OVER the past few days, we have been bombarded by news stories telling us that everyone needs to eat less meat, in order to help tackle climate change.

Surely restaurants should be leading the way on this? Yet what I find, particularly in the parts of the UK outside the larger towns, is that very few are interested in catering for non-meat-eaters in a creative way.

South-west Scotland, where I live, prides itself on being a foodie’s paradise. But what’s on offer for vegetarians is extremely limited, bland and uninventive. In fact, in many of the establishments where we eat out, I find that the only vegetarian dish on offer is macaroni cheese. Even the establishments that make more of an effort – two, sometimes even three veggie options: wow – never alter their menu. It’s possible to become very, very bored by vegetable fajitas or lasagne.

The catering industry needs to shake up its ideas in a big way if the public at large is to be tempted away from meat.

Fiona Cameron,

Toftingal, Gatehouse of Fleet.