Interesting story about Ghent in today's Guardian. The powers that be in the Flemish town have decided to promote eating vegetarian for one day every week, proclaiming Thursday "Veggie Dag". Not sure if the wording was theirs or whether translation is responsible for a term that's bound to irritate English-speaking vegetarians everywhere, but no matter, it's an interesting idea to turn a town semi-vegetarian.

As a committed carnivore, Tony Naylor argued eloquently on this blog last year that less consumption of meat is an eminently responsible dietary response to the challenges of climate change, soaring costs of meat, and the myriad problems associated with industrial farming, the central thrust being we should get back to viewing a really nice bit of meat as a treat, rather like our grandparents did. This seems like a refreshing idea, given the continuing emphasis on healthy eating, and, of course, due to the unenforced nature of the whole thing.

The Vegetarian Society might well see this as a gift, coming just days before the start of their annual vegetarian week. It's also no bad thing for the city of Ghent, its charms are splashed over the media for the coming days. Apparently this university town is already something of a destination for those seeking gourmet vegetarian food, is renowned for its fish and shellfish, and is a haven for cyclists. Sounds a bit like Brighton, but without the sea. If this were to happen in the UK, actually, my money would be on Brighton. Where else might it work?