my  professional opinion on vegetarian eating.  It is true that a vegetarian diet can be higher in fibre and antioxidants but it can also be low in iron, Vitamin B12 and Zinc, all of which are essential to our wellbeing.   If the vegetarian strategy is done well, these factors can be addressed but many people eliminate meat from their diets and don’t replace the iron or protein.  Simon did point out that vegetarians may be happier than most as they are karmically balanced….. I had to phase out vegetarianism when I started doing triathlon, I just couldn’t maintain my energy or iron levels. But back to the builders.  Yes, some of them may be active on the job and they do require iron but they could make up for it after work couldn’t they? The billionaire couple argue that eating meat is environmentally wrong and it is their home and their right but I think they may have forgotten how important it is to keep your builders happy.  Perhaps they should also have a think about the environmental impact of fertiliser which they produce and the home they are building with 17 car bays.