IT WAS lovely to read in The Daily Echo that Twelve Eatery was nominated in the best Vegan-Friendly Restaurant category at the British Restaurant Awards 2023.

This is well deserved and proves to a lot of the naysayers that vegan and vegetarian food is far from a fad as some ill informed detractors will claim.

It makes me wonder why so many people seem to be so riled by someone else's diet. I know people who follow a plant based diet and they are very healthy and never ever impose their views on me. On the contrary, they often get a hard time from meat eating friends. How can vegan food be unhealthy when it's predominately fruit, vegetables, pulses etc? Its proven to be healthy if you stay clear of overly processed options.

In 2022, research by Ipsos found that 46% of Brits aged 16-75 are considering reducing their intake of animal products in the future. Far from being a fad, the number of people reducing their meat intake is growing each year.

Perhaps time for the closed minded to live and let live and perhaps reduce their own meat intake to help the environment and save some animals suffering as well.

Davey Roberts

Malmesbury Road,

Christchurch