04-23-2015, 05:57 PM
The rules about eating either at home or in the canteen are, I believe, very old. The "on the hoof" quickie lunches eaten by people in the UK, USA and Canada are anathema in France. Lunch is the main meal of the day and lunch breaks for workers are often an hour and a half or two hours long (making the day a bit longer than elsewhere). Breakfast is very light as people start work early here (absolutely no sausages and eggs like there used to be in the UK!), so everyone stocks up on energy at midday.
This is not all bad. I have seen workers from our local DIY store all go to lunch together at the same restaurant. It is a social occasion, to be savoured and enjoyed. That was the original idea behind children eating either at home or in the canteen; they should have a filling, hot meal and not just sandwiches.
But these new rules controlling what children eat are something different. I'm not sure who or what is behind these developments in terms of motives, but it is sinister. Most meat eaters roll their eyes when someone says that s/he is vegetarian or vegan. They just don't understand.
My granddaughter lives in the USA. She made a conscious choice to become a vegetarian herself (and no, we did not influence her; she decided upon such a course with one of her school friends after watching an animal welfare video her friend had found). Her mother in the USA is a meat eater, but is willing to cook vegetarian meals for her. So tolerance should be the watchword, not intolerance as shown by the current government.
This is not all bad. I have seen workers from our local DIY store all go to lunch together at the same restaurant. It is a social occasion, to be savoured and enjoyed. That was the original idea behind children eating either at home or in the canteen; they should have a filling, hot meal and not just sandwiches.
But these new rules controlling what children eat are something different. I'm not sure who or what is behind these developments in terms of motives, but it is sinister. Most meat eaters roll their eyes when someone says that s/he is vegetarian or vegan. They just don't understand.
My granddaughter lives in the USA. She made a conscious choice to become a vegetarian herself (and no, we did not influence her; she decided upon such a course with one of her school friends after watching an animal welfare video her friend had found). Her mother in the USA is a meat eater, but is willing to cook vegetarian meals for her. So tolerance should be the watchword, not intolerance as shown by the current government.
